On the Hills of Manchuria

Original sheet music for Ilya Alekseevich Shatrov's Op. 3 Mokshanski Polk Na Sopkakh Manchzhyrii Waltz (Mokshi Regiment on the Hills of Manchuria - more commonly known as On the Hills of Manchuria) 1906. Shatrov (1879 or 1885 - 1952) was a Russian military musician, conductor, and composer, who served during the Russo-Japanese War. In 'On the Hills of Manchuria', Shatrov recounts the final land battle of the war, the Battle of Mukden, where the Mokshanki Regiment was encircled by Japanese forces for 11 days, sustaining severe casualties. The Waltz was an immense success; shortly after it was published, poet Stepan Petrov (Skitalets) wrote lyrics to the music. It was later featured in several films; Nikita Mikhalkov's Urga (1991), Onegin (1999), and Fortress of War (2010). The illustrated cover depicts the Battle of Mukden; soldiers fire canons and march in formation on a rocky hillside with explosions in the background. Published by Oskar Knaube, printed by V. Grosse in Moscow. Fair condition, staining, tears on the spine, creasing. Two purple ink stamps on the cover.