Golovanov Nikolai Semenovich mother. Nikolai Semyonovich Golovanov

Russian Soviet conductor, pianist, composer, choirmaster, teacher. Born on January 9 (21), 1891 in Moscow. In 1910 he graduated from the Synodal School of Church Singing, was soon appointed assistant director of the Synodal Choir, and also served as a teacher at the school. In 1914 he graduated with honors from the Moscow Conservatory in composition class under M. Ippolitov-Ivanov and S. Vasilenko. In 1915 he made his debut as a symphony conductor. He also began active creative work at the Bolshoi Theatre. In 1919, Golovanov made his conducting debut here - Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan was under his direction.

In 1919, together with Stanislavsky, he organized the Bolshoi Theater Opera Studio, which eventually transformed into the K.S. Stanislavsky, whose musical director Golovanov became in 1938.

In the 20s. was the artistic director of chamber concerts in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, organized by the professors of the conservatory and the corporation of artists-soloists of the Bolshoi Theater.

From 1915 to 1928 (until 1919 as a choirmaster), and then from 1930 to 1936 he worked as a conductor at the Bolshoi Theater. In 1948 he was appointed chief conductor, and this post he retained until his death, which followed in 1953. Over the years of work at the Bolshoi Theater, he performed about twenty first-class productions. The conductor's repertoire was decorated with Ruslan and Lyudmila, Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades, Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina, Sorochinskaya Fair, Prince Igor, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Sadko, The Tsar's Bride", "May Night", "The Night Before Christmas", "The Golden Cockerel", "The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia".

In 1926-1929 Golovanov led the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1929 he created the Opera Radio Theatre. In 1930 he became the chief conductor of both this theater and the Moscow radio center. In 1937 he was appointed artistic director and chief conductor of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra and Opera Radio Theater of the All-Union Radio Committee, which he led until his death. Under the baton of Golovanov, epic large-scale works by Russian composers were most often performed (“Boris Godunov” and “Khovanshchina” by M. P. Mussorgsky, “Ivan Susanin” by M. I. Glinka, “Scheherazade” by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, etc.) . During the war, while in Moscow, he continued to give concerts, worked on the radio. In 1925-1929 and 1943-1948 he taught at the Moscow Conservatory - professor of orchestral and opera classes. Among the students of Golovanov are conductors L. M. Ginzburg, G. N. Rozhdestvensky, B. E. Khaikin.

He performed as a pianist, mainly in an ensemble with his wife - the great Russian singer, soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Antonina Vasilievna Nezhdanova.The creative legacy of Nikolai Golovanov includes 46 opuses, including one-act operas "Princess Yurata" and "Bogatyr Kurgan", a symphony, symphonic poems, overtures. Author of more than two hundred romances. He composed sacred music.

Nikolai Semenovich Golovanov (1891–1953) - Russian composer, conductor Born in Moscow on January 9 (21), 1891 in a poor bourgeois family. After graduating from the Synodal School of Church Singing in 1910, he was appointed assistant director of the Synodal Choir (he performed in concerts, conducted tours abroad) and a teacher at the Synodal School. In 1914 he received a diploma in composition from the Moscow Conservatory and in 1915 made his debut as a symphony conductor. In 1919-1928 and 1930-1936 conductor, in 1948-1953 chief conductor of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater. From 1919 he worked at the Opera Studio of K.S. Stanislavsky (later the Opera Theater named after K.S. Stanislavsky and V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko). From the late 1920s, he was active at the All-Union Radio, where he headed the Opera Radio Theater and was the chief conductor of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra (1937–1953). In 1925–1948 (with a break) he was professor of the orchestral and opera classes at the Moscow Conservatory. He performed as a pianist, in 1916–1943 mainly in an ensemble with his wife, singer A.V. Nezhdanova. Author of the operas "Princess Yurata", "Bogatyr Kurgan", symphonies, romances, a significant number of sacred choral works.

The highest achievements of Golovanov as a conductor are associated with Russian musical classics, especially opera (recordings on the radio, productions of the operas Sadko by Rimsky-Korsakov, Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina by Mussorgsky at the Bolshoi Theater), and with the symphonic works of Scriabin and Rachmaninov. Golovanov was also an outstanding interpreter of contemporary music, the first performer of a number of works by Prokofiev and Shostakovich. His conducting style is marked by a strong willpower, brightness of contrasts, and a wonderful sense of dramaturgy.

Golovanov collected a valuable collection of works of fine art (mainly by Russian artists of the late 19th - 20th centuries), books and manuscripts, which is now stored in the Golovanov Museum-Apartment in Moscow (a branch of the State Museum of Musical Culture named after M.I. Glinka; some of the collection's works - at the State Tretyakov Gallery). Golovanov died in Moscow on August 28, 1953.

Bibliography

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It is difficult to exaggerate the role of this remarkable musician in the development of Soviet conducting culture. For more than forty years, Golovanov's fruitful work continued, leaving a significant mark both on the opera stage and in the concert life of the country. He brought the living traditions of Russian classics into the young Soviet performing arts.

In his youth, Golovanov received an excellent school at the Moscow Synodal School (1900-1909), where his mentors were the famous choir conductors V. Orlov and A. Kastalsky. In 1914 he graduated with honors from the Moscow Conservatory in composition class under M. Ippolitov-Ivanov and S. Vasilenko. Soon the young conductor had already begun vigorous creative work at the Bolshoi Theatre. In 1919, Golovanov made his conducting debut here - Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan was under his direction.

Golovanov's activities were intense and multifaceted. In the first years of the revolution, he enthusiastically took part in the organization of the opera studio at the Bolshoi Theater (later - the Stanislavsky Opera House), accompanied A.V. Nezhdanova on her tour of Western Europe (1922-1923), writes music (he wrote two operas, a symphony, numerous romances and other works), teaches opera and orchestral classes at the Moscow Conservatory (1925-1929). Since 1937, Golovanov has led the All-Union Radio Grand Symphony Orchestra, which, under his leadership, has become one of the best musical groups in the country.

For decades, Golovanov's concert performances were an integral part of the artistic life of the Soviet Union. N. Anosov wrote: “When you think about the creative image of Nikolai Semenovich Golovanov, his national essence seems to be the main, most characteristic feature. The Russian national setting of creativity permeates Golovanov's performing, conducting and composing activities.

Indeed, the conductor saw his main task in the propaganda and all-round dissemination of Russian classical music. In the programs of his symphony evenings, the names of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Scriabin, Glazunov, Rachmaninov were most often found. Turning to the works of Soviet music, he looked first of all for successive features in relation to Russian classics; it is no coincidence that Golovanov was the first performer of the Fifth, Sixth, Twenty-Second Symphonies and N. Myaskovsky's "Greeting Overture".

The main business of Golovanov's life was musical theater. And here his attention was almost exclusively focused on the Russian opera classics. The Bolshoi Theater staged about twenty first-class productions under his direction. The conductor's repertoire was adorned with Ruslan and Lyudmila, Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades, Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina, Sorochinskaya Fair, Prince Igor, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Sadko, The Tsar's Bride", "May Night", "The Night Before Christmas", "The Golden Cockerel", "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia" - in a word, almost all the best operas by Russian composers.

Golovanov surprisingly subtly felt and knew the specifics of the opera stage. The formation of his theatrical principles was largely facilitated by joint work with A. Nezhdanova, F. Chaliapin, P. Sobinov. According to contemporaries, Golovanov always actively delved into all the processes of theatrical life, up to the installation of scenery. In Russian opera, he was primarily attracted by the monumental scope, scale of ideas, and emotional intensity. Deeply versed in vocal specifics, he was able to work fruitfully with singers, tirelessly seeking artistic expression from them. M. Maksakova recalls: “A truly magical power emanated from him. His mere presence was sometimes enough to feel the music in a new way, to understand some previously hidden nuances. When Golovanov stood behind the console, his hand formed the sound with the utmost accuracy, did not allow it to “spread”. His desire for a sharp emphasis on dynamic and tempo gradations sometimes caused controversy. But one way or another, the conductor achieved a vivid artistic impression.”

"Chief Conductor of the Soviet Union" Nikolai Golovanov wrote sacred music throughout his life.

H Ikolay Semenovich Golovanov was not a hereditary musician - he was born in the family of a tailor, but this did not prevent him from falling in love with the art of sounds at an early age and for life. “My childhood impressions are connected with music: with lullabies, singing lullabies of a dear mother, the mournful melody of the street organ of Moscow, the magically majestic ringing of the bells of the Forty Magpies,” wrote the conductor and composer in his book “The Experience of Autobiography”. The future musician first tried conducting while walking along Tverskoy Boulevard, where in the summer the orchestra of the Alexander Military School played in an open area - and it doesn’t matter that the “artistic director” was barely six years old, and instead of a conductor’s baton, he had a children’s spatula in his hands!

Musical abilities helped the nine-year-old Nikolai to pass the competitive selection to the Synodal School of Church Singing, where he studied from 1900 to 1909. Then dogmatic theology, psychology and the foundations of philosophy, Greek and Latin, music history and other musical disciplines were taught in this unique institution. The course of study was designed for eleven years, but the gifted boy was taken immediately to the first grade, bypassing two preparatory ones.

Possessing a treble - a high boyish voice - the pupil Golovanov was one of three soloists-performers in the numerous Synodal choir. Here is how Metropolitan Trifon Turkestanov, the author of the akathist “Glory to God for everything” later recalled his singing during church services:

... But here are the three youths

in the glitter of clothes

Sang a song of love and faith

and hope.

One of them was different

It seemed that the Lord he is mature

pure soul,

silver,

And it seemed - those prayers

rushed

To the simple, God's, to heaven,

up…

And then I saw spiritual

eyes,

What is clear above his brow sparkled

lights,

Like a bright star, a ray of calling

Because of the gloomy clouds of life ...

Such luminaries of Russian sacred music as Pavel Chesnokov, Nikolai Danilin, Viktor Kalinnikov, Alexander Kastalsky and others taught at the school. “The Synodal School gave me everything - moral principles, principles of life, the ability to work hard and systematically, instilled sacred discipline,” Nikolai Semenovich wrote in his memoirs decades later. Upon graduation, he, who received the titles of "regent of the 1st degree" and "singing teacher", was offered the positions of junior assistant to the regent and teacher of the Synodal School.

Marfo-Mariinsky Convent

At the same time, at the invitation of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, the young man became the choir director at the Church of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy: the “great mother,” as the Muscovites called Elizabeth Feodorovna, noticed the pupil of the Synodal School during worship in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. Nikolai Semenovich worked in the monastery for a short time - only until 1911, but he kept the memory of the Grand Duchess for life.

Moscow Conservatory

Deciding to continue his studies, the future conductor entered the conservatory, in the class of composition and music theory. And this is not accidental - the composer Golovanov's "tests of the pen" date back to the elementary grades of the school of church singing. Several of the early compositions submitted by the applicant for the entrance exam to the conservatory were called by experts "amazing in spirit and skill."

In 1914, Nikolai graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with a gold medal, and his name adorned the local honors board. The graduation work of the graduate was the one-act opera "Princess Yurata", for which he was awarded a special prize of a thousand rubles.

Despite the fact that Golovanov the conductor is one of the most eminent representatives of this profession in the first half of the last century, the work of Golovanov the composer is known to few, and his legacy is almost not in demand to this day. But he was a very prolific composer: two operas, a symphony and a cantata, an overture on Russian themes, music for dramatic performances, numerous romances based on verses by Russian poets ...

As it turned out, Nikolai Semenovich remained faithful to the ideals of his youth to the end: the most important part of his work was the composition of sacred music. The composer holds a kind of record: for thirty post-revolutionary years he was the only major musician who created such works. Some of them, written before the revolution, were included in the repertoire of the choirs of the Synodal School and the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent. But more than half of his 64 opuses were written during the Soviet period - as they say, "on the table", with no hope of being performed. This sphere of activity of Golovanov became known only in the early 90s of the last century. And a decade later, the composer's spiritual works were published and resounded in concert halls and Orthodox churches in our country and abroad.

Golovanov did not create complete liturgical cycles - he composed individual chants for male or mixed choir a cappella, surprisingly beautiful in sound. So, one of his early works, the chant "Trisagion", widely used in church life, is considered by many to be folk. On the pages of his music notebooks there are pencil marks - dedications to composers, singers, musicians.

“Nikolai Semenovich knew how to defy the time - this challenge was to, in spite of everything, remain himself,” wrote musicologist Ekaterina Vlasova. As an epigraph to one of his collections of hymns, the "Chief Conductor of the Soviet Union" took the words from the 145th psalm: "I sing to my God as long as I am."

big theater

Nikolai Golovanov undoubtedly belongs to the constellation of personalities who made the glory of Russian musical culture. The greatest conductor of his time, for many years he was the head of the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR, chief conductor and artistic director of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra of the All-Union Radio Committee, musical director of the orchestra of the opera studio created by K.S. Stanislavsky.

Golovanov's "romance" with the main theater of the country began in 1915: he received a small position as an assistant choirmaster, while remaining a teacher at the Synodal School. He was prevented from becoming a regent by the October Revolution, which drastically changed the life of a musician. The school was closed, and in 1919, when the leader of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra was urgently needed to replace the emigrated Emil Cooper, Nikolai Semenovich took up the conductor's stand for the first time. The performance of the opera "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" earned the praise of V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, and the debutant acquired his favorite profession for life.

From then until his death in 1953, the main place of work of the musician was the Bolshoi Theater. By the way, at that time not only the legendary Chaliapin and Sobinov served here, but also Antonina Nezhdanova, the wife and beloved woman of Nikolai Golovanov. Brilliantly mastering the piano, the conductor became "concurrently" the permanent pianist-accompanist of the famous singer.

As often happens, the path of a great artist in such a responsible position was lined not only with roses, but also with thorns. Reminders of the "church past", reproaches that he did not join the ranks of the Communist Party, dissatisfaction with the style of his leadership and, finally, accusations of anti-Semitism - all this led to the fact that Golovanov had to leave the Bolshoi Theater three times against his own will. The persecution of the famous musician divided the Moscow public into two camps: the “Golovanovites” and those who condemned him. People of art close to Golovanov knew that the artist's confessor was Archpriest Nikolai Bazhanov, rector of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word in Bryusov Lane. The priest accompanied Golovanov on his last journey: when the coffin with the body of Nikolai Semenovich was carried out of the doors of the Bolshoi Theater, Father Nikolai walked in front in a raincoat, under which the handrails and stole were hidden.

…Times and customs are changing, some political beliefs are being replaced by others, but eternal values ​​remain unchanged. Not only black caviar, matryoshka and balalaika are the “visiting cards” of our country. Nikolai Semenovich Golovanov went down in history as one of the symbols of national art. In recent years, he has staged Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov's operas Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina and Sadko at the Bolshoi Theater, each of which was awarded the highest state award - the Stalin Prize. These brilliant works became the culmination of the conductor's work and determined the artistic style of the Bolshoi Theater, which glorified Russian opera throughout the world.

GOLOVANOV Nikolai Semyonovich, Russian conductor, choirmaster, People's Artist of the USSR (1948). In 1909 he graduated from the Moscow Synodal School of Church Singing with the title of conductor, in 1914 - the Moscow Conservatory (composition classes of M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov and S. N. Vasilenko). He made his debut as a choral conductor in 1912 (with the Synodal Choir, during a tour of Germany), as an opera conductor - in 1915 (The Tale of Tsar Saltan by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, Bolshoi Theater, Moscow). In 1915-53 (intermittently) he worked at the Bolshoi Theater (in 1928 he was fired in connection with a fabricated case about Golovanovism, in 1930 he was reinstated, in 1936 he was fired again; in 1948-53 he was the chief conductor of the theater). He conducted many operas and ballets by Russian and foreign composers, in the last years of his work at the Bolshoi Theater he staged productions of the operas Boris Godunov (audio recording 1948) and Khovanshchina by M. P. Mussorgsky, Sadko by Rimsky-Korsakov (audio recording 1949), which became triumph of Russian opera. In 1919-48 (intermittently) he worked at the Opera Studio organized by K. S. Stanislavsky at the Bolshoi Theater (since 1928 the Stanislavsky Opera House, since 1935 the Opera and Drama Studio; musical director since 1938).

He has been active in concert throughout his life. In 1920-1922, he organized about 60 concerts of soloists of the Bolshoi Theater, in 1922, together with his wife A.V. Nezhdanova, he made (as an accompanist) a tour of the Baltic States, Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland, in 1921-22 he participated as a conductor in the performances of a dancer A. Duncan in Moscow. In 1924, with his participation, the first broadcast of a radio concert in the USSR took place, and in 1929 the Opera Radio Theater was organized. Since 1930, the chief conductor of the Radio Center, since 1937 the chief conductor and artistic director of the music sector of the All-Union Radio Committee, since 1946 the artistic director of the Grand Symphony Orchestra of the All-Union Radio; in 1937-49 he staged a number of radio operas, conducted the cantatas "John of Damascus" by S. I. Taneyev (audio recording 1947), "Spring" by S. V. Rachmaninov, "From Homer" by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. In 1936-38, he was artistic director of the Symphony Orchestra of the Central House of Amateur Arts of the Moscow Regional Council of Trade Unions. He performed with the State Orchestra of Folk Instruments of the USSR (1936-47) and the State Brass Band of the USSR (1937-1940), in 1939-40 he was artistic director in both groups. In 1944-48, musical director of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.

In 1925-29 and 1943-44 professor of the opera class of the Moscow Conservatory, in 1927-43 he performed with the orchestra of the Moscow Conservatory (he was its creator).

USSR State Prize (1946, 1949, 1950, 1951). Awarded the Order of Lenin.

Cit.: Literary heritage. Correspondence. Memoirs of contemporaries. M., 1982.

Lit .: Pribegina G. A. N. S. Golovanov. M., 1990.