A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Seroff, Alexander

by George Grove

SEROFF (SYEROFF), Alexander Nikolaevitch, a Russian composer, born it Petersburg May 11, 1818. Although his musical gifts developed themselves early, and he was educated on the violoncello by Carl Schuberth, and in general musical knowledge by Hunke, it was not till 1850, and after holding an appointment in the Crimea, that he forsook the law (in which he had risen to the rank of magistrate) for the profession of music. He came before the public first as a critic, in an attack on Oulibischeff's pamphlet on Beethoven ('Beeth. ses Critiques et ses Glossateurs') and on Fétis^[1], as well as in many papers in favour of Wagner in various periodicals; and at length, by the establishment of a periodical of his own, 'The Arts' ('Iskustro'), 1860; and 'Theatre and Music' ('Teatr o Muzika'), 1867. In 1863 he made his first public appearance as a composer, of both libretto and music, in two grand operas produced at the Imperial Opera House, 'Judith,' May 16; and 'Rogneida,' October 27. Both were successful, and 'Rogneida,' which owed its popularity in some measure to the church music introduced, ran for 23 nights in three months, and procured for its author an imperial pension of 1200 roubles. These were followed in 1866 by 'Taras Bulba,' and in 1867 by 'Wakula the Smith,' a ballet—the words of the former and the action of the latter being founded by himself on one of Gogol's novels, but neither arriving at performance; and those again by 'Wrajia Siela,' or 'The Power of Evil,' the libretto of which he constructed from a drama of Ostrowski's. On this work he bestowed enormous pains, and the 5th act was still unfinished when he died (Petersburg, Feb. 1871 [App. p.792 "Feb. 1"]). It was completed by his friend Solowieff, and produced at St. Petersburg on the 19th of the following April. It has now become a great favourite. Seroff was an extreme and enthusiastic partisan for Wagner. In addition to the works already mentioned, he composed an Ave Maria, written for Mad. A. Patti in 1868; a Stabat Mater (for three female voices), and music to Schiller's Song of the Bell.

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1. These are reviewed in Liszt's 'Kritik der Kritik.'