Andrei Eshpai

Andrei Yakovlevich Eshpai (15 May 19258 November 2015) was a Soviet composer. He was awarded the title of People’s Artist of the USSR in 1981. Biography Eshpai was born at Kozmodemyansk, Mari ASSR, Russian SFSR to a Mari father and Russian mother. A Red Army World War II veteran, he studied piano at Moscow Conservatory from 1948 to 1953 under Vladimir Sofronitsky, and composition under Nikolai Rakov, Nikolai Myaskovsky and Evgeny Golubev. He performed his postgraduate study under Aram Khachaturian from 1953 to 1956. Eshpai was the son of the composer Yakov Eshpai, and the father of the filmmaker Andrei Andreyevich Eshpai. On 8 November 2015, Eshpai died in Moscow from a stroke at the age of 90. Notable works Stage * Nobody Is Happier Than Me, operetta (1968–1969); libretto by V. Konstantinov and B. Ratser * Love Is Forbidden, musical (1973) * Angara, ballet (1974–1975) * A Circle, ballet (1979–1980) Orchestral * Symphonic Dances on Mari Themes (1951) * Symphony no. 1 in E minor (1959) * Symphony no. 2 in A major “Praise the Light” (1962) * Symphony no. 3 (1964) * Symphony no. 4 “Symphony-Ballet” (1980–1981) * Simon Bolivar, Symphonic Poem (1982) * Symphony No. 5 (1985) * Symphony N