Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov (Russian: Васи́лий Серге́евич Кали́нников) was born on January 13, 1866 (Old Style: January 1, 1866) and died on January 11, 1901 (Old Style: December 29, 1900). He was a Russian composer. He created two symphonies, several other orchestral pieces, and many songs. His music was inspired by traditional folk songs. His first symphony was often performed in the early 1900s. His style was influenced by composers like Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. His music is known for its emotional melodies and rich, full sound.

His younger brother, Viktor Kalinnikov (1870–1927), was also a composer. He mainly wrote choral music.

Biography

Vasily Kalinnikov was the son of a police official. He attended a religious school in Oryol and became the director of the choir there at age fourteen. Later, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory but could not pay the tuition fees. Instead, he received a scholarship to the Moscow Philharmonic Society School, where he learned to play the bassoon and studied composition with Alexander Ilyinsky. He played the bassoon, timpani, and violin in theater orchestras and earned extra money by copying music for others.

In 1892, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky helped Kalinnikov get a job as the main conductor of the Maly Theatre, and later that same year, he was hired by the Moscow Italian Theatre. However, because his tuberculosis worsened, Kalinnikov had to leave his theater jobs and move to the warmer climate of Crimea. He lived in Yalta for the rest of his life and wrote most of his music there, including his two symphonies and the incidental music for Alexey Tolstoy’s Tsar Boris. In Yalta, he lived with two other famous people who also had tuberculosis: Maxim Gorky and Anton Chekhov. Kalinnikov died from tuberculosis on January 11, 1901, two days before his 35th birthday. He was survived by his wife and his brother, Viktor Kalinnikov, who composed choral music and taught at the Moscow Philharmonic Society School.

Kalinnikov’s reputation grew after he wrote his First Symphony between 1894 and 1895. It became very popular when Alexander Vinogradsky conducted it at a Russian Musical Society concert in Kyiv on February 20, 1897. Soon after, the symphony was performed in Moscow, Vienna, Berlin, and Paris. It was not published until after Kalinnikov’s death.

At Sergei Rachmaninoff’s suggestion, Tchaikovsky’s publisher, P. Jurgenson, bought three of Kalinnikov’s songs for 120 rubles. After Kalinnikov died, Jurgenson purchased his Symphony No. 2 in A major and other works from his widow for a large amount of money. He said that Kalinnikov’s death had increased the value of his music by ten times.

In Russia, Kalinnikov’s First Symphony is still performed today, and his place in music history is well known. On November 7, 1943, Arturo Toscanini conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra in a rare broadcast of the First Symphony. The performance was recorded but never sold by RCA Victor. It was released as a CD in 2006.

Works

• In 1812 (В 1812 году) (1899–1900); unfinished

• Fugue in D minor (1889)
• Nymphs (Нимфы), Symphonic Picture after Ivan Turgenev (1889)
• Serenade (Серенада) in G minor for string orchestra (1891)
• Suite (Сюита) in B minor (1891–1892)
• Bylina (Былина: Эпическая поэма), Epic Poem (Overture) (around 1892)
• Overture in D minor (1894)
• Symphony No. 1 in G minor (1894–1895)
• Symphony No. 2 in A major (1895–1897)
• Intermezzo No. 1 (Интермеццо No. 1) in F♯ minor (1896)
• Intermezzo No. 2 (Интермеццо No. 2) in G major (1897)
• The Cedar and the Palm (Кедр и пальма; Le Cèdre et le palmier), Symphonic Picture after Heinrich Heine (1897–1898)
• Tsar Boris (Царь Борис), Incidental Music to the tragedy by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (1898)

• Moderato in E♭ minor
• Polonaise on a Theme from Symphony No. 1 (Полонез на темы Симфонии No. 1) in B♭ major for piano 4-hands
• Scherzo in F major (1888–1889)
• Chanson triste (Грустная песенка) in G minor (1892–1893)
• Nocturne (Ноктюрн) in F♯ minor (1892–1893)
• Élégie (Элегия) in B♭ minor (1894)
• Minuet (Менуэт) in E major (1894)
• Russian Intermezzo (Русское интермеццо) in F minor (1894)
• Waltz (Вальс) in A major (1894)

• Come to Me (Приди ко мне) for soprano, alto, baritone and piano; words by Aleksey Koltsov
• I Am Yours, My Darling (Я ли тебя, моя радость) for voice and piano; words by Heinrich Heine
• I Would Like to Make My Songs into Wonderful Flowers (Я желал бы своей песней) for voice and piano; words by Heinrich Heine
• On the Old Burial Mound (На старом кургане) for voice and piano (1887); words by Ivan Savvich Nikitin
• On Your Lovely Little Shoulder Dear (На чудное плечико милой; An Liebchens schneeweisse Schulter) for voice and piano (1887); words by Heinrich Heine in translation by Vasily Pavlovich Fyodorov (1883–1942)
• When Life Is Weighed Down with Suffering (Когда жизнь гнетут страданья и муки) for voice and piano (1887); words by Polivanov
• 16 Musical Letters (16 Музыкальных писем) for voice and piano (1892–1899)
• Bright Stars (Звёзды ясные) for voice and piano (1894); words by Konstantin Fofanov
• The Gentle Stars Shone Down on Us (Нам звёзды кроткие мерцали) for voice and piano (1894); words by Aleksey Pleshcheyev
• There Was an Old King (Был старый король) for voice and piano (1894); words by Heinrich Heine in translation by Aleksey Pleshcheyev
• A Present for 1 January 1900 for voice and piano (1899)
• Bells (Колокола) for voice and piano (1900); words by K. R.
• Prayer (Молитва: "О Боже мой") for voice and piano (1900); words by Aleksey Pleshcheyev
• Do Not Ask Why I Smile in Thought (Не спрашивай, зачем…) for voice and piano (1901); words by Alexander Pushkin

• The Triumph of Lilliput for chorus and piano
• Cherubic Hymn No. 1 (Херувимская песнь No. 1) for chorus (1885)
• Cherubic Hymn No. 2 (Херувимская песнь No. 2) for chorus (1886)
• The Mountain Tops (Горные вершины) for chorus (1887)
• Christe Eleison for chorus (1889)
• Lord, Our Lord for chorus (1889)
• John of Damascus (Иоанн Дамаскин), Cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1890); words by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
• A Beautiful Girl Sits by the Sea (Баллада: Над морем красавица дева сидит), Ballade for female chorus and orchestra (1894); words by Mikhail Lermontov