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Until Boris I (852–889) the title of the Bulgarian monarchs was Knyaz. His son, Simeon I (893–927) adopted the title Tsar (Emperor) which became the title of the subsequent Bulgarian rulers.

Kniaz, knyaz or knez is a Slavic title found in most Slavic languages, denoting a royal nobility rank. It is usually translated into English either as Prince or less commonly as Duke. In the Vatican, some Croatian knezes, such as Stjepan Držislav, were referred to as "Dux Croatorum" or "Dux Chroatorum".

Today the term knez is still used as the most common translation of "prince" in Croatian and Serbian literature. Another translation is kraljević (Slovene: kraljevič) meaning "little king" or "kingly", such as Kraljević Marko, though this term is used to refer to a prince or princess of royal birth, son or daughter of a king. Knez is nowadays a very common surname in some ex-Yugoslavian countries, mostly in Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, but also among immigrants in Slovenia.

The female form transliterated from Bulgarian and Russian is knyaginya (княгиня), kniahynia (княгиня) in Ukrainian, kneginja in Slovene, Croatian and Serbian (Serbian Cyrillic: кнегиња). In Russian, the daughter of a knyaz is knyazhna (княжна), in Ukrainian is kniazivna (князівна). In Russian, the son of a knyaz is knyazhich (княжич) (old form).

The title is pronounced and written similarly in different European languages. In Croatian and West Slavic languages, such as Polish, and Serbian, the word has later come to denote "lord", and in Czech, Polish and Slovak also came to mean "priest" (kněz, ksiądz, kňaz) as well as "duke" (knez, kníže, książę, knieža).^[1]

Etymology[link]

The etymology is ultimately a cognate of the English king, the German König, and the Swedish konung. The proto-Slavic form was kǔningǔ, kъnędzь, Bulgarian knyaz, East-Slavic knyaz, Polish ksiądz, Serbian "кнез", Croatian and Slovene knez, Czech kníže etc., as it could be a very early borrowing from the already extinct Proto-Germanic Kuningaz, a form also borrowed by Finnish and Estonian (Kuningas).^[1][2]

In Finnish knyaz is translated more like the word ruhtinas ("Sovereign Prince"). Ruhtinas comes from proto-Germanic word druhtinaz, what can be translated as "warlord". In Finland tsar was officially called as suuriruhtinas after the Grand Principality of Finland. Suuriruhtinas in English means "grand prince", in Russian velikiy knyaz.

Middle Ages[link]

The meaning of the term changed over the course of history. Initially the term was used to denote the chieftain of a tribe. Later, with the development of feudal statehood, it became the title of a ruler of a state, and among East Slavs (Russian: княжество (kniazhestvo), Ukrainian: князівство (kniazivstvo) traditionally translated as duchy or principality), for example, of Kievan Rus'. In medieval Latin sources the title was rendered as either rex or dux.

In Bulgaria, Simeon took the title of tsar in 913. In Kievan Rus', as the degree of centralization grew, the ruler acquired the title Velikii Kniaz (Великий Князь) (translated as Grand Prince or Grand duke, see Russian Grand Dukes). He ruled a Velikoe Knyazhestvo (Великое Княжество) (Grand Duchy), while a ruler of its vassal constituent (udel, udelnoe kniazhestvo or volost) was called udelny kniaz or simply kniaz.

When Kievan Rus' became fragmented in the 13th century, the title Kniaz continued to be used in East Slavic states, including Kiev, Chernihiv, Novgorod, Pereiaslav, Vladimir-Suzdal', Muscovy, Tver, Halych-Volynia, and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Russia[link]

Kneaze Alexey Michailovitz, 1664 (Tsar Alexis I of Russia).

As Tsardom of Russia gained dominion over much of former Kievan Rus', Velikii Kniaz Ivan IV of Russia in 1547 was crowned as Tsar. Since the mid-18th century, the title Velikii Kniaz has been revived to allude to sons and grandsons (through male lines) of the Russian Emperors. See titles for Tsar's family for details.

Kniaz (Russian: Кня́зь, IPA: [ˈknʲæsʲ]) continued as a hereditary title of Russian nobility patrilineally descended from Rurik (e.g., Belozersky, Belosselsky-Belozersky, Repnin, Gorchakov) or Gediminas (e.g., Galitzine, Troubetzkoy). Members of Rurikid or Gedyminid families were called princes when they ruled tiny quasi-sovereign medieval principalities. After their demesnes were absorbed by Muscovy, they settled at the Moscow court and were authorised to continue with their princely titles.

Since the 18th century, the title was occasionally granted by the Tsar, for the first time by Peter the Great to his associate Alexander Menshikov, and then by Catherine the Great to her lover Grigory Potemkin. After 1801, with the incorporation of Georgia into the Russian Empire, various titles of numerous local nobles were controversially rendered in Russian as "kniazes". Similarly, many petty Tatar nobles asserted their right to style themselves "kniazes" because they descended from Genghis Khan.

See also "Velikiy Knyaz" article for more details.

Finally, within the Russian Empire of 1809-1917, Finland was officially called Grand Principality of Finland (fi Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta, sv Storfurstendömet Finland, ru Velikoye Knyazhestvo Finlyandskoye).

Balkans[link]

In the 19th century, the Serbian term knez (кнез) and the Bulgarian term knyaz (княз) were revived to denote semi-independent rulers of those countries, such as Alexander Karađorđević and Alexander of Battenberg. Prior to Battenberg, the title knyaz was born by Simeon I during the First Bulgarian Empire (9th-10th century). At the height of his power, Simeon adopted the title of tsar ("emperor"), as did the Bulgarian rulers after the country became officially independent in 1908.

As of Bulgaria's independence in 1908, Knyaz Ferdinand became Tsar Ferdinand, and the words knyaz/knyaginya began to be used instead for the tsar's children – the heir to the throne, for example, held the title Knyaz Tarnovski ("Knyaz of Tarnovo").

In parts of Serbia and western Bulgaria, knez was the informal title of the elder or mayor of a village or zadruga until around the 19th century. Those are officially called gradonačelnik (Serbia) and градоначалник (gradonachalnik) or кмет (kmet) (Bulgaria).

See also[link]

• List of Grand Dukes of Russia
• List of Grand Duchesses of Russia

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Knyaz

Prince Andrei Mikhaylovich Volkonsky also Andrey, André, Mikhailovich, Michailovich, Volkonski, Volkonskiy, etc. (Russian: Андрей Михайлович Волконский, February 14, 1933 in Geneva, Switzerland – September 16, 2008 in Aix-en-Provence, France) was a Russian composer of classical music, conductor and harpsichordist. He was a key figure in Early Music Revival in Russia.

Biography[link]

A descendant of a Russian aristocratic princely family in exile, he was born in Geneva in 1933. As a child he played his improvisations to Sergei Rachmaninov. Then he studied piano with the legendary Dinu Lipatti. The Volkonsky family resettled in Moscow in 1947. From 1950 to 1954 he studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Yuri Shaporin, but was expelled for breaking some minor disciplinary rules. In 1956 Volkonsky began the career of a harpsichord player and a conductor. He pioneered performing renaissance and baroque music, which had hitherto not been played in the USSR. In 1965 he founded an ensemble of early music, called ‘Madrigal’.

He was among the first Soviet composers who began experimenting with twelve-tone and serial techniques. An early work in this style was his piano suite "Musica Stricta" (1956). His works greatly influenced his colleagues. Composing such music at that time was an act of courage: it was a protest against the suppression of freedom, and specifically against the requirement that the composers in Soviet Russia followed the narrowly-prescribed doctrines of the Socialist Realism. It is not surprising that his music, attempting at a real renewal and enrichment of the musical language in Russia, was banned from performance. Volkonsky said that he had been fighting for 25 years to establish and preserve his artistic individuality in Moscow before requesting an exit visa in December 1972.

"The next day I was expelled from the Union of Composers. All my concerts were cancelled. The record company was instructed not to release the records I had made…" (Andrei Volkonsky)^[1]

But he was not allowed to leave the country immediately. Five months of suspense and unemployment followed, during which he hounded the passport office and sold most of his belongings, including scores and books, to support himself.

"The Soviet authorities finally had the intelligence and wisdom to release the composer who was of no use to them in the fulfilment of their music five-year plans, who could not compose that only kind of music which was allowed in the Soviet Union… I was just a speck of dirt in the grand marble palace of the Soviet Culture." (Andrei Volkonsky)^[2]

Andrei Volkonsky emigrated to the West in 1973. He first returned to Geneva, where he was born, and later settled in Aix-en-Provence (in the South of France). He was married (1954–1960) to the poetess Helvi Jürisson (b. 05.10.1928). They had a son, prince Peeter Volkonski (Piotr Andreevitch Volkonsky) (b.12.09.1954), an acclaimed Estonian actor and rock-musician.

They are closely related to Eudoxia Streshneva, Natalia Naryshkina, Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia, Tsarevna Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia, Eudoxia Lopukhina, Maria Miloslavskaya, Praskovia Saltykova, Martha Skavronskaya, Ivan VI of Russia, Peter I of Russia, Peter II of Russia, Feodor III of Russia, Alexis of Russia, Ivan V of Russia etc.

Selected works[link]

• Piano Sonata in B♭ Major (1949)
• Rus, cantata on text by Nikolai Gogol (1952)
• The Face of the World, cantata on text by Paul Éluard (1952)
• Concerto for Orchestra (1953)
• Capriccio for orchestra (1954)
• Piano Quintet (1954)
• String Quartet (1955)
• Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op.8 (1955)
• Musica Stricta for piano (1956)
• Fantasia for Piano (1955)
• Two Japanese Songs for chorus, electric sound and percussion (1957)
• Music for 12 Instruments (1957)
• Serenade for Insect for chamber orchestra (1959)
• Mirror Suite for soprano and 5 players: Flute, Violin, Guitar, Organ and Percussion on text by Garcia Lorca (1960)
• Viola Sonata (1960)
• Lamentations of Schchaza for soprano, Cor Anglais, Violin, Marimba, Vibrafono, and Cembalo on text by Schchaza (1961)
• Jeu à Trois for flute, violin and harpsichord (1962)
• Concerto Itinérant for soprano, violin percussion and 26 instruments, text by Omar Khayam (1967)
• Replica for small orchestra (1969)
• Les mailles du Temps for 3 instrumental groups (1970)
• Mugham for tar and harpsichord (1974)
• Lied for 4 voices (1974)
• Immobile for piano and orchestra (1978)
• Was noch lebt for mezzo soprano and string trio on text by Johannes Bobrowski (1985)
• Psalm 148 for chorus (1989)
• Carrefour for ensemble (1992)

Film music

• Novye pokhozhdeniya Kota v Sapogakh (1958)/Новые похождения кота в сапогах (as A. Volkonsky)
• Marya-iskusnitsa (1960)/Марья-искусница/Maria, the Wonderful Weaver/The Magic Weaver (USA)
• Priklyucheniya Krosha (1961)/Приключения Кроша/Adventures of Krosh
• 3+2 (1962)/Three Plus Two/Tri plyus dva
• Voyna pod kryshami (1967)/Война под крышами/The War Under the Roofs
• Dead Season (1968)
• Mogila Lva (1971)/Могила льва/The Lion's Grave
• Pereprava (1987)/Переправа

Recordings[link]

• CTH 2502: ANDRE VOLKONSKY

Suite de los espejos/Spiegel-Suite/Mirror Suite/La Suite de miroirs Federico Garcia Lorca (1959)

1. Symbol 1:15

2. Der grofte Spiegel 0:15

3. Reflex 1:18

4. Strahlen 0:19

5. Widerhall 1:01

6. Shinto - Weg der Gotter 1:16

7. Die Augen 6:12

8. Initium 0:50

9. Schlaflied fur den schlafrigen Spiegel 5:16

Les Plaintes de Shchaza/Die Klagen der Shchaza/Laments of Shchaza (1960)

10. Lento ma non troppo 2:19

11. Presto 2:05

12. Lento rubato 6:38

13. Aussi vite que possible 5:07

Concert itinerant/Das wandernde Konzert/Wandering Concerto 30:33 (Omar Hayyam) (1964–67)

14.

(1-9) Lydia Davydova (Sopran), Andre Volkonsky (Orgel) und Solisten des Symphony Orchestra of Leningrad Philharmonic, Leitung: Igor Blazhkov. Aufnahme: 1967 (10-13) Lydia Davydova (Sopran), Andre Volkonsky (Cembalo) und Solisten des Symphony Orchestra of Leningrad Philharmonic, Leitung: Igor Blazhkov. Aufnahme: 1965 (14) Tatiana Marushchak (Sopran), Grigory Sandomirsky (Violine), Natalia Pshenichnikova (Flote), Mark Pekarsky Percussion Ensemble, Collegium Musicum Chamber Orchestra, Leitung: Timur Mynbaev Live-Aufnahme beim,,Alternativa?" Festival Moskau im Oktober 1989

Bella, CD, ADD, 1965-1989

Notes[link]

1. ^ Cit.: Boris Schwarz. Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia. Indiana University Press, 1983.
2. ^ Cit.: The New York Times, June the 5th, 1973.

Bibliography[link]

• Yuri Kholopov: Andrei Volkonsky the initiator: a profile of his life and work, in «Ex oriente...II» Nine Composers from the former USSR: Andrei Volkonsky, Sergei Slonimsky, Alemdar Karamanov, Valentin Silvestrov, Nikolai Karetnikov, Roman Ledenyov, Faraj Karaev, Victor Ekimovsky, Vladimir Tarnopolsky, Edited by Valeria Tsenova, English Edition only, (studia slavica musicologica, Bd. 30), 245 pp., music illus., ISBN 3-928864-91-2 (Format 21 x 14,8 cm)
• Дружинин, Фёдор. Андрей Волконский// Воспоминания. Страницы жизни и творчества. Греко-латинский кабинет Ю.А.Шичалина, Консерватория им. Чайковского, Москва 2001
• Schmelz, J. Peter. Andrey Volkonsky and the Beginnings of Unofficial Music; Volkonsky's Rejoinder// Such Freedom, if only musical. Unofficial Soviet Music during the Thaw. Oxford University Press, New York, 2009, pp. 67–130; pp. 275–294

External links[link]

• Andrei Volkonsky on Wikilivres
• Andrei Volkonsky at the Internet Movie Database
• Ernst Kuhn, Berlin
• D. Smirnov: Russian Music in Exile
• D. Smirnov: Song from Underground (1) on Wikilivres
• D. Smirnov: Song from Underground (2) on Wikilivres
• CD information. Listen to
• Photo with Yuri Kholopov
• Prince Peeter Volkonsky (photo)