1854–1911 · Russia · Romantic
Alexander Kopylov (1854–1911) was a Russian composer and violinist who for many years sang, and later taught, at the Imperial Court Choir in Saint Petersburg, studying composition privately with Anatoly Lyadov and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He wrote symphonies, string quartets, choral and piano pieces, and joined the Belyayev circle; his music on the site starts with the choral piece "Gladsome Light".
Alexander Alexandrovich Kopylov was born in Saint Petersburg on 2 (14) July 1854. He spent most of his life at the city's Imperial Court Choir: for many years he sang there, and afterward he taught there. The choir had been set up on the model of its counterpart in Vienna, the chapel nowadays called the Vienna Boys' Choir.
Kopylov could not gain a place at either of Russia's two leading conservatories. Instead, he studied composition and orchestration privately, taking composition lessons from Anatoly Lyadov and orchestration lessons from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
Kopylov took part in the meetings of the Belyayev circle, founded by Mitrofan Belyayev. To the circle's founder he dedicated an andantino, together with a prelude and fugue on the theme "V-la-f".
Kopylov became known above all as a symphonic composer and a writer of songs. His works include a symphony in C minor, catalogued as Op. 14 and written during 1888 and 1889; a recording of it was made by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra under Antonio de Almeida. A recording also survives of his concert overture, Op. 31. There is also a scherzo for orchestra in A major and a number of choral, piano and vocal pieces. Some of Kopylov's works were part of the circle's joint projects, such as the collection "Les Vendredis".
A friendship with Rimsky-Korsakov drew Kopylov toward chamber music as well, and he went on to write four string quartets, which his contemporaries rated especially highly. The chamber-music scholar Wilhelm Altmann, author of a handbook for quartet players, noted that in all four quartets Kopylov handled form with assurance, giving the instruments equally rewarding, substantial parts, with themes that come out vivid and an outward beauty of form matched by fresh harmonies and rhythms.
One of the quartets found its way into the repertoire of the renowned Kneisel Quartet. The second quartet, in F, Op. 23, was published by Belyayev in 1894; a copy held at the Cornell University Library carries first-violin markings left from a performance in which Eugène Ysaÿe took part.
The New Encyclopaedic Dictionary wrote that Kopylov's works are not distinguished by originality — the influence of Tchaikovsky, Borodin and other composers can be heard in them — but praised them for their beauty, formal completeness, interesting detail and polished texture.
Alexander Kopylov died on 20 February 1911.
Among Kopylov's works are four string quartets: one found its way into the repertoire of the Kneisel Quartet, and the second, in F, Op. 23, was published by Belyayev in 1894. Besides these, Kopylov wrote symphonies, overtures, and choral, piano and vocal pieces — solid in form and texture, even if his contemporaries found little originality in them.
The site currently holds a single work by Kopylov — the choral piece "Gladsome Light" for mixed choir, at the "Beginner+" level. It is a convenient place to start exploring his music, since the catalogue does not yet include editions of larger genres such as symphonies or quartets.