Alexander Vasilievich Nikolsky (, scientific transliteration: Aleksandr Vasil'eviàNikol'skij; 1874âÂÂ1943) was a Russian composer, choir conductor, and educator.
Nikolsky initially received clerical training to become a priest, graduating from the Moscow Synodal School in 1896. He continued his musical education the following year at the Moscow Conservatory. After the October Revolution, he was active in the Proletkult as an author of proletarian songs and was also engaged in ethnographic work.
In 1928, he became a teacher in the choral department of the Moscow Conservatory, where he worked until his death (from 1935 as a professor). Nikolsky played a prominent role in the development of choral art in Russia and composed many sacred works. In his secular choral compositions, he set texts by A. Pushkin, H. Heine (translations by P. Bykov, M. Mikhailov, P. Weinberg, N. Berg, M. Prakhov), M. Rosenheim, A. Koltonovsky, K. Balmont, N. Schreiter, M. Lermontov, A. Koltsov, and S. Gorodetsky.
These works were recently included in the Anthology of Russian Secular A Cappella Choral Music of the 19th to Early 20th Century (ÃÂýÃÂþûþóøàÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂúþù ÃÂòõÃÂÃÂúþù àþÃÂþòþù üÃÂ÷ÃÂúø a cappella XIX â ýðÃÂðûð XX òõúð / Antologija russkoj svetskoj chorovoj muzyki a cappella XIX â naÃÂala XX veka) (Vol. 16).
On the occasion of his 135th birthday, the student choir of the Moscow Conservatory under Stanislav Kalinin dedicated a memorial concert to him.
Nikolsky was buried at MoscowâÂÂs Pyatnitskoye Cemetery.
In recent years, Lyudmila Viktorovna Malazai has been conducting research on NikolskyâÂÂs life and works.
See also .