Aleksandr Sheremetev

Who was Aleksandr Sheremetev?

Count Aleksandr Dmitriyevich Sheremetev was a Russian composer, conductor and entrepreneur. He founded his own private symphony orchestra in 1882, and from 1898 organized public concerts in Saint Petersburg involving the orchestra and a choir he had inherited from his father, Dmitri Sheremetev. He also founded the Musical Historical Society in 1910, which gave free lecture recitals involving his orchestra and choir.

Sheremetev conducted the Russian premiere of Richard Wagner's Parsifal in a series of three concerts in 1906; however his conducting on that occasion was described by the press as "primitive". This was followed by Sheremetev conducting the opera's first Russian staging on 21 December 1913, performed at the Hermitage Theatre before the Imperial Family, the diplomatic corps, representative members of the State Duma and senior government officials. After two further performances there, the production transferred to the Theatre of Musical Drama.

On 10 June 1883 Sheremetev married Marie Heyden, daughter of Governor-General of Finland count Frederick Heyden and Elisabeth Zubov.