Alexander Dargomyzhsky - musician, composer, conductor. During his lifetime, most of the maestro's musical works remained unrecognized. Dargomyzhsky was a member of the creative association "Mighty Handful". He left behind brilliant piano, orchestral and vocal compositions.
The Mighty Handful is a creative association, which included exclusively Russian composers. The Commonwealth was formed in St. Petersburg in the late 1850s.
Childhood and youth
The maestro comes from the Tula region. Dargomyzhsky's date of birth is February 14, 1813. Biographers are still arguing about where Alexander was born after all. Experts are inclined to believe that he comes from the small village of Voskresenskoye.
His parents were not related to creativity. When Alexander developed an inclination towards music, they were quite surprised. The head of the family worked in a bank under the Ministry of Finance. Mother came from a wealthy princely family. It is known that the woman's parents did not want to give away the daughter of Sergei Nikolaevich (Alexander's father). But, love turned out to be stronger than the financial situation. This family had six children.
When my father got a position in the office, the family moved to St. Petersburg. In the cultural capital of Russia, Alexander takes piano lessons. He soon realizes that improvisation is closer to him. During this period of time, he presents the first musical composition.
Louis Wolgenborn (music teacher) praised a talented student. He encouraged all his boy compositional experiments. By the age of ten, Dargomyzhsky had composed several piano pieces and romances.
Parents were skeptical about the musical works of their son. They didn't see much talent in him. The head of the family insisted on musical notation and vocal training. Dargomyzhsky actively cooperated with teachers. This contributed to the appearance of the musician at charity concerts. Soon he entered the court office. Then Alexander took the first steps towards an independent life. Dargomyzhsky did not leave music and continued to replenish the repertoire with new works.
The creative path of the composer Alexander Dargomyzhsky
With the help of the light hand of Mikhail Glinka, the creative path of Alexander Dargomyzhsky began. Glinka took up the training of the novice composer. He helped to understand the intricacies of composing a composition using the work of foreign colleagues as an example.
Inspired by new knowledge, Dargomyzhsky regularly visits opera houses. At that time, the works of Italian composers sounded in them. At the end of the 30s, the maestro decided to write his own opera. He was inspired to write the work by Victor Hugo's historical drama Lucrezia Borgia. He soon had to abandon this idea, as he realized that the novel was too difficult to understand.
He turned to the work "Notre Dame Cathedral". Based on the novel, the maestro set about writing an opera. In the early 40s, the composer handed over the finished work to the leaders of the Imperial Theater.
For several years, the opera Esmeralda was gathering dust. She was not considered for a long time. In 1847, Esmeralda was nevertheless staged on the stage of the Moscow theater. Alexander hoped that his debut work would bring him success, but a miracle did not happen. The opera was coolly received by critics and the public. More "Esmeralda" was not staged.
Dargomyzhsky fell into despair. Especially his condition worsened after the peak of popularity of his mentor Mikhail Glinka. For a while, he decided to move away from writing. Alexander began to teach music and vocals for noble maidens. Soon he takes up writing romances. The maestro's lyrical works are an absolute success with his contemporaries.
Traveling in European countries
Then Alexander decided to go on his first trip abroad. He had the opportunity to communicate with prominent representatives of foreign classical music. Subsequently, throughout his life, he maintained friendly relations with Charles Berio, Henri Vietan and Gaetano Donizetti.
In 1848 he returned to the territory of Russia. Alexander, impressed by the trip, decided to resume work on large works. He began to write the opera "Mermaid". The work was based on a work by Pushkin. In the same period of time, he pleased the fans with the presentation of the romances Melnik, Crazy, No Joy and Darling Girl. The works were warmly received not only by fans, but also by music critics.
In 1855 he completed work on The Mermaid. After some time, Alexander presented the work to a demanding public. The opera was highly appreciated by the composer's contemporaries. For several seasons, "Mermaid" was staged on the stage of the capital's theater.
On the wave of popularity, he composes brilliant symphonic overtures. We are talking about the works "Ukrainian Cossack", "Baba Yaga" and "Chukhonskaya Fantasy". In the presented musical compositions, one can feel the influence of the representatives of the Mighty Handful.
New acquaintances gave him a chance to delve into the features of new musical trends. Soon he tried his hand at the genre of everyday romance. To feel the compositions of everyday romance from Dargomyzhsky, you can listen to the compositions “Dramatic Song”, “Old Corporal” and “Titular Counselor”.
Around the same period of time, he again goes abroad. European composers were imbued with the works of the Russian maestro. They performed the most "juicy" compositions of Dargomyzhsky at one of the creative evenings.
Traveling around Europe inspired the composer. Alexander wanted to start composing another opera, but he had to postpone the idea for a while. Dargomyzhsky's health failed, and the only thing he could please the public with was the Mazepa collection, as well as several choral numbers.
Alexander Dargomyzhsky: Personal life
Some time later, he returned to the idea of creating an opera. Then he was interested in the work of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin "The Stone Guest". As soon as he started composing the opera, he faced the so-called creative crisis. The fact is that his opera "Mermaid" was excluded from theatrical posters.
He could not recover for a long time, but thanks to the support of influential composers and fans, Dargomyzhsky got down to business. He began writing The Stone Guest. He managed to write most of the musical material. Alas, because of the death of the maestro, close composers completed the opera.
Throughout his long creative life, the maestro was constantly pursued by failures. This situation was reflected in the personal life of the composer. Alas, he never managed to enjoy family happiness. He had no wife and no children.
He was not successful with the fairer sex. However, he had short novels, which in the end did not lead to anything serious.
It was rumored that he had a romantic relationship with Lyubov Miller. He taught the girl vocals. Then he was connected by a long-term friendship with Lyubov Belenitsyna. He dedicated several romances to this woman.
After the death of mother Dargomyzhsky made a chic gift to the peasants. He freed them from the burden of serfdom. In addition, Alexander gave them their own land, on which they worked and could earn a normal existence. It was exceptional behavior for a man of that time. Contemporaries called Alexander the most humane landowner.
He met his old age with an elderly father. After the death of the head of the family, Dargomyzhsky was finally disappointed in life. Constant stress negatively affected the composer's well-being. It became increasingly difficult for him to pay attention to writing the opera The Stone Guest.
Interesting facts about maestro Alexander Dargomyzhsky
- Alexander was a squeezed man. The composer preferred to spend time alone.
- He caught inspiration in the walls of his father's house. Only here he was as comfortable and cozy as possible.
- After the death of his father, he could not stay in his parents' house. The death of a loved one tormented him. He settled in his sister's house and then rented a room in her house.
- Money for the production of "The Stone Guest" was collected by almost all of St. Petersburg. The maestro pointed out that the price of his work is 3000 rubles. The Imperial Theater offered the composer a little more than 1000 rubles.
Death of maestro Alexander Dargomyzhsky
During a trip to Europe, Alexander fell ill with rheumatism. He did not pay due attention to health and continued to actively engage in creativity. In 1968, the composer's condition deteriorated significantly. He complained of pain in his heart. Improper circulation caused the death of Dargomyzhsky.
He knew that he would soon die. Alexander did not delay with the will. The composer entrusted Caesar Antonovich Cui and Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov to finish the opera The Stone Guest.
The composers agreed to fulfill the last order of Alexander, but still in their hearts they hoped that he would get better. Alas, the miracle did not happen.
Alexander died on January 5, 1969. He died from an aneurysm. The funeral ceremony took place 4 days later. Not only close people, but also fans of creativity were going to see him off on his last journey. After the funeral, Tretyakov ordered a portrait of the composer from a photograph to the artist Konstantin Makovsky.
