Sollertinsky I.I., (1902-1944), art historian

Categories / Science. Education/Personalia
SOLLERTINSKY Ivan Ivanovich (1902-1944), critic, scholar and teacher. He graduated from the Institute for Art History in 1923 and Romance and Germanic Languages Department of Leningrad State University in 1924, did postgraduate studies at the latter institution. Starting from the early 1920s, he taught at the College of Choreography, Drama Institute, Institute for the Art History, where he taught the history of musical theatre, and Pedagogical Institute. From 1935 to 1941, he also taught at the Conservatory, promoted to professor in 1939. From 1929 to 1944, Sollertinsky worked at the Philharmonic Hall, where he performed the functions of an editor, lecturer, head of the repertoire department and art director from 1940. A member of the creative committees of musical theatres, he had an influence on the choice of staging. Sollertinsky renowned as a polyglot, for his encyclopaedic knowledge, for popularising the highest achievements of European culture and advocating new artistic ideas. His lectures, given before concerts at the philharmonic marked a milestone in the history of the Philharmonic Society. They expanded the horizons of the comprehension of classical music and increased the audience's understanding of philosophical problems associated with symphonism, that is the harmonious, thematic development of a piece of music. He also wrote the first works in Russian on G. Mahler, A. Schonberg et al. and popularised the music of R. Strauss, H. Berlioz and D.D. Shostakovich. He lived at 12 Pushkinskaya Street until evacuation.

Works: Historical Sketches. Critical Essays: in 2 Volumes. Leningrad, 1963.

References: Памяти И. И. Соллертинского: Воспоминания, материалы, исслед. 2-е изд., доп. Л., 1978.

A. L. Porfiryeva. Berlioz Hector
Mahler Gustav
Schonberg Arnold
Shostakovich Dmitry Dmitrievich
Sollertinsky Ivan Ivanovich
Strauss Richard
Pushkinskaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 12
Памяти И. И. Соллертинского: Воспоминания, материалы, исслед. 2-е изд., доп. Л., 1978
Исторические этюды. Критические статьи: В 2 т. Л., 1963 Institute of Art History
State University, St. Petersburg
Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet
Theatre Art Academy
Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory
Philharmonic named after D.D. Shostakovich