Ivan Wyschnegradsky


Ivan Alexandrovich Wyschnegradsky, also transliterated as Vïshnegradsky, Wyshnegradsky, Wischnegradsky, Vishnegradsky, or Wishnegradsky was a Russian composer primarily known for his microtonal compositions, including the quarter tone scale. He also used scales of up to 72 divisions, sixth, and twelfth tones ).

Early life

Ivan Wyschnegradsky was born in Saint Petersburg on May 4, 1893. His father was a banker and his mother wrote poems. His grandfather was a celebrated mathematician who served as the Minister for Finance from 1888 to 1892. After his baccalaureate, Wyschnegradsky entered the School of Mathematics. He followed the courses of harmony, composition and orchestration led by Nicolas Sokolov, professor with the Academy of Saint Petersburg. In 1912, he entered the School of Law.

Music career

The first public performance of Wyschnegradsky's Andante religioso and funebre was performed at the theatre Pavlovsk under the direction of Aslanov, in the presence of César Cui. At the end of the concert, Cui congratulated him "for his moderation".
In 1916, Wyschnegradsky composed The Day of the Brahma for narrator, full orchestra and mixed chorus ad libitum. In 1917, the day before the revolution, Wyschnegradsky completed his law studies. In November, his father died. Ivan adhered to the ideals of the Russian Revolution and composed The Red Gospel, opus 8. In 1919, he elaborated on his first project on the notation of twelfth-tones.
The following year, Wyschnegradsky and his family moved to Paris. The Pleyel house manufactured a pneumatic-transmission piano for him, but he was not entirely satisfied. Wyschnegrasky wished to build a true quarter-tone piano and thought that he would only be able to in Germany. He ordered a Möllendorf-type quarter-tone harmonium from Straube. In 1922 and 1923, he went to several revivals in Germany where he met R. Stein, Alois Hába, J. Mager and W. Möllendorf. The following year, he married Hélène Benois and fathered a son, Dimitri. Wyschnegradsky and Benois divorced in 1926.
He ordered a quarter-tone piano from Foerster. The Vandelle quartet performed the Prelude and Fugue, opus 15. In 1929, the piano made by Foerster arrived in Paris. He met Lucille Markov, his future wife. He also published the Manual of Quarter-tone Harmony. In 1934, he composed Twenty-four Preludes in All the Tones of the Chromatic Scale Diatonicized with Thirteen Sounds, for two pianos in quarter tones.
On January 25, 1937, he attended the first concert devoted entirely to his music. He met Olivier Messiaen, and later Henri Dutilleux and Claude Ballif. He recorded the slow movement of the Symphony Thus Spoke Zarathustra for four pianos in quarter tones.
In 1942, Wyschnegradsky was arrested by the Germans and transferred to Compiègne, where he remained for two months. His wife was also arrested and transferred to Vittel.
On November 11, 1945, Gisèle Peyron and Mady Sauvageot, sopranos, Lili Fabrègue, viola, Yvette Grimaud, Yvonne Loriod, Pierre Boulez and Serge Nigg, pianos gave a concert of works of Wyschnegradsky. Contracting tuberculosis, he rested at the sanatorium of St. Martin-du-Tertre. In 1947, André Souris gave the première in Belgium of the Symphony Thus Spoke Zarathustra for four pianos in Brussels. In 1951, Pierre Boulez, Yvette Grimaud, Claude Helffer and Ina Marika gave a performance of the Second Symphonic Fragment, opus 24 in Paris. The Revue Musicale published a special issue on Ivan Wyschnegradsky and Nicolas Obouhow.
In 1977, Martine Joste organized a concert at Radio France. In Canada, Bruce Mather did the same. In 1978, Alexandre Myrat, at the head of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France, performed the Day of Existence. Ivan Wyschnegradsky was invited by the DAAD as composer-in-residence at Berlin. He could not go for reasons of health. Radio-France commissioned a String trio by him.
Wyschnegradsky died at the age of 86 in Paris on September 29, 1979.
Wyschnegradsky appears in Paul Auster's novel The Locked Room, part of the New York Trilogy.

Works

Chromatic works
La Journée de l'existence, for recitation, orchestra & choir ad. lib., without Op.
L'automne, for bass-baritone & piano, Op. 1 Ed. Belaieff.
Préludes, for piano, Op. 2 Ed. Belaieff.
Le soleil décline, for bass-baritone & piano, Op. 3 Ed. Belaieff.
Le scintillement des étoiles, for soprano & piano, Op. 4
Quatre fragments, for piano, Op. 5
L'Évangile Rouge, cycle for voice & piano, Op. 8
Le mot, for soprano & piano, Op. 36
Prélude, for piano, Op. 38a
String Quartet #3, Op. 38b
Étude sur le carré magique sonore, for piano, Op. 40 Ed. Belaieff.

Third-tone Works
Prélude et danse, for Carrillo third tones piano, Op. 48

31st-tone Work
Étude ultrachromatique, for Fokker 31-tone organ, Op. 42

Sixth-tone Works
Prélude et fugue, for 3 pianos in sixth tones, Op. 30
Poème, for Carrillo sixth tones piano, Op. 44a
Études sur les mouvements rotatoires, for 3 pianos in sixth tones & orchestra, Op. 45b
Composition I, for 3 pianos in sixth tones, Op. 46a
Dialogue à trois, for 3 pianos in sixth tones, Op. 51
Méditations, for 3 pianos in sixth tones, without Op.

Twelfth-tone Works
Arc-en-ciel, for 6 pianos in twelfth tones, Op. 37
Étude, for Carrillo twelfth tones piano, Op. 44b

Mixed Micro-intervals
Chant douloureux et étude, for violin & piano, Op. 6
Méditation sur deux thèmes de la Journée de l'existence, for cello & piano, Op. 7
Chant nocturne, for violin & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 11
Œuvre sans titre, for 3 pianos in sixth tones & piano in quarter tones, without Op.

Quarter-tone Works
Quatre fragments, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 5
L'Évangile Rouge, cycle for voice & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 8
Chants sur Nietzsche, for baritone & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 9
Variations sur la note Do, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 10
Dithyrambe, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 12
String Quartet #1, Op. 13
Chœurs, for mixed choir, 4 pianos in quarter tones & percussions, Op. 14
Prélude et fugue sur un chant de l'Évangile rouge, for quartertone piano, version for string quartet, Op. 15
Prélude et danse, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 16
Ainsi parlait Zarathoustra, symphonie, for 4 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 17
String Quartet #2, Op. 18
Études de concert, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 19
Étude en forme de scherzo, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 20
Prélude et fugue, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 21
Pièces, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, without Op.
Préludes dans tous les tons de l'échelle chromatique diatonisée à 13 sons, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 22 Ed. Belaieff.
Premier fragment symphonique, for 4 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 23a; for orchestra, Op. 23c
Deuxième fragment symphonique, for 4 pianos in quarter tones, timpani & percussions, Op. 24
Poème, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, without Op.
Linnite, pantomime in 1 act & 5 scenes, for 3 voices & 4 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 25
À Richard Wagner, for baritone & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 26
Acte chorégraphique, for bass-baritone, mixed choir, 4 pianos in quarter tones, percussions & ad. lib. instruments, Op. 27
Cosmos, for 4 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 28 Ed. Belaieff.
Chants russes, for bass-baritone & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 29
Troisième fragment symphonique, for 4 pianos in quarter tones & ad. lib. percussions, Op. 31
Fugues, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 32
Variations sans thème et conclusion, for orchestra, Op. 33
Sonate en un mouvement, for viola & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 34
Transparence I, for Onde Martenot & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 35
Quatrième fragment symphonique, for 4 Ondes Martenot & 4 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 38c
Polyphonies spatiales, for piano, harmonium, Onde Martenot, percussions & string orchestra, Op. 39
Études sur les densités et les volumes, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 39b
Dialogue à deux, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 41
Dialogue, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, 8 hands, without Op.
Composition en quarts de ton for string quartet Op. 43 Ed. Belaieff.
Études sur les mouvements rotatoires, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, 8 hands, Op. 45a.; for chamber orchestra, Op. 45c Ed. Belaieff.
Composition II, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 46b
Transparence II, for Onde Martenot & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 47
Intégrations, for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 49
L'Éternel Étranger, for voices, mixed choir, 4 pianos in quarter tones, percussions and orchestra, Op. 50
Symphonie en un mouvement, for orchestra, Op. 51b
Composition, for Ondes Martenot quartet, Op. 52
String Trio, Op. 53
Trauergesang, Epigrammen, Ein Stück, for quartertone piano, without Op.

Recordings