Assafiev, Boris Vladimirovich (1884–1949)

Russian composer and critic. He studied philosophy at St Petersburg University and music at the Conservatory, where he later became professor. He wrote numerous books on composers, including Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Skriabin, and Stravinsky, and on Russian and Czech music, under the pseudonym of Igor Glebov.

Works Opera Cinderella (1906), The Bronze Horseman (Pushkin, 1940).

Ballet 27 ballets, including The Fountain of Bakhchisserai (after Pushkin, 1933), Lost Illusions (after Balzac, 1935).

Orchestral five symphonies (1938–42); piano concerto.

Chamber string quartet and other chamber works.

Other incidental music to plays by writers including Shakespeare, Tirso de Molina, Sophocles, and Schiller; many piano works, choruses, and songs.