Alexander Nikolajewitsch Tscherepnin was born on January 21, 1899 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was a composer and pianist. His first teachers were his father, Nikolai, a well-known and distinguished composer, conductor, and teacher, and his mother, Maria, a gifted singer. Then Alexander studied at the conservatories of St.Petersburg and also Tbilisi. Because of civil war in Russia, he moved with his family to Paris where he took lessons from Isidore Philipp.

After having toured the United States and the Far East as a pianist, Alexander moved to Shanghai in 1934 and married a Chinese pianist, Lee Hsien Ming. From 1938 to 1945, he taught Russian music at the Conservatory in Paris. He held a professorship in Chicago during the years 1949 to 1964 and afterwards lived as a pianist in New York City. He divided his time between the United States and Europe and died in Paris on September 29, 1977.

Alexander Tscherepnin's large output consists of numerous ballets and orchestral works, chamber pieces, choral works, four operas, and many piano pieces including six piano concertos.




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