Boris Asafyev

Boris Vladimirovich Asafyev (Бори́с Влади́мирович Аса́фьев; 29 July 1884 – 27 January 1949) was a Russian and Soviet composer, writer, musicologist, musical critic and one of founders of Soviet musicology. He is the dedicatee of Prokofiev's First Symphony. He was born in Saint Petersburg.

Asafyev had a strong influence on Soviet music. His compositions included ballets, operas, symphonies, concertos and chamber music. His ballets included Flames of Paris, based on the French Revolution, and The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, which was first performed in 1934, and was performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 2006.

His writings, under the name Igor Glebov, included The Book about Stravinsky and Glinka (for which he was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1948).

Selected works

 * Opera
 * The Cashier's Wife
 * Minin and Pozharsky
 * The Girl without a Dowry


 * Ballets
 * The Fairy Gift (1910)
 * White Lily (1911)
 * Flames of Paris (1931)
 * The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (1936)
 * The Prisoner of the Caucasus (1938)
 * The Rustic Lady
 * The Stone Guest (1946)


 * Orchestra
 * 5 Symphonies
 * Concerto for clarinet and orchestra (1939)
 * Concerto for guitar and chamber orchestra (1939)
 * Concerto for piano and orchestra (1939)


 * Chamber music
 * String Quartet (1940)
 * Sonata for viola solo (1938)
 * Sonata for cello and piano (1935)
 * Sonata for trumpet and piano (1939)
 * Sonatina for oboe and piano (1939)
 * Variations for horn and piano (1940)