Vladislav Mikhailovitch Blazhevich, (3 August 188110 April 1942) was a Soviet-era Russian composer, conductor, trombonist, and pedagogue.Kharlamov, A.G. Blazhevich: His life and work, ITA Journal, Volume 36, Issue 3, July 2008, Pages 30–34 A highly skilled trombonist, euphonist and tubist, Blazhevich played in various orchestras and bands and was a professor of trombone at Moscow Conservatory. He is widely known for his multiple method books for trombone and tuba, as well as his concerti and solo works for brass, and is the most prolific trombone composer in history.
After a challenging and harsh childhood, Blazhevich's musical career began in 1899, when he became a trombonist with Astrakhan Grenadier Regiment. The Following year he would begin studies at Moscow Conservatory under Christopher Bork. This institution would come to be one of the most significant in his life. In 1928 Blazhevich ceased his performing career to pursue pedagogy and composition at Moscow University, and here he composed the majority of his pedagogical material and performance works.
Blazhevich completed his first method book, School for Trombone in Clefs, in 1916, and his second, School for Trombone in 1935, as well as a School of Legato Development in 1924. These books (the first of their kind) and their practical approach to brass technique, came to be the signature content of Blazhevich's career and revolutionised brass pedagogy. After several editions were published in the West, Blazhevich's pedagogical approach was also spread across Europe and the United States. Blazhevich also composed dozens of performance works for trombone, trumpet and wind band, though these are both less published and less popular.Lambert, C. The Solo Trombone Works of Vladislav Blazhevich, May 2020, Page 5
Biography Early life
Blazhevich was born in 1881 at Tregubovka Farm, in the Smolensky Uyezd of the Smolensk Governorate of the Russian Empire. His father Mikhail was of noble Polish descent, and his mother a local commoner. In 1881, Blazhevich's father was arrested and sentenced to serve 20 years of labour for anti tsarist sentiment: he supported Polish nobility against the Russian imperial occupation of Poland. Due to the difficulty of running a household without her husband, Blazhevich's mother died in 1887, making him orphan by the age of six. Such early trauma had a deep effect on Blazhevich, with colleagues noting it left him "quite introverted," yet also created a "strong will and self-sufficient individualism that insured (sic) his professional success."
Blazhevich's father's side was court ordered to adopt him, and his uncle became his guardian. Life on his uncle's farm was incredibly challenging, likened to "abject poverty" at times, with Blazhevich not owning his own pair of shoes until age 12, when his uncle enlisted him in the army.
Early career
At 12, Blazhevich was enlisted into the Third Artillery Brigade in Smolensk, where he was given his own clothing and equipment for the first time, as well as a euphonium. His musical interests did not start here though, as Blazhevich had played the ocarina while living on his uncle's farm. Blazhevich played euphonium in the Artillery Brigade, but asked to switch to trombone to open up his musical opportunities as a soloist and potential orchestra member. Blazhevich joined the Astrakhan Grenadier Regiment in 1899, and left in 1900, when he began his formal study of music.
Education
Hoping to elevate his career, Blazhevich entered the trombone class of Christopher Bork in 1900, at Moscow Conservatory. Blazhevich recalls Bork as a "dry and pedantic teacher, who liked discipline and demanded unquestioning fulfilment of his instructions". Blazhevich studied brass, music theory, orchestration and piano while at the Conservatory. The demanding, comprehensive style of learning would go on to heavily influence Blazhevich's own pedagogy. Blazhevich had a notably deep desire to learn, imploring the dean to let him attend the classes of other instruments besides trombone, so he might broaden his knowledge of teaching and performing. Blazhevich graduated Moscow Conservatory with a trombone diploma in 1905
Performance career
At the conclusion of his studies at Moscow Conservatory, Blazhevich auditioned for a trombone position with the Bolshoi Theatre, starting in the 1906 season. Blazhevich won the position, and would be a member of the orchestra until his retirement in 1928. Colleagues in the orchestra commented that Blazhevich was not just an outstanding performer, but also "strong-willed" and "kind-hearted", lending him to being an excellent section leader.
World War I
Blazhevich's career was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I, in which he was drafted as the assistant superintendent of a military hospital. Despite the heavy workload of the hospital, Blazhevich's previous military career likely equipped him to deal with the work to a degree, as he both performed with the Bolshoi orchestra through this period, and found time to compose at night. Blazhevich organised a benefit concert made up of his own new compositions in 1916, devoted to men lost in the war.
Tenure at Moscow Conservatory
Blazhevich retired from the Bolshoi Orchestra in 1928, now Principal Trombone. His final performance with the Bolshoi Orchestra was Borodin's Prince Igor. At only 47 years old, his retirement was considered early and unnecessary, especially for an individual with such technical facility. Blazhevich had become trombone professor at Moscow Conservatory in 1922, while still working at Bolshoi Theatre, however his interests in pedagogy and composition between 1920 and 1928 (while still a member of Bolshoi) had increased to a point where he wished to fully dedicate himself to education. It was during this tenure that Blazhevich arguably reached his artistic pinnacle, developing his distinct personal style and writing the majority of solo compositions and technical books.
Raichman Exchange
Blazhevich studied with Russian American Trombonist Jacob Raichman (BSO Principal Trombone 1927–1955) in the early 1940s at Moscow Conservatory. When Raichman left for America after their exchange, he was presented with a signed copy of School for Trombone in Clefs by Blazhevich, as well as copies of 26 Sequences, Concert Duets (1926) and School of Legato Development. Blazhevich likely presented him with these mostly technical works rather than his Concert Pieces and concerti due to their difficulty. Raichman used School for Trombone in Clefs with his students in Boston, and after their success, wrote to Blazhevich requesting other pedagogical materials as well as Concerto No. 2 and No. 5. Blazhevich complied. Raichman promised not to share Blazhevich's materials with anyone but his students, yet this promise proved short lived, as Leeds Music published versions of 26 Sequences and School for Legato Development edited by Raichman shortly after. They also published a version of School for Trombone in Clefs in 1948, after Blazhevich's death. These two instances of disregard for Blazhevich's artistic license set the tone for the illegal and unethical publication of much of his work into the future. Boston University Circulation Library possessed the Raichman Blazhevich collection after his death, though much of the historic score and music material was lost in a plumbing flood.Friedman, J. Blazhevich – Destiny of Works in the West, Jay Friedman Blog, 11 February 2009
Death and legacy Blazhevich died on 10 April 1942. His content continues to be performed and studied globally, and new versions of his works are published often. There is a Moscow City Children's Music School named after him. On 17 January 2011, a concert commemorating the 130th Anniversary of Blazhevich's birth was held at Moscow Conservatory.
Music
Overview Blazhevich's works vary widely, from the solo to orchestral level, though almost entirely feature brass instruments. Blazhevich's solo works are associated with the formation of a distinctly "[Russian] performing school," and have had an impact on "all levels of trombone training".Ivanovich, L.N. Trombone Expressive Means in V. M. Blazhevich's Concertos, Musical Art, Volume 13, Issue 4, 2020, page 179 While Blazhevich wrote primarily for solo trombone, he also has works for wind ensemble, trumpet and tuba, including Concert Marches, scherzo for trumpet and piano, and various arrangements of his concerti for tuba, bassoon and trumpet.
Concerti Blazhevich composed most of his trombone concerti in the 1920s, during his time at Bolshoi theatre and the beginning of his tenure at Moscow Conservatory, though 11, 12 and 13 were written later, likely in the 1930s. The concerti are largely freeform, running continuously and not holding the traditional pauses between each movement, with piano or orchestral interludes between each of the three movements to signify the transition instead. Blazhevich wrote in his book Methods (1948) the following on the structure of his concerti: "The first movement includes an opening, then a theme of melodic character with development, followed by a recitative theme that goes into recapitulation of the first theme, then ends with a virtuoso cadence. The second movement is always a lyrical Andante in a three part song form (ABA), intended for the development of musicianship and tone quality. The third movement is usually in the Rondo or Scherzo form. The main theme from the first movement is sometimes used to end the concerto." Blazhevich wrote that the purpose of his concerti was to show off the technical and musical capabilities of the trombone, and to enrich the meagre solo performance repertoire available to his students. Ivanovich notes of Blazhevich's atypical concerto structure that "of great importance is the fact that the concertos multifacetedly reveal the richest expressive potential of the trombone, its large range, the variety of register colours, the ability to embody both cantiled melodies and virtuoso passages, including using a diverse dynamic palette."
It has been suggested that Blazhevich's concerti are more akin to Fantasias,Sparrow, J. The Brass Repertory of Vladislav Mikhailovich Blazhevich, DMA diss., University of Cincinnati, 1999 due to their freeform style and lack of recapitulation. Certain manuscripts of Blazhevich's concerti are even titled "Concert Fantasy" rather than Concerto. Sparrow states, "The title Fantasia might actually be more appropriate for all of the solo works by Blazhevich because he really does not use a concerto form and, to the best of my knowledge, none of the concertos had orchestra parts written for them." Sparrow's assertion, while popular, is incorrect, given that Ivanovich confirms that "sketches of the instrumentation for the concertos remain in the composer's music archive... not fully implemented by the author, with the exception of Concerto No. 2" (which has a full orchestral arrangement), that there are extant recordings of Concerto No. 2 with an orchestra and that multiple Russian publishers refer to the concerti as for trombone and orchestra (тромбон и оркестр) not trombone and piano (тромбон и фортепиано). Further, musicologist Donald Francis Tovey states that "the term "fantasia" would adequately cover all post-classical forms of concerto," suggesting that Blazhevich's classification of his works as "concerti" is justified as there is no functional difference between the two given Blazhevich's post-classical context. Blazhevich himself clearly distinguished his concerti from the idea of fantasy, given he composed two Fantasies for 12 trombones distinct from the concerti.
Other Trombone Works