Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov

{{family name hatnote|Vasilyevich|Alexandrov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov

| native_name_lang = ru

| native_name = {{nobold|Александр{{nbsp}}Васильевич{{nbsp}}Александров}}

| image = File:A B Alexandrov.jpg

| birth_name = Alexander Vasilyevich Koptelov (or Koptelev)

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1883|4|13}}

| birth_place = Plakhino, Ryazan Governorate, Russian Empire

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1946|7|8|1883|4|13}}

| death_place = Berlin, Soviet occupation zone in Germany

| occupation = Composer, musician

}}

File:1983 CPA 5377 (1).jpg

Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov{{efn|{{langx|ru|Александр Васильевич Александров|{{transliteration|ru|Aleksandr Vasilyevich Aleksandrov}}}}, known by the diminutive Sasha}} ({{OldStyleDate|13 April|1883|1 April}} – 8 July 1946, born Koptelov or Koptelev){{efn|{{langx|ru|Коптелов, Коптелев|{{transliteration|ru|Koptelov, Koptelev}}}}}}{{cite web |script-title=ru:Александров Александр Васильевич |url=http://www.mosconsv.ru/ru/person.aspx?id=53216 |website=Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory |access-date=30 September 2024}} was a Soviet and Russian composer and founder of the Alexandrov Ensemble, who wrote the music for the State Anthem of the Soviet Union, which in 2000 became the national anthem of Russia (with new lyrics). During his career, he also worked as a professor of the Moscow Conservatory, and became a Doctor of Arts. His work was recognized by the awards of the title of People's Artist of the USSR and two Stalin Prizes.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ensemble-aleksandrova.ru:80/index.php?id=42|script-title=ru:Борис Александрович Александров (1905-1994)|trans-title=Boris Aleksandrovich Aleksandrov (1905-1994)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070917041705/http://www.ensemble-aleksandrova.ru/index.php?id=42|archive-date=17 September 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=22 January 2018}}

Background

Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov, known as Sasha, was born on 13 April 1883 in Plakhino, a village in Ryazan Governorate south-east of Moscow. As a boy, his singing was so impressive that he traveled to Saint Petersburg to become a chorister at Kazan Cathedral.{{cite web |last1=Lambert |first1=R. J. |title=Alexander Alexandrov Biography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alexander-alexandrov-mn0001648459#biography |website=allmusic.com |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=6 December 2023 |date=2023}}

Career

A pupil of Medtner, Alexandrov studied composition at Saint Petersburg and in Moscow, where he eventually became professor of music in 1918 and choirmaster at Christ the Savior from 1918 to 1922.

=Alexandrov Ensemble=

Alexandrov founded the Alexandrov Ensemble, and spent many years as its director, in which role he gained favor with Joseph Stalin, the country's ruler during the last two decades of Alexandrov's life. His choir participated successfully in the Universal Exposition of 1937 in Paris.{{cite web |last1=Kyrlov |first1=Vladimir |title=Author of the Soviet anthem and "The Sacred War" dies |url=https://en.nuremberg.media/hronotop/20210708/204037/Author-of-the-Soviet-Anthem-and-The-Sacred-War-Dies.html |website=en.nuremberg.media |publisher=Chronotope |access-date=5 May 2025}}

=Works=

In 1942, Stalin commissioned Alexandrov and lyricists Sergey Mikhalkov and Gabriel El-Registan to create a new Soviet national anthem, which was officially adopted on 1 January 1944 and was used by the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991. It became the National Anthem of Russia in December 2000, with Mikhalkov writing the new lyrics. Alexandrov also composed the 1941 call to arms, "The Sacred War", and the official march of the Soviet and now Russian Armed Forces, the Song of the Soviet Army. His works include a number of settings of various Russian folk songs, for example, "Utushka lugovaya".{{cite book|script-title=ru:А. Александров|year = 1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F88uAAAAIAAJ&q=%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2+%22%D1%83%D1%82%D1%83%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%B0%22|language=Russian}}

Death

Alexandrov had a heart attack and died on 8 July 1946 at the age of 63, while on tour in Berlin; some records say he was returning from Germany.{{efn|The exact place of his death is still in dispute and apparently controversial.}} He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

Notes

References

External links

{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303114538/http://www.geraldika.org/07_2008_05.htm|date=March 3, 2022|title=Geraldika biography of A.V. Alexandrov by his grandson}}

Category:1883 births

Category:1946 deaths

Category:20th-century Russian conductors (music)

Category:20th-century Russian male musicians

Category:Music educators from the Russian Empire

Category:People from Mikhaylovsky Uyezd

Category:Communist Party of the Soviet Union members

Category:Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory

Category:Moscow Conservatory alumni

Category:Honored Artists of the RSFSR

Category:People's Artists of the USSR

Category:Recipients of the Stalin Prize