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[Constructivism] [Russian Music] . Collection Early Soviet Sheet Music .
An interesting and graphically striking collection of seven early Soviet printed sheet music scores of popular songs and dances, dated ca. 1923–27, some of them rare editions, authored by an assortment of composers, with several covers designed and illustrated by leading Constructivist artists of the time.  Most pieces with light wear along edges and binding, occasional spotting, but in generally fine condition unless otherwise noted.

(a)  Fomin, Boris Ivanovich. (1900–1948) and Podrevsky, Konstantin Nikolayevich. (1811–1930).  "Ayzik".  Song for voice and piano.  Disbound folio.  Leningrad, self-published ("izdaniye avtora"), 1927.  5 pp.  PN Zak. [Cyrillic] 1394.  Original wrappers depicting scissors, thread, and measuring ruler designed by Soviet artist E. Holstein.  Dedicated to Alexander Abramovich Sorin.  One of 3000 copies.  Stamp with name and address of a former owner in Moscow (identified as a "ballet master", but the last name is illegible) on the first page.  10.25 x 14 inches (26 x 35.6 cm).  Holes from earlier ring binding professionally repaired.  Fomin (composer) and Podrevsky (lyricist) were a successful team, producing many popular songs at the time, but in 1929, the genre of popular songs (romansï) was declared "counter-revolutionary" and banned.  Podrevsky died soon after.  Fomin was mostly forgotten, except for a brief resurgence after 1941, when he wrote music for battle songs. 


(b) Orlansky, Sergey. (1898–after 1952) and Podrevsky, Konstantin Nikolayevich. (1811–1930)  Tayna mayaka (The mystery of the lighthouse), musical study [étyud] for the film [1925] of the same name produced by the Goskinprom studio of Georgia, Op. 32.  For voice and piano.  Music by Orlansky, text by Podrevsky.  Disbound folio.  Moscow:  Glavlit, n.d.  3 pp.  PN. Zak. [Cyrillic] No. 362.  Original wrappers in blue shades with a picture of a ship sailing on the sea to a lighthouse in the night sky; artwork not credited.  One of 5000 copies.  Full text of the song printed on the last page in a somewhat mannered, archaizing font fashionable in the early Soviet Union. 10.15 x 13.15 inches (25.8 x 33.4 cm).

(c) Nikolayevsky, Matvey. (1882–1942)  Val's iz operetty Chertova Kukla (Waltz from the operetta Devil's Doll).  For piano.  Moscow, self-published ("izdaniye avtora"), 1926.  Folio.  5 pp.  PN Zak. [Cyrillic] No. 701.  Original wrappers designed by Russian artist Frolov.  One of 1000 copies.  With stamps of Moscow bookstores on the front page.  9.75 x 12.25 inches (24.8 x 31.1 cm).  Rebacked, partially detached, browned, stained and slightly foxed.

(d) Mints [Mintz], Oskar Maksimovich. (?–?) Ambra. For piano.  Moscow: self-published ("izdaniye avtora"), 1925.  Folio.  3 pp.  PN Zak. [Cyrillic] No. 218.  Original wrappers designed in Modern style with blue and gold colors.  One of 2000 copies.  With a list of works by various composers and hand stamp of the music store of the Leningrad Association of Playwrights and Composers on the last page.  10.25 x 13.5 inches (26 x 34.3 cm).  The composer remains somewhat mysterious.  "A Soviet composer.  He was popular in the 1920s and 1930s, wrote songs and incidental music." rusog.ru (translated from the Russian)

(e) Green [Slonov], Yury. (1906–1981)  "Tï I ya" (You and me), foxtrot for piano.  Moscow: Muztorg, 1928.  Disbound folio.  4 pp.  PN Kl. [in Cyrillic] 946.  Original wrappers designed in Constructivist style with brown, green, and gray patterns.  One of 1000 copies.  With a list of compositions published by Muztorg to back page. 10 x 12.75 inches (25.4 x 32.5 cm).  Inscription in red pencil in Russian to an unidentified person by someone other than the composer; browned and second leaf creased to lower outer corner.  "Slonov's first musical works were mostly written in the genre of light dance music—foxtrots, tangoes, waltzes, etc. (they were published from 1926–30 under the pen name of Yuri Grin)."  Russian Wikipedia 

(f) Milyutin, Yury Sergeyevich. (1903–1968).  Foxtrot No. 1 for piano. Moscow: self-published ("izdaniye avtora"), 1926.  Unbound folio. 3 pp. PN  Zak. [Cyrillic] No. 109.  Series title, "Ekstsentricheskiye tantsï Goleynovskogo" (Goleynovsky's Eccentric Dances), to head of title. Original wrappers uncredited but designed by Russian artist Alexandra Exter (1882–1949) featuring an abstract depiction of Soviet dancer Vera Drutskaya (1898–1946), whose choreographer was Kasyan Goleyzovsky (1892–1970).  One of 3000 copies.  With a list of Milyutin’s works on the last page.  Signature "Maria d'Arto" (in Cyrillic) in ink to title.  10.25 x 13.75 inches (26 x 34.9 cm).  Goleyzovsky was a an avant-garde choreographer creating acrobatic routines; Drutskaya excelled in such.  Milyutin is probably the only composer in this collection whose career was not affected by Stalinism; he won a Stalin Prize of the Second Class in 1949.  Maria d'Arto (stage name; real name was Mariya Aleksandrova) was a ballet dancer who enjoyed success and popularity in Russia before and after the First World War.

(g) Mayman, Zinovy Aleksandrovich. (1902–1991).  Yevropeizirovannaya Yevropa (Europeanized Europe), choreographic sketch "from the repertoire of a mobile theater."  For piano.  Petrograd: self-published ("izdaniye avtora"), n.d.  Unbound folio.   4 pp.  Original wrappers designed by Russian artist Vladimir Izenberg (1895–1969), depicting a couple of Europeans in formal attire reaching for each other and, in between, a grinning African (probably African-American) in minstrelsy attire, holding the man in his right and the woman in his left hand.  Dedicated to N. V. Petrov.  One of 500 copies.  Handstamp of Fischer music store, Petrograd, to title.  10.75 x 13.75 inches (27.3 x 34.9 cm).  Worn, torn and stained, with some early professional repairs.  The name "Petrograd" allows to date this edition no later than 1924.  Even without the title art, which is frankly racist, it would be clear that the title of the piece is ironic, as the music is a foxtrot. Vladimir Izenberg was the son of the much better known sculptor Konstantin Izenberg (1859–1911).




[Constructivism] [Russian Music] Collection of Early Soviet Sheet Music

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[Constructivism] [Russian Music] . Collection Early Soviet Sheet Music .
An interesting and graphically striking collection of seven early Soviet printed sheet music scores of popular songs and dances, dated ca. 1923–27, some of them rare editions, authored by an assortment of composers, with several covers designed and illustrated by leading Constructivist artists of the time.  Most pieces with light wear along edges and binding, occasional spotting, but in generally fine condition unless otherwise noted.

(a)  Fomin, Boris Ivanovich. (1900–1948) and Podrevsky, Konstantin Nikolayevich. (1811–1930).  "Ayzik".  Song for voice and piano.  Disbound folio.  Leningrad, self-published ("izdaniye avtora"), 1927.  5 pp.  PN Zak. [Cyrillic] 1394.  Original wrappers depicting scissors, thread, and measuring ruler designed by Soviet artist E. Holstein.  Dedicated to Alexander Abramovich Sorin.  One of 3000 copies.  Stamp with name and address of a former owner in Moscow (identified as a "ballet master", but the last name is illegible) on the first page.  10.25 x 14 inches (26 x 35.6 cm).  Holes from earlier ring binding professionally repaired.  Fomin (composer) and Podrevsky (lyricist) were a successful team, producing many popular songs at the time, but in 1929, the genre of popular songs (romansï) was declared "counter-revolutionary" and banned.  Podrevsky died soon after.  Fomin was mostly forgotten, except for a brief resurgence after 1941, when he wrote music for battle songs. 


(b) Orlansky, Sergey. (1898–after 1952) and Podrevsky, Konstantin Nikolayevich. (1811–1930)  Tayna mayaka (The mystery of the lighthouse), musical study [étyud] for the film [1925] of the same name produced by the Goskinprom studio of Georgia, Op. 32.  For voice and piano.  Music by Orlansky, text by Podrevsky.  Disbound folio.  Moscow:  Glavlit, n.d.  3 pp.  PN. Zak. [Cyrillic] No. 362.  Original wrappers in blue shades with a picture of a ship sailing on the sea to a lighthouse in the night sky; artwork not credited.  One of 5000 copies.  Full text of the song printed on the last page in a somewhat mannered, archaizing font fashionable in the early Soviet Union. 10.15 x 13.15 inches (25.8 x 33.4 cm).

(c) Nikolayevsky, Matvey. (1882–1942)  Val's iz operetty Chertova Kukla (Waltz from the operetta Devil's Doll).  For piano.  Moscow, self-published ("izdaniye avtora"), 1926.  Folio.  5 pp.  PN Zak. [Cyrillic] No. 701.  Original wrappers designed by Russian artist Frolov.  One of 1000 copies.  With stamps of Moscow bookstores on the front page.  9.75 x 12.25 inches (24.8 x 31.1 cm).  Rebacked, partially detached, browned, stained and slightly foxed.

(d) Mints [Mintz], Oskar Maksimovich. (?–?) Ambra. For piano.  Moscow: self-published ("izdaniye avtora"), 1925.  Folio.  3 pp.  PN Zak. [Cyrillic] No. 218.  Original wrappers designed in Modern style with blue and gold colors.  One of 2000 copies.  With a list of works by various composers and hand stamp of the music store of the Leningrad Association of Playwrights and Composers on the last page.  10.25 x 13.5 inches (26 x 34.3 cm).  The composer remains somewhat mysterious.  "A Soviet composer.  He was popular in the 1920s and 1930s, wrote songs and incidental music." rusog.ru (translated from the Russian)

(e) Green [Slonov], Yury. (1906–1981)  "Tï I ya" (You and me), foxtrot for piano.  Moscow: Muztorg, 1928.  Disbound folio.  4 pp.  PN Kl. [in Cyrillic] 946.  Original wrappers designed in Constructivist style with brown, green, and gray patterns.  One of 1000 copies.  With a list of compositions published by Muztorg to back page. 10 x 12.75 inches (25.4 x 32.5 cm).  Inscription in red pencil in Russian to an unidentified person by someone other than the composer; browned and second leaf creased to lower outer corner.  "Slonov's first musical works were mostly written in the genre of light dance music—foxtrots, tangoes, waltzes, etc. (they were published from 1926–30 under the pen name of Yuri Grin)."  Russian Wikipedia 

(f) Milyutin, Yury Sergeyevich. (1903–1968).  Foxtrot No. 1 for piano. Moscow: self-published ("izdaniye avtora"), 1926.  Unbound folio. 3 pp. PN  Zak. [Cyrillic] No. 109.  Series title, "Ekstsentricheskiye tantsï Goleynovskogo" (Goleynovsky's Eccentric Dances), to head of title. Original wrappers uncredited but designed by Russian artist Alexandra Exter (1882–1949) featuring an abstract depiction of Soviet dancer Vera Drutskaya (1898–1946), whose choreographer was Kasyan Goleyzovsky (1892–1970).  One of 3000 copies.  With a list of Milyutin’s works on the last page.  Signature "Maria d'Arto" (in Cyrillic) in ink to title.  10.25 x 13.75 inches (26 x 34.9 cm).  Goleyzovsky was a an avant-garde choreographer creating acrobatic routines; Drutskaya excelled in such.  Milyutin is probably the only composer in this collection whose career was not affected by Stalinism; he won a Stalin Prize of the Second Class in 1949.  Maria d'Arto (stage name; real name was Mariya Aleksandrova) was a ballet dancer who enjoyed success and popularity in Russia before and after the First World War.

(g) Mayman, Zinovy Aleksandrovich. (1902–1991).  Yevropeizirovannaya Yevropa (Europeanized Europe), choreographic sketch "from the repertoire of a mobile theater."  For piano.  Petrograd: self-published ("izdaniye avtora"), n.d.  Unbound folio.   4 pp.  Original wrappers designed by Russian artist Vladimir Izenberg (1895–1969), depicting a couple of Europeans in formal attire reaching for each other and, in between, a grinning African (probably African-American) in minstrelsy attire, holding the man in his right and the woman in his left hand.  Dedicated to N. V. Petrov.  One of 500 copies.  Handstamp of Fischer music store, Petrograd, to title.  10.75 x 13.75 inches (27.3 x 34.9 cm).  Worn, torn and stained, with some early professional repairs.  The name "Petrograd" allows to date this edition no later than 1924.  Even without the title art, which is frankly racist, it would be clear that the title of the piece is ironic, as the music is a foxtrot. Vladimir Izenberg was the son of the much better known sculptor Konstantin Izenberg (1859–1911).