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Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy

Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (Russian: Граф Алексе́й Константи́нович Толсто́й; September 5 [O.S. August 24] 1817 – October 10 [O.S. September 28] 1875), often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy, was a Russian poet, novelist, and playwright. He is considered to be the most important nineteenth-century Russian historical dramatist, primarily on account of the strength of his dramatic trilogy The Death of Ivan the Terrible (1866), Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich (1868), and Tsar Boris (1870). He also gained fame for his satirical works, published under his own name (History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev, The Dream of Councillor Popov) and under the collaborational pen name of Kozma Prutkov. His fictional works include the novella The Family of the Vourdalak, The Vampire (1841), and the historical novel Prince Serebrenni (1862).

Aleksey was a member of the Tolstoy family, and a second cousin of Leo Tolstoy. Due to his mother's closeness with the court of the Tsar, Aleksey was admitted to the future Alexander II's childhood entourage and became "a comrade in games" for the young Crown Prince. As a young man Tolstoy traveled widely, including trips to Italy and Germany, where he met Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Tolstoy began his education at home under the tutelage of his uncle the writer Antony Pogorelsky, under whose influence he first became interested in writing poetry, and a number of other teachers. In 1834 Tolstoy enrolled in the Moscow Foreign Ministry State Archive as a student. In December 1835 he completed exams (in the English, French, and German languages as well as in literature, Latin, World and Russian history, and Russian statistics) at the University of Moscow.

Throughout the 1840s, Tolstoy led a busy high society life, full of pleasure trips, salon parties and balls, hunting sprees, and fleeting romances. He also spent many years in state service as a bureaucrat and diplomat. In 1856, on the day of his Coronation, Alexander II appointed Tolstoy one of his personal aide-de-adjutants. Tolstoy served as an infantry major in the Crimean War. He eventually left state service in the early 1860s to pursue his literary career. He died in 1875 of a self-administered lethal dose of morphine at his Krasny Rog estate in the Chernigov Governorate.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 1, 1817 (Saint Petersburg), Died October 10, 1875 (Krásnyj Rog)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1903 - 1932

Roles Represented in DAHR: author

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-10400 10-in. 5/15/1911 Don Juan's serenade Reinald Werrenrath Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra author  
Victor B-19244 10-in. 3/6/1917 Kolodniki Bernardo Olshansky Male vocal solo, with orchestra author  
Victor B-21714 10-in. 3/28/1918 Sredʹ shumnogo bala (Средь шумного бала) Andre Arensen Male vocal solo, with orchestra author  
Victor B-29248 10-in. 1/3/1924 Pilgrim's song Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin Bass vocal solo, with violin and orchestra author  
Victor BVE-29248 10-in. 3/15/1927 Gesegnet seid mir, Wald und Au Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin Bass vocal solo, with orchestra author  
Victor CS-74654 12-in. 12/8/1932 Pilgrim's song Lawrence Tibbett Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra author  
Columbia 1019 7-in. ca. 1902-Oct. 1905 Serenada Don Juana A. V. Aleksandrov Baritone vocal solo, with piano author  
Columbia 1019 10-in. ca. 1902-1908 Serenada Don Juana A. V. Aleksandrov Baritone vocal solo, with piano author  
Columbia 1223 10-in. approximately 1903 Serenade : Don Juan Edouard de Reszke Bass vocal solo, with piano author  
Columbia 1401 10-in. ca. 1903-1908 Slyoza drojeet A. V. Aleksandrov Baritone vocal solo, with piano author  
Brunswick E31801 10-in. Jan. 1930 Khor strannikov Kremlin Art Quintet Male vocal quintet author  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Tolstoy, Aleksey Konstantinovich," accessed March 29, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102108.

Tolstoy, Aleksey Konstantinovich. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102108.

"Tolstoy, Aleksey Konstantinovich." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 29 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102108

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