Alexander Veprik (June 23, 1899–October 13, 1958) was a Soviet composer and teacher. He grew up in Warsaw and studied piano with Karl Wendling in Leipzig. When the First World War began, his family returned to Russia. From 1918 to 1921, he studied composition with Alexander Zhitomirsky at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, then studied with Nikolai Myaskovsky at the Moscow Conservatory from 1921 to 1923.
Veprik taught at the Moscow Conservatory from 1923 to 1941, became a professor in 1930, and served as dean from 1938. He was active in musical life during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1927, he traveled to Austria, Germany, and France, where he met Arnold Schoenberg, Paul Hindemith, Maurice Ravel, and Arthur Honegger. His music gained an audience in Europe and the United States: his works were broadcast on Berlin radio in 1928 and 1929, and Arturo Toscanini conducted his suite Dances and Songs of the Ghetto at Carnegie Hall in 1933.
Veprik is regarded as one of the leading composers of the “Jewish school” in Soviet music. His works include piano sonatas, a violin suite, a viola rhapsody, Kaddish for voice and piano (1925), Jewish Songs, and Two Pieces for Cello and Piano (1934). He also wrote the score for Yuli Raizman’s 1936 film The Last Night.
In recent years, Veprik’s works have been performed in Russia and abroad. A 2019 Deutsche Grammophon album of orchestral works, recorded for the first time by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Kristiina Poska, brought further attention to his music.