Ivan Vïshnegradsky
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Ivan Alexandrovich Vïshnegradsky (1893-1979, also Wyschnegradsky, Wyshnegradsky, Wischnegradsky, Vishnegradsky, or Wishnegradsky) was a Russian composer primarily known for his microtonal compositions, including the quarter tone scale, though he used scales of up to 71 divisions.
[edit] Life
Greatly influenced by Scriabin as a young man, Vïshnegradsky had a mystical vision which made him feel compelled to write music in intervals of less than a half-step.
In 1920, he emigrated to Paris. In 1922, he traveled to Berlin to meet with other quarter-tone composers such as Aloïs Hába, Willy Moellendorf, and Jörg Mager. Plans to collaborate on a quarter-tone piano with Hába were interrupted by visa problems, and he was forced to return to Paris.
During World War II, he entered a sanatorium, and was encouraged to continue composing by Olivier Messiaen upon his release in 1950.
[edit] Works
Vïshnegradsky wrote:
- A considerable amount of music for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart (including the Concert Etudes Op. 19, two Fugues Op. 33, Integrations Op. 49).
- Several pieces for three pianos tuned a sixth of a tone apart (Prélude et Fugue Op. 30, Dialogue a Trois of 1974). In the more polyphonic of these, the perception of quarter- or sixth-tones is made particularly clear by fugue themes moving ultrachromatically.
There are also:
- Two string quartets in quarter-tones, Opp. 13 (1923-24) and 18 (1930-31).
- A Third String Quartet in conventional tuning, Op. 38 (1945/59).
- A one-movement String Trio in quarter-tones, Op. 53 (1978), left slightly incomplete when he died.
All of these string works have been recorded by the Arditti Quartet (Edition Block).
[edit] External links
- Dartmouth.edu: Ivan Wyschnegradsky by Franck Jedrzejewski
- Huygens-Fokker Foundation: Ivan Wyschnegradsky
