Arcady Dubensky (Composer, Arranger)

Born: October 15, 1890 - Viatka, Russia
Died: October. 14, 1966 - Tenafly, New Jersey, USA

The Russian-American violinist and composer, Arcady Dubensky, learned to play the violin in his youth, and then was a student of Hřĭmalý (violin), Ilyinsky (composition), and Arends (conducting) at the Moscow Conswevatory (1904-1909; diploma, 1909).

After playing 1^st violin in the Moscow Imperial Opera Orchestra (1910-1919), abd spending a year playing piano in several hotels in Constantinople, Arcady Dubensky immigrated to the USAand settled in New York in 1921 and was a violinist in the New York Symphony Orchestra (1922-1928) and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (1928-1953¹).

In 1935² Arcady Dubensky retired and focused on composing. His compositions are mostly orchestral. While he composed in a conservative idiom, he made adroit use of unusual instrumental combinations.

Works

Dramatic: Operas:
Romance with Double Bass (1916; New York, October 31, 1936)
Downtown (1930)
On the Highway (1936)
2 Yankees in Italy (1944)

Incidental Music To:
Tarkington's Mowgli (1940)

Orchestral:
Symphony (1916)
Russian Bells, symphonic poem (New York, December 29, 1927)
Intermezzo and Complement (1927)
From Old Russia (1927)
Gossips, for strings (Philadelphia, November 24, 1928)
Caprice, for piccolo & orchesatra (1930)
The Raven, for narrator and orchesatra (1931)
Prelude and Fugue (1932; Boston, April 12, 1943)
Fugue, for 18 violins (Philadelphia, April 1, 1932)
Tom Sawyer, overture (Philadelphia, November 29, 1935)
Political Suite: Russian Monarchy, Nazi and Fascist, Communist (radio broadcast, New York, September 17, 1936)
Serenade (1936)
Rondo and Gigue, for strings (1937)
Fantasy on a Negro Theme, for tuba & orchesatra (1938)
Stephen Foster: Theme, Variations, Finale (1940; Indianapolis, January 31, 1941)
Orientale (1945)
Fugue, for 34 violins (1948)
Concerto grosso, for 3 trombones, tuba, & orchesatra (1949)
Trumpet Overture, for 18 toy trumpets and 2 bass drums (New York, December 10, 1949)
Trombone Concerto (1953)

Chamber:
2 string quartets (1932, 1954)
Variations, for 8 clarinets (1932)
Theme and Variations, for 4 horns (1932)
String Sextet (1933)
Prelude and Fugue, for 4 double basses (1934)
Suite for 4 trumpets (1935)
Suite for 9 flutes (1935)
Song of November, for oboe & piano (1950)

Sources:
1. Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997)
2. DSO Kids Website
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (November 2011)

Arcady Dubensky: Short Biography | Arrangements/Transcriptions: Works | Recordings

Links to other Sites

Bibliography