Aleksandr Kopylov

Who was Aleksandr Kopylov?

Alexander Alexandrovich Kopylov or Kopilov was an Imperial Russian composer and violinist.

Kopylov studied for many years as a chorister and violinist in the Imperial Court Choir, where he would later teach for much of his life.. He was unable to gain entrance to either of the major conservatories in Russia, but was nevertheless able to study composition privately with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Anatoly Liadov.

Kopylov gained a reputation as a symphonist and composer of songs. Through his friendship with Rimsky-Korsakov, he became interested in chamber music, writing four string quartets. Wilhelm Altmann, the chamber music scholar and critic, writes in his Handbuch für Streichquartetspieler:

Kopylov's four carefully written string quartets show an outstanding command of proper quartet style. He gives all of the instruments mutually rich parts to play, alternating in exquisite fashion. His excellence is particularly strong in the sparkling themes. He is able to combine the external beauty of form with effective ideas and distinctive harmonies and rhythms.