Sabaneyev, Leonid (Leonidovich)
Sabaneyev, Leonid (Leonidovich)
Sabaneyev, Leonid (Leonidovich) , Russian writer on music and composer; b. Moscow, Oct. 1, 1881; d. Antibes, May 3, 1968. He studied with Taneyev at the Moscow Cons., and also took a course in mathematics at the Univ. of Moscow. In 1920 he joined the board of the newly organized Moscow Inst. of Musical Science. In 1926 he left Russia and eventually settled in France. He was an energetic promoter of modern music, and a friend of Scriabin, about whom he wrote a monograph, which would have been important if his account of Scriabin’s life and ideology could be trusted; he compromised himself when he wrote a devastating review of Prokofiev’s Scythian Suite at a concert that never took place. His books in Eng. comprised Modern Russian Composers (N.Y., 1927) and Music for the Films (London, 1935). His compositions included the ballet, L’Aviatrice (Paris, 1928), Flots d’azur, symphonic poem (1936), The Revelation, oratorio (1940), 2 piano trios (1907, 1924), Violin Sonata (1924), piano pieces, and songs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire