Nikolay Sokolov (composer)

Nikolay Alexandrovich Sokolov (Russian: Никола́й Алекса́ндрович Соколо́в; 26 March [O.S. 14 March] 1859 – 27 March 1922) was a Russian composer of classical music and a member of the circle that grew around the publisher Mitrofan Belyayev.

Sokolov was born in Saint Petersburg in 1859. A student of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, he taught Alexander Tcherepnin, Dmitri Shostakovich and Yuri Shaporin at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.

He was the posthumous dedicatee of Shostakovich's Theme and Variations in B-flat major for orchestra, Op. 3.

Sokolov's recorded works include his contributions to several collaborative projects of the "Belyayev circle", including the set of character pieces for string quartet known as Les Vendredis as well as a set of variations for piano and orchestra on a Russian theme.

Other works include a Quintet, Op. 3, also arranged for string orchestra as a serenade; final chorus from Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy's Don Juan, Op. 5; choruses for women's voices, Op. 12 (published 1892); piano variations, Op. 25; Variations on a popular Russian theme for string quartet (published 1899). There are also three string quartets, in F major, A major and D minor, and a string trio in D minor, his Op. 45 (published in 1916). All of these were published by Belyayev's firm.

It is possible that, when Sergei Diaghilev was looking for a composer for The Firebird, Sokolov was considered before Igor Stravinsky was settled on.

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