Nikiprowetzky, Tolia
Nikiprowetzky, Tolia
Nikiprowetzky, Tolia, Russian-born French composer, ethnomusicologist, and broadcasting administrator; b. Fyodosia, Crimea, Sept. 25, 1916; d. Paris, May 5, 1997. He was taken by his parents to France when he was 7, and began his training in music in Marseilles. In 1937 he settled in Paris and studied counterpoint and fugue with Simone Plé-Caussade and music history with Louis Laloy. In 1946 he pursued training in composition with René Leibowitz. In 1956 he became head of the Discothèque Centrale de la Société de Radiodiffusion de la France drOutre-mer (SOR-AFOM), and also was active with the Office de Coopération radiophonique (OCORA). He pursued ethnomusi-cological missions to Mauritania in I960, Senegal in 1962, Niger in 1963, and Cameroun in 1965. From 1969 he was active with the French Radio. He was a contributor to La musique dans la vie (2 vols., Paris, 1967, 1969).
Works
dramatic:Les Noces d’ombre (concert perf., Paris, Dec. 12, 1957; stage perf., Toulouse, May 4, 1974; new version as the chorégraphique divertissement Danse des reflets minéraux, 1974; Paris, Jan. 12, 1975); La fête et les Masques, opera (1970; French Radio, Paris, Dec. 19, 1973); Le Sourire de l’Autre (1979; suite, Bordeaux, Dec. 12, 1980); Auto-Stop, opera-film (1981); La Veuve du Héros (1983). orch.:Sinfonietta (1954; Algiers, Feb. 23, 1955); Adagio for Strings (1955; French Radio, Paris, June 2, 1957; concert perf., Paris, Nov. 25, 1962); Diptyque for Strings (Paris, March 17, 1963); Sym., Logos 5 (1964; Strasbourg, April 1965); Hommage à Antonio Gaudi (1965; Paris, Dec. 5, 1967); Naturae divisio (1973; Paris, July 10, 1975); Tetraktys for Saxophones and Chamber Orch. (1975; London, July 30, 1976); Piano Concerto (1977; Paris, Feb. 24, 1979); Fleuves impassibles (1978; Paris, Feb. 24, 1979); Violin Concerto (1981; Paris, Oct. 19, 1982); Trumpet Concerto (1986; Paris, July 7, 1988). chamber: String Quartet (1961); Sonatine for Solo Flute (1962); Récitatif et Scène for Cello and Piano (1985; Paris, Sept. 15, 1986); Anaphora for Cello and Piano (1987); La vie fragile for Guitar (1989). piano:Deux pièces (1948); Sonata (1960); Treize études (1966); Une Quète du Seuil (1990–94). vocal:Quatre mélodies for Soprano and Piano (1949); Les chants de la fille seule for Mezzo-soprano and Orch. (1959; French Radio, Paris, July 9, 1962); Trois poèmes d’Yves Bonnefoy for Vocal Ensemble and Piano (1962); Numinis Sacra for Tenor, Chorus, Organ, and Percussion (1967); Voix nocturnes for Soprano, Flute, Horn, Cello, and Harpsichord (1978); Ode Funèbre for Soprano, Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (1985; Paris, Nov. 4, 1988).
—Laura Kuhn/Dennis Mclntire