Alexander Krein

Alexander Krein was a Russian and Soviet composer and music figure. He was born on October 20, 1883, in Nizhny Novgorod, in the Russian Empire, and died on April 21, 1951, in Staraya Ruza, Moscow Region. He was the brother of the composers David Krein and Grigory Krein, and in 1934 he was named an Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

He was born into a musical family. His father, Abram Girshevich Krein, a violinist from the town of Vegery in Kovno Governorate, collected Jewish musical folklore and was deeply interested in synagogue and klezmer music. He instilled a love of music in his seven sons, all of whom became professional musicians.

Krein studied at the Moscow Conservatory, where he trained in cello with Alfred Glen and studied composition with Boleslav Yavorsky and Leonid Nikolayev. From 1912 to 1927 he taught at the Moscow People's Conservatory. Beginning in 1913, he was a member of the Moscow branch of the Society for Jewish Folk Music. Between 1918 and 1927 he worked in the music department of the People's Commissariat for Education and in the state music publishing house.

From 1908 he also appeared in the pages of several pre-revolutionary and Soviet newspapers as a music critic, and later turned to composition. In the 1920s he was among the first composers to address revolutionary themes. He also taught at the NKVD Special Purpose School.

In Krein's early works, including romances, instrumental pieces, and chamber ensembles, the influence of Alexander Scriabin is noticeable. His early output was closely connected with Jewish themes and folklore. Among these works are the Poem for cello and piano (1909), Poem-Quartet (1910), two suites for clarinet and string quartet titled Jewish Sketches (1910, 1911), Jewish Caprice for violin and piano (1917), Songs of the Ghetto (1916–1923), and Song of Songs (1918) for voice and piano.

His cantata Kaddish on verses by A. Orshanin (1922) is also known; its music was written for productions of the Habima and GOSET theaters. The vocal score of Kaddish was published in Vienna in 1928, while the full score was destroyed there by the fascists in the 1930s. He also wrote numerous musical numbers for stage productions, including Night at the Old Market (1925) and Sabbatai Zevi (1927). Other works on Jewish themes include the opera Zagmuk (1930), Ten Jewish Songs (1937), and many romances on poems by Ilya Ehrenburg, Hayim Bialik, and A. Orshanin.

Among Krein's works on non-Jewish subjects, the best known are the ballets Laurencia (1939) and Tatyana (1943), as well as the music for the stage production The Dancing Master by Lope de Vega (1946). He also wrote a Mourning Ode in Memory of Lenin (1926) for orchestra and chorus, along with romances on poems by Alexander Blok and Konstantin Balmont.

His family included his son, the playwright Alexander Kron. Krein's career connected composition, teaching, criticism, and musical administration, and his work reflects both Jewish musical culture and broader Soviet artistic themes.

Connections

This figure has 1 connection in the Music Lineage catalog.