Ippolitov-Ivanov, Mikhail (EN)

Ippolitov-Ivanov Mikhail Mikhailovich *19 (7) November 1859 Gatchina (near St. Petersburg), †28 January 1935 Moscow, Russian composer, pedagogue, and conductor. Between 1875 and 1882 he studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under N. Rimsky-Korsakov (composition), J. Johannsen (theory), and K. Davydov (conducting). From 1882 to 1893 he lived in Tbilisi (formerly Tiflis), where he made a significant contribution to the development of musical life in Georgia. He co-organised a branch of the Russian Musical Society, collaborated in the organisation of local opera and symphonic concerts, and conducted research into Georgian folklore. He also served as director of a music school, teaching music theory and history. Among his students were Zakaria Paliashvili and Dimitri Arakishvili. From 1893 he was professor at the Moscow Conservatory, and between 1906 and 1922 its director. There he taught music theory and composition and led the opera class; his students included Reinhold Glière and Sergei Vasilenko. Between 1924 and 1925 he served as director of the conservatory in Tbilisi, where he also taught composition; among his students there was Andria Balanchivadze. Ippolitov-Ivanov’s conducting career was equally active. From 1895 to 1901 he conducted the choir of the Russian Choral Society in Moscow; between 1899 and 1906 he worked with the opera theatres of Mamontov and Zimin; and from 1925 with the Bolshoi Theatre. He conducted premiere productions of operas by Rimsky-Korsakov, including The Golden Cockerel, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, and Kashchey the Immortal. From 1928 he also collaborated with the Moscow Radio Orchestra. During the 1930s he edited the supplement Music for Everyone in the magazine 30 Days. In 1922 he served as chairman of the Association of Writers and Composers.

The artistic ideals of the composers associated with Rimsky-Korsakov, among whom Ippolitov-Ivanov spent his formative years, decisively shaped his interest in folklore. Owing to his long stay in Tbilisi, he became closely acquainted with Georgian folk music, which he frequently incorporated into his works; his suite Caucasian Sketches became especially popular. He also drew inspiration from Uzbek, Armenian, Turkmen, Russian, and other folk traditions. This is reflected in the titles of his programmatic works, such as In the Steppes of Turkmenistan and Musical Scenes from Uzbekistan, notable for their colourful orchestration, sometimes involving folk instruments. An oriental colour also characterises his operas, which, although staged during the composer’s lifetime in Moscow and Tbilisi, never entered the permanent repertory. His choral works include both sacred compositions – such as the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the Psalms – and mass songs. His panegyric works (e.g. Hymn of Labour) and occasional cantatas achieve a solemn character through conventional musical means. Ippolitov-Ivanov’s principal achievement, however, lies in drawing attention to the melodic and colouristic richness of Oriental music.

Literature: S. Chemodanov, M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, Moscow, 1933; S. Boguslavsky, Ippolitov-Ivanov, Moscow, 1936; L. Podzemskaya, M. Ippolitov-Ivanov and Georgian Musical Culture, Tbilisi, 1963.