Alexander Nevsky

Alexander Nevsky (also transliterated in other ways, such as Aleksandr Nevskij) was a king of Medieval Russia who lived from May 30, 1220 to November 14, 1263. He defeated Swedish and German invaders and became a legendary figure.

Alexander Nevsky was the subject of a 1938 movie by the great Russian director, Sergei Eisenstein. Film historians consider it a classic. The film score was written by Sergei Prokofiev, the composer of Peter and the Wolf, who reworked it into a cantata for chorus and orchestra. The cantata is exciting, powerful, emotional music, particularly the Battle on the Ice section.