Russia on Music Theory Print

Aaron Avshalomov

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Aaron Avshalomov (; 11 November 1894 – 16 April 1965) was a Russian-born Jewish composer. His work included several ballets, two operas, a violin concerto, four symphonies and a flute concerto. Early life Born into a Mountain Jewish family in Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, Russia, Avshalomov was sent for medical studies to Zürich. After the October Revolution in 1917, which made further studies in Europe impossible, his family sent him to the United States. Career Less than a year later, he chose to move to China, Between 1918 and 1947, he worked to create a synthesis of Chinese musical elements and Western techniques of orchestral composition. Among the first works of this type that he created was the opera Kuan Yin, which premiered in Peking in 1925. In the spring of 1935, at the invitation of He Luting, he orchestrated the newly composed March of the Volunteers by Nie Er for the film Children of Troubled Times (1935), making him the first to orchestrate what would become the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China. Avshalomov made his main livelihood at bookstores and libraries. He was the head librarian of the Public Library, Shanghai Municipal Council for 15 years from 1928 un

Abdalla El-Masri

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Abdallah Hani El Masri عبدالله هاني المصري (born 1962, Beirut) is a Lebanese -Russian composer, now resident in Kuwait, of mostly orchestral and chamber works that have been performed in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Life and career El-Masri studied guitar with Isaa Escaf at a music school in Hammana from 1977 to 1979 and studied guitar and music theory with Joseph Ashkhanyan at the Centre Culturel Espagnol in Beirut from 1979 to 1982. He then studied composition with Konstantin Batashov and Roman Ledenyov, theory and harmony with Yuri Vorontsov and Yuri Kholopov and orchestration with Nikolai Rakov at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow from 1982 to 1993, where he earned his MFA in 1991 and DMus in 1993. Among his honors is an honorable mention in the young composers competition of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (1988). He has been an active member of the Russian Composers Union since 1998. His music has been performed in Egypt, France, Germany, Kuwait, Lebanon, Russia, and Switzerland. El-Masri is also active in other positions. He founded the vocal ensemble Al-Jabal in 1977 and wrote songs for it from 1977 to 1982. Later he founded the vocal ensemble Al-Wilada in 1984, wh

Abdylas Maldybaev

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Abdylas Maldybaevich Maldybaev (; July 7, 1906 – June 1, 1978) was a Soviet and Kyrgyz composer, actor, and operatic tenor singer. Maldybaev was one of the composers of the state anthem of the Kirghiz SSR and is still renowned for his operatic composition. He helped popularize Kyrgyz music by skillfully using Western European techniques. The Kyrgyz one som banknote pictures him. Maldybayev provided folk melodies and composed music which was organized and prepared by Russian composers Vladimir Vlasov and Vladimir Fere into six Soviet state operas and other works. Their first full opera was Ai-churek. The collective is usually hyphenated as Vlasov-Fere-Maldybayev, which also composed the Kirghiz national anthem. Works * Ai-Churek, opera in four acts after an episode of the “Manas Epos” (1938–1939) Libretto: D. Tursubekov, D. Bokonbaev and K. Malikov. First performance in 1939 in Frunze. * The History of Happiness, cantata after V. Vinnikov (1949) * On the Banks of Issyk-Kula, opera after K. Bayalinov and V. Vinnikov (1950) * Toktogul, opera (1958) His work has been recorded and issued on media including: * Ai-Churek, LP Melodiya D 07269-74: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Kirgh

Achilles Alferaki

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Achilles Nikolayevich Alferaki (; 3 July 1846 – 27 December 1919) was a Russian composer and politician of Greek descent. His brother was Sergei Alphéraky. He served as the mayor of Taganrog from 1880 to 1888. Biography Alferaki was born in Kharkov in the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine), to Nikos and Maria Alferakis. He spent his childhood in Taganrog, present-day Rostov Oblast, in the Alferaki Palace on Catholic Street (now Frunze Street) designed by the architect Andrei Stackenschneider. Alferaki was educated at home before attending the historical and philological faculty at Moscow University. There he also studied music theory. In 1870, he returned to Taganrog due to family matters. In 1873, following the death of Lev Kulchitsky, the governor of Taganrog, Alferaki briefly served as acting governor. Between 1880 and 1888, he served as mayor of Taganrog. He then moved to Saint Petersburg. There, he became the chancellor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1891 and later the director of the Russian Telegraph Agency. Alferaki died in Saint Petersburg in 1919. One of his family’s descendants was Anna Marly, a Russian-born French singer and songwriter, author of Chant des Par

Adolf Schulz-Evler

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Adolf Andrey Schulz-Evler (12 December 185215 May 1905) was a Polish-born composer. Born in Radom, Poland (at that time part of the Russian Empire), he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory, then under Carl Tausig in Berlin. From 1884 to 1904 he taught at the Kharkiv Music School. He wrote about 52 original pieces. His piano transcription of Johann Strauss II’s Blue Danube Waltz: Arabesques on “An der schönen blauen Donau” has been recorded by many pianists, including Jorge Bolet, Jan Smeterlin, Marc-André Hamelin, Zlata Chochieva, Earl Wild, Leonard Pennario, Piers Lane, Byron Janis, Isador Goodman, Benjamin Grosvenor and Josef Lhévinne. His list of works includes: * Op 2: Invitation a la Valse (Jurgenson) * Op 4: Variations in G major (Jurgenson) * Op 5: Melodie (Jurgenson) * Op 6: Nocturne in F major (Jurgenson) * Op 8: Revelation I in B major (Jurgenson) * Op 9: Revelation II in E major (Jurgenson) * Op 10: Revelation III in F major (Jurgenson) * Op 11: Serenade (Jurgenson) * Op 12: “Arabesques” Variations on the Blue Danube Waltz Strauss (Jurgenson) * Op 14: Rhapsodie Russe for Piano & Orchestra (Jurgenson) * Op 17: Etude pour les octaves (Jurgenson) * Fantaisie (Johansen) * Melo

Airat Ichmouratov

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Airat Rafailovich Ichmouratov (, Tatar Cyrillic: Айрат Рафаил улы Ишмурат, born 28 June 1973) is a Russian-born Canadian composer, conductor and klezmer clarinetist of Volga Tatar descent. He is a founding member and clarinetist of award-winning Montreal-based klezmer group Kleztory and invited professor at Laval University in Quebec, Canada. Early life Ichmouratov was born and raised in Kazan, the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. He is the second child of Razima Ichmouratova (Gatina) and Rafail Ichmouratov. Airat Ichmouratov is a representative of a well-known Tatar theatrical dynasty. His grandfather, Riza Fakhrutdinovich Ishmurat (Ishmuratov), was a playwright, publicist, and director. He was an Honored Artist of the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic). His grandmother, Rashida Abdulazyanovna Ziganshina, was an actress at the Galiaskar Kamal Tatar Academic Theatre, as well as a playwright and public figure, and was a People’s Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Russian Federation. At the age of seven, Ichmouratov began his musical education at Kazan Children’s Music School No. 3, named after Röstäm Yaxin. There, he initially

Aleksander Eduard Thomson

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Aleksander Eduard Thomson (31 January 1845, in Pringi – 20 October 1917, in Petrograd) was an Estonian composer. He is regarded as the founder of Estonian national choral music. In 1865, he graduated from Latvian musical pedagogue Jānis Cimze’s seminar in Valga. From 1870 to 1872 he studied mathematics at the University of Tartu. He then worked as a teacher in Kanepi and Vana-Võidu near Viljandi and in the German church school in Petergof, Russia. At that time he was already organizing choral events with a relatively large number of participants. Songs * “Kantele” * “Sing, sing o mouth” * “Kannel” * “Laula, laula, suukene” * “Arg kosilane” * “Ketra Liisu” * “Pulmalaul” * “Sokukene” * “Tantsulaul” * “Oh mu armas isamaja” * “Mardilaul” * “Rootsi rahvaviis” * “Suur on, Jumal, Su ramm” References

Aleksander Gurilyov

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Aleksander L’vovich Gurilyov (Russian: Александр Львович Гурилёв; 3 September 1803 – 11 September 1858) was a composer, pianist, violinist, and music teacher who largely enriched the traditional romantic Russian repertoire through his solid technical accomplishments. He composed well over 200 pieces imbued with romantic, sentimental moods and subtle lyricism which enjoyed great success in Russia. He wrote numerous morceaux (short pieces) in a proto-dramatic, lyric declamatory style, all pre-dating the aesthetics of Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky. Family Aleksander was born in Semyonovskoye, Serpukhov Oblast into the family of serf musicians in the court of Count V.G. Orlov. His father, Lev Gurilyov, was the first to teach him music, beginning with rudimentary introductions. Training Aleksander was raised as a member of the court of Count Vladimir Orlov’s country estate Otrada, near Moscow. He was taught violin by his father, Lev Gurilyov, a serf musician and kapellmeister in the orchestra of the Orlovs. Together with his children, he took lessons in piano playing from Russian-based pianist of Irish origin John Field and later studied music theory under the guidance of Ios

Aleksander Kunileid

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Aleksander Kunileid (born Aleksander Saebelmann; 22 November 1845 – 27 July 1875), was an Estonian composer. He is one of the founding figures of Estonian choral music. Life and work Aleksander Peeter Karl Saebelmann (or Säbelmann) was born in 1845 in Audru in the district of Pärnu, the son of a teacher. Like his brother, Friedrich August Saebelmann, he displayed musical gifts from an early age. His first musical education was with his father, from whom he learned to play the organ and the piano. As a 16-year-old, Saebelmann attended the Vidzeme teacher’s seminary in Valka (the Latvian town of Valka lies alongside its Estonian twin, Valga), where he studied with the choral master Jānis Cimze. Saebelmann graduated from the teacher’s seminary in 1865 and took up a teaching post in the small village of Paistu for three years. There he frequently played the organ in the local church. He befriended prominent figures from the Estonian national awakening, including Carl Robert Jakobson, Johann Voldemar Jannsen, and the latter’s daughter, Lydia Koidula. He took the name “Kunileid”, in preference to the Germanic-seeming “Saebelmann”, from Jakobson’s motto Otsi, kuni leiad (“Seek, until you

Aleksander Läte

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Aleksander Läte (12 January 1860, in Pikasilla, Aakre Parish, Kreis Dorpat – 8 September 1948, in Tartu) was an Estonian composer, conductor and music critic. He is also known as the first Estonian professional music critic. In 1895, he started his education at Dresden Conservatory and graduated it in choir composition speciality. Since 1932, he led the piano factory Sprenk-Läte, located in Tartu. His brother was the piano master Eugen Sprenk-Läte (1871–1932), who ran the J. Moritz piano factory in Tartu, but was later a business manager. Founded his own piano workshop in Tartu in 1926, where he made pianos. Aleksander Läte continued his brother’s work after his death. Works * Five Cantatas * Kalevala (overture) (1901) * Eesti tants (for symphony orchestra, 1904) * Tempo di mazurka (for symphony orchestra, 1904) References

Aleksandr Kasyanov (composer)

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Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Kasyanov (13 February 1982) was a Soviet and Russian composer, conductor, pianist and professor. He studied privately in his youth with Mily Balakirev and Alexander Glazunov before pursuing studies at the Petrograd Conservatory from which he graduated. At that conservatory he studied under Nikolay Sokolov (music composition) and Sergei Lyapunov (piano). Works * Iola «Иола» (1923), * Stepan Razin, «Степан Разин» (1939) on the Cossack Stepan Razin revised 1953, 3rd revision 1977 given at the Bolshoi * Partizantka «Партизанка» (1941) * Foma Gordeyev «Фома Гордеев» (1946) revised 1966 Kromlyovsky Theatre * In the Far North «На дальнем Севере» (1947), * Yermak «Ермак» (1957) on the Cossack Yermak Timofeyevich Notes References

Aleksandr Sheremetev

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Count Aleksandr Dmitriyevich Sheremetev (11 March 1859 – 18 May 1931) was a Russian composer, conductor and entrepreneur. He founded his own private symphony orchestra in 1882, and from 1898 organized public concerts in Saint Petersburg that involved the orchestra and a choir he had inherited from his father, Dmitri Sheremetev. He also founded the Musical Historical Society in 1910, which gave free lecture recitals involving his orchestra and choir. Sheremetev conducted the Russian premiere of Richard Wagner’s Parsifal in a series of three concerts in 1906; his conducting on that occasion was described by the press as “primitive”. This was followed by Sheremetev conducting the opera’s first Russian staging on 21 December 1913 (according to the Russian Old Style calendar; 3 January 1914 according to the standard Western calendar), performed at the Hermitage Theatre before the Imperial Family, the diplomatic corps, representative members of the State Duma and senior government officials. After two further performances there, the production transferred to the Theatre of Musical Drama. On 10 June 1883 Sheremetev married Marie Heyden (born 1863 in Reval), daughter of Governor-General of

Aleksandr Varlamov (composer, born 1801)

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Alexander Egorovich Varlamov (or Aleksandr Yegorovich Varlamov; ; 27 November 1801 – 27 October 1848) was a 19th-century composer, singer, teacher, conductor, and one of the founding fathers of the genre of the Russian art song. He is recorded as being one of the first Russian creators to devise a technical process of singing in his monograph, Polnaya Shkola Penia - The Complete School of Singing (Moscow, 1840) He was also the notable father of Russian, 20th-century Actor Konstantin Varlamov and the great-grandfather of 20th-century composer Alexander Vladimirovich Varlamov. His art songs were famed for their Russian motives and authentic capture of everyday experiences. So much so that many of his songs were immortalized in literature by notable Russian and American authors and playwrights such as N. Gogol, I. Turgenev, and J. Galsworthy. Family Alexander Egorovich Varlamov was born into a poor family on the 15th (27th) of November, 1801. Education Alexander’s vocal talent and musical acumen pronounced itself early. Around the age of nine, he was able to learn music solely by hearing and was said to have a beautiful singing voice. He showed a particular interest in church music an

Aleksandr Yurasovsky

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Alexander Ivanovich Yurasovsky (June 15, 1890 – January 31, 1922) was a conductor and composer active in the Russian Empire and later in the Soviet Union. Biography Yurasovsky was born in the town of Mishkovo located within the Oryol district. He studied piano with E.P. Savina and musical composition with Peter Nikolaevich Renchitsky, Reinhold Glière and Alexander Gretchaninov, graduating from Moscow University in 1913 with a degree in law. He made his conducting debut in 1912. After time in the Russian Army from 1914 to 1917, he resumed his musical activity, conducting concerts in Kharkiv, Odessa, and Rostov-on-Don. He held administrative and conducting positions, and orchestrated Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 2 as well as Suite of Preludes (containing preludes Op. 23, No 3, 4, 10, and Op. 32, No 12, 13). List of works Opera *Trilby (libretto by composer from the novel by George du Maurier) Orchestra works *In the Moonlight, op. 6 (1911) *Pastel (2 Pictures, 1911) *Ghosts, symphonic poem, op. 8 (1912) *Spring Symphony (1918) *Poem-concerto for piano and orchestra (1918) *Suite (1922) Chamber music *Dramatic sonata cello and piano. (1911) *Piano Trio (1911) Piano music *4 Preludes (

Aleksandr Zatsepin

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Aleksandr Sergeyevich Zatsepin (; born 10 March 1926) is a Russian composer, known for his soundtracks to movies, notably comedies directed by Leonid Gaidai. He received the titles of People’s Artist of Russia (2003) and Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation (2025). Biography Aleksandr was born on 10 March 1926 in Novosibirsk in the family of the surgeon Sergei Dmitriyevich Zatsepin and teacher Valentina Boleslavovna Oksentovich. In 1941, Aleksandr’s father was arrested under Article 58 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. After his release, he did not return to his family. The mother raised her son alone. After graduating from high school number 12, he entered the Novosibirsk Institute of Railway Engineers. In March 1945 he was expelled from the university and drafted into the army. While in the military service, he independently mastered playing several instruments. The platoon commander, where Aleksandr served, was the future artist Yevgeny Matveyev, who invited Aleksandr to participate in the army amateur performances. As a result, he was admitted to the Novosibirsk Army Song and Dance Ensemble. After leaving the reserve in 1947, he worked at the Novosibirsk Philharmonic as

Alexander Abramsky

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Alexander Abramsky (; 22 January 1898 in Lutsk – 29 August 1985 in Moscow) was a Soviet composer. He was known for his adaptation of folk music within his compositions. Abramsky was born on January 10 (22), 1898 in the city of Lutsk. His father, Savvaty Vasilyevich (Shevel Volfovich) Abramsky (1859 -?), was a Jewish hospital doctor, and was married to Anna Fedorovna Burdo who had two sons, Mikhail and Alexander. By all accounts, Abramsky’s relationship with his father was warm and congenial. Compositions Orchestral * Three symphonies Cantata * “Breath of the Earth” (poems by V. Khlebnikov) * “The stacks are burning” (poems by E. Verhaeren, translated by V. Bryusov) * “Juno’s Lover” (poems by V. Khlebnikov) Oratorio * “Man Walks” (text by V. Kuznetsov and V. .Semernin) * “Round Dances” (text by V. Kuznetsov and V. Semernin) Instrumental * “Five Compressed Messages” for strings and piano Piano * “Sonata laconique” (“Brief Sketch”) * “Pasionaria” (“Pasionary”) * “Spanish Rhapsody” Writings * 1936: “Opera On The Collective Farm.” Mass Musical Movement (5), no. 34. References

Alexander Alyabyev

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Alexander Aleksandrovich Alyabyev (; 15 August 17876 March 1851), also rendered as Alabiev or Alabieff, was a Russian composer known as one of the fathers of the Russian art song. He wrote seven operas, twenty musical comedies, a symphony, three string quartets, more than 200 songs, and many other pieces. Biography Born to a wealthy family of Governor Alexander Vasilievich Alyabyev in Tobolsk in Siberia, Alyabyev learned music in his early years. He joined the Russian Army in 1812, during the Napoleonic War, and fought as an officer until 1823. He participated in the entry of the Russian forces into Dresden and Paris, and he won two awards. In February 1825 Alyabyev and three others took part in an all-night card game which ended with retired colonel T.M. Vremev being accused of cheating and struck first by Alyabyev and then also by the two other players. The colonel died a few days later, possibly from a ruptured spleen, and Alyabyev was arrested on a charge of murder. While the evidence was not conclusive, Tsar Nicholas I expressly ordered him into exile to his native town of Tobolsk. Freed in 1831, he spent some years in the Caucasus before returning to Moscow, where he died in

Alexander Arkhangelsky (composer)

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Alexander Andreyevich Arkhangelsky () (23 October 1846, in Staroye Tezikovo, Penza Governorate – 16 November 1924, in Prague) was a Russian composer of church music and a conductor. He “received his initial musical education at the Penza Theological Seminary; from childhood sang in the choir of the Archbishop of Penza; later taught singing in the Penza Seminary; in 1872 passed the examination at the Imperial Court Chapel for the title of precentor. From 1873 served as conductor of a number of church choirs in St. Petersburg, among them the choir of Count Sheremetev (1889-1898). In 1880 organized his own choir in St. Petersburg, replacing boys’ voices with women’s; from 1883 toured with this choir in Russia and abroad, performing Russian and Western sacred music, secular choruses and arrangements of folk songs. In 1902 organized the Church Singers’ Benefit Society in St. Petersburg; taught choral singing in various educational institutions, and published choral anthologies. Arkhangelsky made an important contribution to Russian choral and church singing: beginning with simple arrangements of church chants, which included the complete cycle of hymns for the entire year, he later enri

Alexander Borodin

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Family#

Borodin was born in Saint Petersburg as an illegitimate son of a 62-year-old Georgian nobleman, Luka Stepanovich Gedevanishvili, and a 25-year-old Russian woman, Evdokia Konstantinovna Antonova. Due to the circumstances of Alexander’s birth, the nobleman had him registered as the son of one of his Russian serfs, Porfiry Borodin, hence the composer’s Russian last name. As a result of this registration, both Alexander and his nominal Russian father Porfiry were officially serfs of Alexander’s biological father Luka. The Georgian father emancipated Alexander from serfdom when he was 7 years old and provided housing and money for him and his mother. Despite this, Alexander was never publicly recognized by his mother, who was referred to by young Borodin as his “aunt”. Despite his status as a commoner, Borodin was well provided for by his Georgian father and grew up in a large four-storey house, which was gifted to Alexander and his “aunt” by the nobleman. Although his registration prevented enrollment in a proper gymnasium, Borodin received good education in all of the subjects through private tutors at home. During 1850 he enrolled in the Medical–Surgical Academy in Saint Petersburg, which was later the workplace of Ivan Pavlov, and pursued a career in chemistry. On graduation he spent a year as surgeon in a military hospital, followed by three years of advanced scientific study in western Europe. During 1862, Borodin returned to Saint Petersburg to begin a professorship of chemistry at the Imperial Medical-Surgical Academy He began taking lessons in composition from Mily Balakirev during 1862. Music remained a secondary vocation for Borodin besides his main career as a chemist and physician.

Alexander Fridlender

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Alexander Grigoryevitch Fridlender (; 2/15 July 1906 – 13 September 1980) was a Soviet composer, pianist and conductor, as well as professor at the Urals Mussorgsky State Conservatoire. Life Fridlender was born in Saint Petersburg. He studied at the Leningrad Central Music College (1925–1929) and graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory in 1933. and the State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (1943–1947). He taught at the Urals Mussorgsky State Conservatoire. He composed several operas, instrumental music such as suites, music for plays, songs. Selected compositions * 1941: The Mountain Fairy Tale (), a ballet based on “The Mistress of the Copper Mountain”. * 1944: The Stone Flower, a ballet based on the story of the same name. * 1958: Without a Dowry (), a ballet based on the play of the same name. * 1962: Snow (), a ballet * 1966: Zoya (), a choreographic poem * 1967: Petersburgers (), an opera based on the poem by Olga Bergholz. * 1970: The Cake in the Sky (), a comedy opera based on the story by Gianni Rodari La torta in cielo. * 1977: Lieutenant Lermontov (), a choreographic poem References External links * List of compositions

Alexander Glazunov

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Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov (10 August 1865 – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was instrumental in the reorganization of the institute into the Petrograd Conservatory, then the Leningrad Conservatory, following the Bolshevik Revolution. He continued as head of the Conservatory until 1930, though he had left the Soviet Union in 1928 and did not return. Glazunov successfully reconciled nationalism and cosmopolitanism in Russian music. While he was the direct successor to Balakirev’s nationalism, he tended more towards Borodin’s epic grandeur while absorbing a number of other influences. These included Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestral virtuosity, Tchaikovsky’s lyricism and Taneyev’s contrapuntal skill. Younger composers such as Prokofiev and Shostakovich eventually considered his music old-fashioned, while also admitting he remained a composer with an imposing reputation, and a stabilizing influence in a time of transition and turmoil. Biography Prodigy Glazunov was born in Saint Petersburg, the son of a wealthy publisher. His father

Alexander Goedicke

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Alexander Fyodorovich Goedicke (; 4 March 18779 July 1957) was a Russian and Soviet composer and pianist. Early life Alexander Goedicke was born in Moscow on 4 March 1877. He was Nikolai Medtner’s first cousin. Alexander’s father Fyodor Goedicke, a minor composer and pianist, was Medtner’s mother’s brother and his first teacher. Career Goedicke was a professor at Moscow Conservatory. With no formal training in composition, he studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory with Galli, Pavel Pabst and Vasily Safonov. He received advice on music theory from Julius Conus, Nikolai Mikhailovich Ladukhin and Anton Arensky. He was also influenced by Sergei Taneyev. Goedicke won the Anton Rubinstein Competition in 1900. Despite his lack of traditional guidance, his compositional efforts were rewarded when he won the Rubinstein Prize for Composition at the young age of 23. Goedicke died at the age of 80 in Moscow on 9 July 1957. Selected works ;Opera * Virineya (Виринея) (1913–1915); libretto by the composer * At the Crossing (У перевоза) (1933); libretto by the composer * Jacquerie (Жакерия) (1933–1937); libretto by the composer * Macbeth (Макбет) (1944); libretto by the composer after William Sh

Alexander Gretchaninov

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Alexander Tikhonovich Gretchaninov (; 25 October 1864 – 3 January 1956) was a Russian Romantic composer. Life Gretchaninov started his musical studies rather late, because his father, a businessman, had expected the boy to take over the family firm. Gretchaninov himself related that he did not see a piano until he was 14 and began his studies at the Moscow Conservatory in 1881 against his father’s wishes and without his knowledge. His main teachers there were Sergei Taneyev and Anton Arensky. In the late 1880s, after a quarrel with Arensky, he moved to St. Petersburg where he studied composition and orchestration with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov until 1893. Rimsky-Korsakov immediately recognized Gretchaninov’s extraordinary musical imagination and talent and gave him much extra time as well as considerable financial help. This allowed the young man, whose parents were not supporting him, to survive. Out of this came an important friendship, which only ended in 1908 with Rimsky’s death. As such, it is not surprising that Rimsky’s influence can be heard in Gretchaninov’s early works, such as his String Quartet No. 1, a prize-winning composition. Around 1896, Gretchaninov returned to Mosc

Alexander Ilyinsky

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Alexander Alexandrovich Ilyinsky (; 24 January 185923 February 1920) was a Russian music teacher and composer, best known for the Lullaby (Berceuse), Op. 13, No. 7, from his orchestral suite “Noure and Anitra”, and for the opera The Fountain of Bakhchisaray set to Pushkin’s poem of the same name. Life Alexander Ilyinsky was born in Tsarskoye Selo, Russia, in 1859. His father was a physician in the Alexander Cadet Corps. His general education was in the First Cadet Corps at St Petersburg, and he served in the Artillery from 1877 to 1879. His music studies were in Berlin, under Theodor Kullak and Natanael Betcher He returned to Russia in 1885, graduated from the St Petersburg Conservatory, His major work, the 4-act opera The Fountain of Bakhchisaray, to a libretto based on Alexander Pushkin’s poem, was produced in Moscow in 1911. He also wrote a symphony, a Concert Overture, He died in 1920 in Moscow. Orgy of the Spirits, an excerpt from The Fountain of Bakhchisaray, was used in the scores of the film East of Java (1935), as well as the adventure serials Tim Tyler’s Luck (1937) and Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars (1938). References Sources * * Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5

Alexander Knaifel

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Alexander Knaifel (; also Alexandr Knaifel; 28 November 1943, Tashkent – 27 June 2024, Berlin) was a Soviet and Russian composer, often described as one of the most prominent Russian composers of his generation Music From the very beginning of his composing career he associated himself with the group of so-called “avant-garde” Soviet composers that include Andrey Volkonsky, Edison Denisov, Alfred Schnittke, Sofia Gubaidulina, Valentin Silvestrov, Leonid Hrabovsky, Arvo Pärt, Tigran Mansuryan, and others. The works of the 1990s and 2000s were strongly influenced by religious themes and showed dramatic changes in his musical language. He wrote more than 80 compositions in various genres and also more than 40 scores for feature films and documentaries. His music often surprises by its extravagant ideas, strange combination of the instruments or incredibly long duration. For example, his very slow and quiet Agnus Dei (1985) written for four instrumentalists (each of whom plays several instruments including keyboards, percussion, electronics, saxophones and double bass) lasts exactly 120 minutes. Alexander Knaifel had a performance dedicated to his music in Ireland on 1 May 2009 as part

Alexander Kolker

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Alexander Naumovich Kolker (; 28 July 1933 – 1 August 2023) was a Soviet and Russian composer and Honored Artist of the RSFSR, awarded in 1981. Biography Alexander Naumovich Kolker was born in Leningrad. He was evacuated from the city in 1942 and returned in 1944. Since 1958 Alexander Kolker has worked as a professional composer. Kolker died in Saint Petersburg on 1 August 2023, a few days after his 90th birthday. Filmography * 1966 – We Fly to the Ocean * 1966 – White Night * 1967 – Private Life of Kuzyayev Valentin * 1968 – Songs Address - Youth * 1969 – Tomorrow, on April 3rd… * 1969 – Singing Guitars * 1970 – And People Need a Song So… * 1970 – Magic Power * 1971 – Shadowboxing * 1971 – Singing by Maria Pakhomenko * 1972 – The Last Days of Pompeii * 1974 – Krechinsky’s Wedding * 1975 – Love Will Remain * 1976 – Truffaldino from Bergamo * 1978 – Leaving Go Away * 1979 – Travel to Another City * 1979 – Three Men in a Boat * 1980 – Two-voice Melody * 1981 – Three Short Stories about Love * 1981 – Two Voices * 1982 – No One Can Replace You * 1989 – Death of Tarelkin Awards and honours Kolker is Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1981) and winner of the Lenin Komsomol Prize (1968). He

Alexander Kopylov

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Alexander Alexandrovich Kopylov or Kopilov (Александр Александрович Копылов, 14 July 1854 – 20 February 1911) was a composer and violinist from the Russian Empire. Kopylov studied for many years as a chorister and violinist in the Imperial Court Choir, where he would later teach for much of his life. (The Court Choir was modeled after the more famous one in Vienna, known today as the Vienna Boys Choir). He was unable to gain entrance to either of the major conservatories in Russia, but was nevertheless able to study composition privately with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Anatoly Liadov. Kopylov gained a reputation as a symphonist and composer of songs. Through his friendship with Rimsky-Korsakov, he became interested in chamber music, writing four string quartets. Wilhelm Altmann, the chamber music scholar and critic, writes in his Handbuch für Streichquartettspieler: Kopylov’s four carefully written string quartets show an outstanding command of proper quartet style. He gives all of the instruments mutually rich parts to play, alternating in exquisite fashion. His excellence is particularly strong in the sparkling themes. He is able to combine the external beauty of form with effec

Alexander Krein

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Alexander Abramovich Krein (; 20 October 1883– 25 April 1951) was a Soviet composer. Background Krein was born in Nizhny Novgorod on 20 October 1883. The Krein family was steeped in the klezmer tradition; his father Abram (who moved to Russia from Lithuania in 1870) was a noted violinist. All of the seven Krein brothers received their first musical training from him and became musicians; Alexander and Grigori made names for themselves as composers, David gained a strong reputation as a violinist. Of the three Krein family composers, Alexander, his brother Grigori, and Grigori’s son Julian, it is Alexander who composed the most music and thus to whom the most attention has been paid. After decades of posthumous neglect, however, his very name seems to have disappeared from international reference books. Studies and career In 1896, at the early age of 14, Alexander Krein entered the Moscow Conservatory where his studies included cello classes with Alexander von Glehn and composition lessons with Sergei Taneyev and Boleslav Yavorsky. His first works were published by P. Jurgenson in 1901. During the years immediately prior to the 1917 Revolution, he was on the faculty of the People’s

Alexander Mosolov

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Alexander Vasilyevich Mosolov (; 11 August 1900 – 11 July 1973) was a Soviet-era Russian composer known for his early futurist orchestral music, piano sonatas, and vocal music. A Moscow Conservatory graduate, his piece now called Iron Foundry (1926) gained international fame. Under Stalinism, Mosolov adhered to Soviet realism, composing with Kyrgyz and Turkmen folk music. Conflicts with authorities led to his expulsion from the Union of Soviet Composers (1936), a Gulag term (1937) reduced by professors’ intervention, and lifelong loss of stature. His output includes five piano sonatas (four extant), two piano concertos (the second incomplete), two cello concertos, a harp concerto, four string quartets, twelve orchestral suites, eight symphonies, and many choral and voice pieces. Early life Mosolov was born to an upper-middle-class family in Kiev, in the Russian Empire. His mother, Nina Alexandrovna, was a professional singer at the Bolshoi Theater and a graduate of the Kiev school of music, and she gave Mosolov his first musical lessons. The family moved to Moscow in 1904. Mosolov’s father, Vasiliy Alexandrovich, died a year later when Mosolov was five years old. After his father’s

Alexander Radvilovich

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Alexander Yuryevich Radvilovich (; born 1955) is a Russian composer, pianist, teacher, and lecturer from Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) who specializes in contemporary music discourses. He is the recipient of numerous domestic and foreign awards, and has had his compositions performed internationally, including Germany, Finland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. His musical style focuses on exploiting the extremes of music in order to create from them new modes of communication which are both accessible in nature for listeners yet complex in its language. Education From 1962 to 1973, Alexander studied in the Secondary Specialized Music School within the St. Petersburg Conservatory in piano and theory with the composer Vladimir Arzumanov. Alexander happened to be his first graduate, and due to this close relationship he would introduce Alexander to Nikolas Slonimsky. Alexander would go onto study at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the faculty of composition under Slonimsky, graduating in 1978 and continuing his education through participation in numerous courses and private tutorship with European (non-Russian) composers like Witold Lutoslavsky, Boguslaw Schaeffer, Ton de

Alexander Raskatov

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Alexander Mikhailovich Raskatov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Раска́тов; born 9 March 1953, in Moscow) is a Russian composer. Life Alexander Raskatov’s father was a leading journalist of the magazine Krokodil, his mother was a medical doctor and war hero of World War II. Raskatov studied composition under Albert Leman and Tikhon Khrennikov at the Moscow Conservatory. In 1990 he was composer in residence at Stetson University and 1998 in Lockenhaus. Raskatov was a member of the Union of Soviet Composers; after the collapse of the Soviet Union he is a member of the Composers’ Union of Russia. In the early nineties he moved to Germany, then to France in 2004. Raskatov is a member of the Russian Authors’ Agency (RAO). Musical style Raskatov’s music, especially his sound development, is influenced by Modest Mussorgsky and Anton Webern. His vocal works are often based on texts of Russian poets like Alexander Blok or Joseph Brodsky. His viola concerto ‘Path-Put-Chemin-Weg’ was commissioned on the occasion of the 50th birthdays of Yuri Bashmet and Valeri Gergiev and premiered in Le Chatelet in January 2003. A documentary on the concerto was recorded by the Dutch National Television (NTR

Alexander Ritter

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Alexander Sascha Ritter (7 June 1833 – 12 April 1896) was a German composer and violinist. He wrote two operas, Der faule Hans and Wem die Krone?; a few songs; a symphonic waltz; and two symphonic fantasias. Ritter died in Munich. Life and career He was born in Narva, Estonia. He studied in Frankfurt am Main under Joachim Raff. In 1854 he married Wagner’s niece Franziska (1829–1895). They had a daughter Hertha, who in 1902 became the wife of the Austrian composer Siegmund von Hausegger. Ritter had a strong influence on Richard Strauss. He persuaded him to abandon the conservative style of his youth, and begin writing tone poems; he also introduced Strauss to the essays of Richard Wagner and the writings of Schopenhauer. He encouraged Strauss to write his first opera Guntram, but was deeply disappointed at the final version of the libretto, which Ritter took to be a rejection of Schopenhauerian-Christian ideals. See also * Wagner family tree External links * * *Grande Musica - Alexander Ritter *Libretti of some of his songs *Information about Wem die Krone?

Alexander Scriabin

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Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (6 January 1872 27 April 1915) was a Russian composer and pianist. Initially influenced by Frédéric Chopin, he composed in a relatively tonal, late-Romantic idiom. Later, independently of his contemporary Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed a highly dissonant musical language that transcended traditional tonality without being strictly atonal, aligning with his personal brand of metaphysics. He embraced the concepts of Gesamtkunstwerk and synesthesia, creating a colour-coded circle of fifths inspired by theosophy to associate colours with harmonies. Scriabin is widely considered the primary Russian symbolist composer and a major figure of the Silver Age of Russian Poetry. Scriabin was an innovator and one of the most controversial composer-pianists of the early 20th century. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia said of him, “no composer has had more scorn heaped on him or greater love bestowed.” Leo Tolstoy described Scriabin’s music as “a sincere expression of genius.” Scriabin’s oeuvre exerted a salient influence on the music world over time, and inspired many composers, such as Nikolai Roslavets and Karol Szymanowski. His musical aesthetics have been r

Alexander Serov

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Alexander Nikolayevich Serov (, 23 January 1820 – 1 February 1871) was a Russian composer and music critic. He is notable as one of the most important music critics in Russia during the 1850s and 1860s and as the most significant Russian composer in the period between Dargomyzhsky’s Rusalka and the works of Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and Tchaikovsky. Alexander Serov was the father of Russian artist Valentin Serov. Biography Alexander Serov was born in St. Petersburg on 11 January 1820, the son of Nikolai Ivanovich Serov, a Finance Ministry official. Serov’s maternal grandfather, Carl Ludwig Hablitz, was a naturalist of German-Jewish origin who was born in Königsberg and moved to Russia in childhood when his father was hired to be inspector of Moscow University’s printing department. In Russia, Hablitz became a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences among other high official posts. Serov’s father Nikolai wanted him to become a lawyer as well and enrolled him in the inaugural class of the Imperial School of Jurisprudence. who eventually became a famous art critic. Serov completed his studies in 1840 and started working as a lawyer in the government bureaucracy in St. Petersburg

Alexander Shenshin

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Alexander Alexeyevich Shenshin (; 1890–1944) was a Russian composer. Shenshin studied music with Boleslav Yavorsky, Alexander Gretchaninov, Reinhold Glière, and Semyon Kruglikov from 1907 to 1915. He received a teacher’s appointment to the Moscow Conservatory in 1922, and by 1940 he was a member of the Academy of Arts and the composer of the Moscow Children’s Theater. Shenshin was a member of the first Presidium of the Moscow Institute of Artistic Culture and a close friend of its president, Wassily Kandinsky, a noted painter who shared an interest in using scientific methods to further a synthesis of the arts. Kandinsky praised Shenshin’s theoretical work, in particular an analysis of two parts of Liszt’s composition Années de Pèlerinage: the “Sposalizio”, inspired by Raphael’s painting The Marriage of the Virgin, and the “Penseroso”, inspired by Michelangelo’s statue atop the tomb of Lorenzo II de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino. Shenshin counted the notes and bars in the music and translated them into graphic form, and he measured the corresponding painting and sculpture, linking them to the same mathematical formula. Works ;Piano *14 Preludes (1910) *17 Preludes (1910) ;Ballet *Ancient

Alexander Shulgin (musician)

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Alexander Valeryevich Shulgin (born August 25, 1964) is a Russian author and composer. He was born in Irkutsk, Russia, and currently lives in Moscow. Music career Shulgin’s career began at the age of 19 in Russian rock band Kruiz. Shulgin wrote compositions for the albums “Anna”, released in 1995, “Famillia, and “The eyes of the sky colour”. Shulgin helped “FM GROUP” to record their debut album, MADE IN RUSSIA and recorded an album of Alexander Byinov. Afterwards Shulgin recorded a solo album for “FM GROUP” lead-singer Alevtina Egorova, and also worked with Tatiana Ovsienko, Nastya Shirokova. In spring of 2005, Shulgin got the suggestion to write music for the new music serial with the tentative title “Primadonna”, the serial made for showing on the Russian TV Channel. For this “Primadonna” serial Alexander wrote 20 original songs, and at the very least three leading themes from the film and all the songs of a composer got into the final variant of “Primadonna”. Shulgin also wrote all the music filling-out for the new socio-political TV Channel “SPAS” (The Festival of the Saviour). Shulgin released his first solo album “Predstavlenie” (The Introduction), and Shulgin signed with The

Alexander Spendiaryan

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Alexander Afanasyevich Spendiarov (, November 1, 1871, Kakhovka, Russian Empire – May 7, 1928, Yerevan, Armenia) was a Russian composer and conductor of Armenian descent, founder of Armenian national symphonic music. Biography Alexander Spendiarov was born on 1 November (as 20 October) 1871 in Kakhovka, province of Tavrik (modern Ukraine). His artistic abilities were formed in early childhood. He inherited his musical abilities from his mother who played piano. When Alexander Spendiarov was seven he wrote a waltz. In 1890 he went to Moscow and studied for one year in the Natural Sciences faculty of Moscow University, and then in 1894 he graduated from the Law faculty. At the same time he continued his violin classes. In 1896 Alexander Spendiarov went to St. Petersburg to show his compositions to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, who greatly admired his music and encouraged him to turn deeper into his people’s folklore. From 1896 to 1900 he took private composition lessons with Rimsky-Korsakov. According to Alexander Glazunov, “Rimsky-Korsakov was perfectly satisfied with the results of Alexander Spendiarov’s work and considered him a serious, talented composer with a great flair for composi

Alexander Sukhanov

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Alexander Alekseevich Sukhanov (, 25 May 1952) is a Soviet and Russian poet, composer, bard and mathematician who created more than two hundred songs. Biography Alexander Sukhanov was born on 25 May 1952 in Saratov, Russia, USSR. During childhood he studied music, graduating from music school as a violin major. In 1974 Sukhanov earned an undergraduate degree (with honors) from the Mechanics and Mathematics Department of Moscow State University. He later earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the same institution. He taught mathematics at Gagarin Air Force Academy; since 1981 he has worked at the computational methods laboratory at MSU. In 1969 Sukhanov began writing music to his own lyrics, as well as to the poetry of Samuil Marshak, Iosif Utkin, Percy Shelley, Alexander Vertinsky, Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Rubtsov, and others. He gained wide success as a performer of his songs at concerts and festivals. Sukhanov composed scores for several plays, released a Melodia record as well several CD albums. Selected discography *Green Carriage, 1996 *Oh, you’re my cart …, 1998 *Romance of old age, 2000 *Snowdrops of tenderness, Disk 2, Disk 1, 2002 *Selected songs References Links * Home Pa

Alexander Taneyev

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Alexander Sergeyevich Taneyev (, also transliterated as Taneiev, Tanaiev, Taneieff, and Taneyeff in English; January 17, 1850, Saint Petersburg – February 7, 1918, Petrograd) was a Russian state official and composer of the late Romantic era, specifically of the nationalist school. Among his better-known works were three string quartets, believed to have been composed between 1898 and 1900. Alexander Taneyev is not well known outside Russia. His name is often confused with that of his distant cousin Sergei Taneyev (1856–1915). A member of Russian aristocracy, Taneyev was a high-ranking state official, serving for 22 years as the head of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Chancellery. His daughter Anna Vyrubova was a lady-in-waiting and best friend of Tsarina Alexandra. Vyrubova is best known for her friendship with the Romanov family and with the starets Grigori Rasputin. Background Alexander Taneyev inherited an enthusiasm for music from his parents. He was dissuaded from pursuing a career as a musician due to his position in the Russian upper class. After studying at university, he entered the Russian civil service, succeeding his father as director of the Imperial Chancellery. After 190

Alexander Tcherepnin

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Alexander Nikolayevich Tcherepnin (; 21 January 1899 – 29 September 1977) was a Russian-born composer and pianist. His father, Nikolai Tcherepnin (pupil of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov), and his sons, Serge Tcherepnin and Ivan Tcherepnin, as well as two of his grandsons (sons of Ivan), Sergei and Stefan, were composers. His son Serge was involved in the earliest development of electronic music and instruments. His mother was a member of the artistic Benois family, a niece of Alexandre Benois. Biography He was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and played the piano and composed prolifically from a very early age. He was stimulated in this activity by the atmosphere at home, which—thanks to his family’s Benois-Diaghilev connection—was a meeting place for many well-known musicians and artists of the day. By the time he began formal theory and composition studies in his late teens, he had already composed hundreds of pieces, including more than a dozen piano sonatas. Among his teachers in Russia were composer Victor Belyayev (pupil of Anatoly Lyadov and Alexander Glazunov), who prepared Tcherepnin for Saint Petersburg Conservatory; Leokadiya Kashperova (renowned pianist, protégée of Anton Ru

Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov

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Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov (13 April 1883 – 8 July 1946; born Koptelov or Koptelev) was a Soviet and Russian composer and founder of the Alexandrov Ensemble, who wrote the music for the State Anthem of the Soviet Union, which in 2000 became the National Anthem of the Russian Federation (with new lyrics). During his career, he also worked as a professor of the Moscow Conservatory, and became a Doctor of Arts. His work was recognized by the awards of the title of People’s Artist of the USSR and two Stalin Prizes. Background Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov, known as Sasha, was born on 13 April 1883 in Plakhino, a village in Ryazan Governorate south-east of Moscow. As a boy, his singing was so impressive that he traveled to Saint Petersburg to become a chorister at Kazan Cathedral. Career A pupil of Medtner, Alexandrov studied composition at Saint Petersburg and in Moscow, where he eventually became professor of music in 1918 and choirmaster at Christ the Savior from 1918 to 1922. Works In 1942, Stalin commissioned Alexandrov and lyricists Sergey Mikhalkov and Gabriel El-Registan to create a new Soviet national anthem, which was officially adopted on 1 January 1944 and was used

Alexander Veprik

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Alexander Moiseyevich Veprik, also Weprik, (, ; 23 June 1899 – 13 October 1958) was a Russian-(Ukrainian) Soviet composer and music educator. Veprik is considered one of the greatest composers of the “Jewish school” in Soviet music. Life Veprik was born in Balta, Podolia Governorate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine). He grew up in Warsaw and studied piano with Karl Wendling at the Leipzig Conservatory. At the onset of World War I, the family returned to Russia. Veprik studied composition with Alexander Zhitomirsky (1881–1937) in the Saint Petersburg Conservatory (1918–1921) and Nikolai Myaskovsky at the Moscow Conservatory (1921–1923). Veprik was active in the musical life of 1920–1930s. In 1923 he was active in the creation of the Society for Jewish Music, a focal point for Jewish composers in Moscow, and Jewish music flourished as a result of the activities of the Society. He taught at the Moscow Conservatory (1923–1941; professor from 1930; dean from 1938). In 1927 during a business trip in Austria, Germany and France, he met Arnold Schoenberg, Paul Hindemith, Maurice Ravel and Arthur Honegger. His music became well known in Europe and the United States during this time: nearly his

Alexander Vustin

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Alexander Kuzmich Vustin, also Voustin or Wustin (; 24 April 1943 – 19 April 2020) or COVID-19, as other sources report. Works Vustin’s works were published by Hans Sikorski. * Three Poems of Moses Teif for bass and piano, in Russian, translated by Yunna Moritz, (1965) * String Quartet (1966) * Symphony (1969) * Three Toropets songs for piano (1972) * Nocturnes for chamber ensemble and high voice in three movements (1972–1982) * Sonata for six for piccolo, flute, clarinet, viola, cello, and 5 string double bass (1973 * Lamento for piano (1974) * Toropets Songs for ensemble (1975 * The Word for winds and percussions, dedicated. text by Fried (1975) * Capriccio (tunes from the collection of M. Beregovsky) fr voice (mezzo-soprano), male voices and ensemble (1977–1982) * In memory of Boris Klyuzner (1977) for voice, violin, viola, cello and double bass, to the text by Yuri Olesha * Memoria-2, oncerto for percussion, keyboards and strings (1978) * Fairy Tale (Skazka) for oboe solo (1979) * Homecoming for voice and 13 instruments (2 string quartets, 2 pianos, horn, 2 percussion players), verses by Dmitri Shchedrovirsky (1981) * The Leisure Time of Kozma Prutkov (Dosugi Kozmy Prutkova) fo

Alexandre Dubuque

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Alexandre Ivanovich Dubuque, also Alexander and Dubuc (; 3 March 1812 – ), was a Russian pianist, composer and teacher of French descent. Life He was born and died in Moscow. His father was a refugee from the French Revolution who had fled to Russia. He studied piano under the tutelage of John Field. One of his works was “Do not scold me, my darling” (), which was played by Léon Theremin around the 1950s, and later by Kaia Galina Urb with Heiki Mätlik. Students * Mily Balakirev * Nikolai Zverev References Sources * External links *

Alexandre Villoing

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Alexandre Villoing (; 12 March 1804 – 2 September 1878) was a Russian pianist and music teacher best known for teaching Anton and Nikolai Rubinstein. Biography Alexandre Villoing was born in Moscow to a French émigré. At twelve years old, he was sent to the Golitsyn Hospital to study pharmacy, where he stayed until 1821. He later abandoned pharmacy and studied music with Franz Xaver Gebel and John Field. Villoing lived and taught music across the country from 1823 to 1830. He moved to Moscow in the 1830s. Around 1837, he took on Anton Rubinstein as a pupil. Villoing accompanied Rubinstein on his trip to Paris, sent by his mother, where his pupil unsuccessfully sought to enroll in the Paris Conservatory and performed in the Salle Érard. Villoing took Rubinstein on a tour of Europe, where Rubinstein gave concerts to great success. His teaching was highly praised. He also taught Nikolai Rubinstein. Returning to Russia, he enjoyed a reputation as a piano teacher. He took his stepdaughters to Paris, where they first appeared in a concert on 17 February 1862. Villoing returned to Moscow in the same year and moved to Saint Petersburg in September. Aside from the piano, he also played the

Alexei Lvov

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Alexei Fyodorovich Lvov (; 5 June 1798 – 28 December 1870) was a Russian composer, best known for the composition of the imperial-era Russian national anthem, God Save the Tsar. Biography Lvov was born into a family which was very interested in music. He was the son of Feodor Petrovich Lvov, who was Maestro of the Imperial Chapel in St Petersburg from 1826 to 1836 (having succeeded Bortniansky). Lvov codified the traditional Russian liturgical musical style called “Obikhod,” which is the standard repertory of most Russian Orthodox churches in the world. It is a simple style. These melodies were later edited and improved by Bakhmetev. Alexei Fyodorovich began violin lessons at a very young age and performed regularly in concerts given at his home: for instance, at 9 he was the soloist in a performance of a violin concerto by Viotti. Although he had a number of teachers in his youth, from the age of 19 onwards he began to study independently, seeking to develop his own personal style through careful attention to the works of such celebrated violinists as Corelli, Tartini, Viotti, Kreutzer and Rode. He nevertheless continued to study composition formally under the supervision of I. G.

Alexey Rybnikov

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Alexey Lvovich Rybnikov (; born July 17, 1945) is a modern Russian composer. He is the author of music for Soviet and Russian musicals (rock operas) The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta (, 1976) and Juno and Avos (, 1981, shown more than 700 times), for numerous plays and operas, for more than 80 Russian movies. More than 10 million discs with his music have been sold to 1989. Biography Alexey Rybnikov was born in Moscow on July 17, 1945. In 1962 he graduated from the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory. In 1967 he graduated from the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory in the composition class of Aram Khachaturian. Alexey composed one of his first works, “The Thief of Baghdad”, being influenced by a very popular at those times trophy film under the same name. In 1969 Rybnikov was admitted to the Union of Soviet Composers. In 1999, by decree of the Moscow Government, the Alexey Rybnikov Theater was established under the Moscow Committee for Culture. Rybnikov is a member of the United Russia party; in 2022, he supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Movie soundtracks Since 1965 Alexey has already started composing movie music. Since 1979 Rybnikov has been a member of the

Alexey Titov

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Alexey Nikolayevich Titov (; July 12, 1769 - November 8, 1827 ), was a Russian composer and violinist. His son, Nikolai Titov, was a composer, as were several other family members. Titov was born and died in St. Petersburg. Alongside his musical career, Titov was a major general in the Russian cavalry. His music, most of which is for the stage (operas, ballets, and incidental music), was primarily written for local St. Petersburg theater and dance companies. Strong Russian themes run through his choice of libretti, and his music makes copious use of Russian folk music. He was most popular for his comic operas such as Yam, or The Post Station (1805), The Winter Party, or The Sequel to Yam (1808) and The Wedding Eve Party, or Filakin’s Wedding (1809), which form a trilogy. All of them were staged in St. Petersburg. Operas Note: this list is incomplete. *Andromeda and Perseus (1802) *King Solomon’s Judgment (; 1803) *Judge Cupid, or The Argument of the Three Graces (; 1805) *Yam, or The Post Station ; 1805) * Nurzakhad (; 1807) *The Winter Party, or The Sequel to Yam (; 1808) *The Wedding Eve Party, or Filakin’s Wedding (; 1809) *Polixena (1809) *The Cossack Woman (1810) * Emmerik Tek

Alexey Verstovsky

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Alexey Nikolayevich Verstovsky () (March 1 1799 – November 17 1862) was a Russian composer, musical bureaucrat and rival of Mikhail Glinka. Biography Alexey Verstovsky was born at Seliverstovo Estate, Kozlovsky Uyezd, Tambov Governorate. The grandson of General A. Seliverstov and a captured Turkish woman, he was also a descendant of the Polish szlachta (gentry or aristocracy). A civil engineer by training, he became interested in music while he was studying at the Corps of Engineers in St Petersburg. He also studied piano, violin, musical theory and composition. John Field was among his teachers. At the age of 20 he became famous for his ‘opera-vaudeville’ Grandmother’s Parrots (1819). Excited by the success he continued to compose light music for this currently fashionable genre and composed more than 30 of them. He also created a series of ballads for voice and piano, which he called cantatas. The performance of them had often involved a theatrical action. One of them The Black Shawl or Moldavian Song (1823) a setting of Alexander Pushkin’s poem, became immensely popular in the aristocrats’ salons. In 1825 he was appointed as an ‘inspector of music’ in Moscow, in charge of the imper

Alfred Schnittke

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Early life#

Schnittke’s father, (1914–1975), was Jewish and born in Frankfurt. He moved to the Soviet Union in 1927 and worked as a journalist and translator from the Russian language into German. His mother, Maria Iosifovna Schnittke (née Vogel, 1910–1972), was a Volga German born in Russia. Schnittke’s paternal grandmother, Tea Abramovna Katz (1889–1970), was a philologist, translator, and editor of German-language literature. Alfred Schnittke was born in Engels in the Volga German ASSR of the Russian SFSR. He began his musical education in 1946 in Vienna, where his father had been posted. It was in Vienna, Schnittke’s biographer Alexander Ivashkin writes, where “he fell in love with music which is part of life, part of history and culture, part of the past which is still alive.” “I felt every moment there,” the composer wrote, “to be a link of the historical chain: all was multi-dimensional; the past represented a world of ever-present ghosts, and I was not a barbarian without any connections, but the conscious bearer of the task in my life.” Schnittke’s experience in Vienna “gave him a certain spiritual experience and discipline for his future professional activities. It was Mozart and Schubert, not Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, whom he kept in mind as a reference point in terms of taste, manner and style. This reference point was essentially Classical … but never too blatant.” In 1948, the family moved to Moscow.

Alois Mizandary

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Alois Iosebis dze Mizandary (; b. 13 September 1838 – d. 14 June 1912) was a Georgian virtuoso pianist, composer, and educator. He was one of the co-founders of a prominent music school in Tbilisi, which would decades later evolve into the Tbilisi State Conservatory. Biography Alois Mizandary was born in Gori, Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire. Between 1855 and 1863, he studied at the Faculty of Oriental Languages of St. Petersburg University. He performed with the university’s symphony orchestra. During his time there, he knew Mily Balakirev and Anton Rubinstein, who influenced Mizandary’s later work. Mizandary performed throughout Europe and received praise for his concert performances from various newspapers of the time. In 1874, Mizandary co-founded a music school in Tbilisi, which would grow into the Tbilisi State Conservatory by 1917. Mindary’s piano works are one of the earliest Georgian exemplars of their kind. Many works are presumed to be lost, including four-part masses composed for the Tbilisi Catholic Church. Mizandary died in 1912 and is buried at the Didube Pantheon. References Bibliography * მიზანდარი ლ., მიზანდარი (მონოგრაფია), „გრიფონი“ 2011; * ქართული საბჭ

Anatoly Alexandrov (composer)

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Anatoly Nikolayevich Alexandrov (, Moscow – April 16, 1982, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian composer of works for piano and for other instruments, and pianist. His initial works had a mystical element, but he downplayed this to better fit socialist realism. He led a somewhat retiring life, but received several honors. Alexandrov was the son of a Professor of Tomsk State University. He attended the Moscow Conservatory (which he left in 1915), where he was a pupil of Nikolai Zhilyayev, Sergei Taneyev and Sergei Vasilenko (theory), Alexander Ilyinsky (composition) and Konstantin Igumnov (pianoforte). His early music revealed the influence of Nikolai Medtner and Alexander Scriabin. He was appointed Professor at the Moscow Conservatory in 1923. Viktor Belyaev, Alexandrov’s first biographer, wrote in 1926: “If Myaskovsky is a thinker, and Feinberg a psychologist, then Alexandrov is, before anything else, a poet.” Alexandrov was also a strong proponent of Stanchinsky and edited much of his compositions for publication. Works For orchestra *Symphony No. 1 in C, Op. 92 (1965) *Symphony No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 109 (1977/78) *Piano Concerto, Op. 102 (1974) *Overture on Russian folksongs, Op. 29

Anatoly Lyadov

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Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov (; 12 May 185528 August 1914) was a Russian composer, teacher and conductor. Biography Lyadov was born in 1855 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, into a family of eminent Russian musicians. He was taught informally by his conductor step-father from 1860 to 1868, and then in 1870 entered the Saint Petersburg Conservatory to study piano and violin. He soon gave up instrumental study to concentrate on counterpoint and fugue, although he remained a fine pianist. His musical talent was highly regarded by Modest Mussorgsky, among others, and during the 1870s he became associated with the group of composers known as The Five. Expelled from the composition classes of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for absenteeism in 1876, he re-enrolled in 1878 in order to complete his graduation composition. Family * paternal grandfather – Nikolai G. Lyadov (), conductor of the Petersburg Philharmonic Society * father – Konstantin Lyadov (Константин Ладов), chief conductor of the Imperial Opera Company * mother – V. Antipova, pianist * sister – Valentina K. Lyadova (), dramatic actress * brothers-in-law – Mikhail Sariotti (), opera singer; Ivan Pomazanskiy (), musician * paternal u

Andrei Eshpai

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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

Andrei Petrov

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Andrei Pavlovich Petrov (; 2 September 1930 – 15 February 2006) was a Soviet and Russian composer. He was named a People’s Artist of the USSR in 1980. Andrey Petrov is known for his music for numerous classic Soviet films such as Walking the Streets of Moscow, Beware of the Car, and Office Romance. Life A native of Leningrad, Petrov was the son of a military doctor; his mother was an artist. He had little interest in music until, at fourteen, he saw The Great Waltz; after this he decided to become a composer. He studied composition at the Leningrad Conservatory under Orest Yevlakhov. Petrov is known for his work in various genres; he wrote a number of operas and ballets, as well as symphonic works, incidental and film music, and various songs. He is especially famous for his ballet Creation of the World (1968), based on drawings by Jean Effel. This was performed around the world, with Mikhail Baryshnikov among its first performers. Petrov also scored over eighty films, including the Soviet-American co-production The Blue Bird (1976). From 1964 until his death Petrov was the head of the St. Petersburg Union of Composers, to which he was introduced by Dmitri Shostakovich. He also fou

Andrejs Jurjāns

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Andrejs Jurjāns (September 30, 1856 – September 28, 1922) was a Latvian composer and musicologist. He was Latvia’s first classical composer, having composed instrumental pieces and cantatas. Jurjāns also studied and collected more than 6000 pieces of Latvian folklore, among them 3000 songs, which he compiled in six books, called Latvju tautas mūzikas materiāli (Materials of Latvian Folk Music). Biography Andrejs Jurjāns was born in 1856 in Ērgļi, Latvia. Active in music from a young age, Jurjāns decides to become a musician after participating as a choir singer in the First Latvian Song Festival in 1873. In 1875, he studied music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, attending composition, organ and French horn classes with Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov and German organists Louis Homilius and Friedrich Homilius. In 1877, he published his first composition. From 1882 to 1916 Jurjāns taught music in the Russian Imperial Music Society Conservatory in Kharkiv, Ukraine. At the same time, he took an active part in Latvian musical life as a collector, researcher and arranger of national folk songs. His five-volume work, “Materials of the Latvian Folk Music” encompasses about 2,000 tunes. Jurjāns

Andrey Gubin

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Andrey Viktorovich Gubin (; born 30 April 1974), born Andrey Valerevich Klementyev () is a Russian pop-singer, poet, composer, hitmaker and record producer. Honored Artists of the Russian Federation (2004). Early years Gubin was born on 30 April 1974 in Ufa. His family moved to Moscow in 1983, where they wandered about because of constant lack of money. Musical career Gubin’s first album I Am A Hobo (), released when he was 15, sold 200 copies. Gubin’s second and third album Ave Maria and Prince and Princess () respectively were the start of his career. His first performance on stage with his first hit Nomad Boy () was in 1994. In the late 2000s, Gubin stopped performing due to serious physical health problems. According to the singer, in the mid-2000s, he was diagnosed with left-sided trigeminal neuralgia of the face, a disease of the nervous system that causes constant facial pain. Gubin also disclosed that he was experiencing heart issues. In 2024, media sources erroneously concluded that Gubin officially announced his retirement from singing while Gubin has clearly stated his intentions to gradually complete and record multiple new songs he has written over the years, as long a

Andrey Kasparov

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Andrey Rafailovich Kasparov (; ; born 6 April 1966) is an Armenian-American pianist, composer, and professor, who holds both American and Russian citizenship. Biography Early life and education Kasparov was born on 6 April 1966 in Baku, Azerbaijan, to a family of Armenian descent. He began his musical studies at the age of six, and he moved to Moscow at fifteen. He later entered the Moscow State Conservatory, graduating with honors in Music Composition and Piano, in 1989 and 1990, respectively. At the Conservatory, he studied harmony and counterpoint were with Yuri Kholopov, a famous Russian musicologist. Among his keyboard instructors were Nina Emelianova, Vladimir Bunin, Sergei Dizhur, Dmitri Sakharov, and Victor Merzhanov. His composition studies began with Tatyana Chudova and Tikhon Khrennikov; he later continued them in the independent studio of Alexandr Chaikovsky. In 1985, he was awarded a Third Prize for his Toccata for piano, and in 1987, was awarded Second Prize for his Six Aphorisms for flute, violin and cello, at the All-USSR Composition Competition. Kasparov pursued subsequent doctoral studies in composition at the Jacobs School of Music and the Indiana University at B

Andria Balanchivadze

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Andria Melitonis dze Balanchivadze (28 April 1992) was a Georgian composer. He was the son of composer Meliton Balanchivadze and brother of ballet choreographer George Balanchine. Biography Born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, he graduated from the Tbilisi State Conservatoire in 1927 and Leningrad Conservatory in 1931, where he studied with Pyotr Ryazanov. Upon his return to Georgia, he became the musical director of several theatres from 1931 to 1934. Having barely survived Joseph Stalin’s purges, he became a professor at the Tbilisi Conservatory in 1942 and served as an artistic director of the Georgian State Symphony from 1941 to 1948. He became a major influence in musical politics as chair (1953), and first secretary (1955–1961, 1968–1972) of the Union of Georgian Composers. Balanchivadze’s numerous symphonies, pianoforte concertos, and compositions for the stage heavily contributed to modern Georgian classical music. He also authored the first Georgian ballet, The Heart of the Mountains (1936). He was granted the titles of the People’s Artist of the Georgian SSR in 1957, People’s Artist of the USSR in 1968, and awarded several prizes, including the Stalin Prize in 1944 a

Andriy Shtoharenko

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Andriy Shtoharenko () (15 October 1902 – 15 November 1992) was a Soviet Ukrainian composer and teacher. Biography Andriy Shtoharenko was born in the Ukrainian village of Novi Kaidaky (now part of the city of Dnipro). He completed his music studies at the Kharkiv Conservatory in 1936 under S. Bohatyriov. From 1921-30 he worked a teacher of singing in Middle schools. In 1926 he became the director of an accordion ensemble. In 1944 he became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. From 1954 he lectured at the Kiev Conservatory. In 1960 he became a professor and in 1968 became the rector of the above-mentioned institution. From 1968 he was the head of the Union of Composers of Ukraine. As a composer, he was well known within the Soviet Union though his music is rarely performed elsewhere. He was awarded the Stalin Prize for his compositions in 1946 and 1952, and was awarded the prestigious title of People’s Artist of the USSR. During his long career, he served in many positions, including Professor of Composition and Director of the Kharkiv Conservatory and later Kiev Conservatory. Originally graduating as a button-accordion player and again as a composer. He composed in n

Anna Drubich

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Anna Drubich (born Anna Solovieva Drubich, 27 June 1984) is a Russian composer, pianist, and actress known for her film scores in horror films and frequently working with the composer Marco Beltrami. She has scored over 35 major film and TV projects across the US, Russia, and Europe. In 2012, she graduated from the University of Southern California’s Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program. Recent projects include Barbarian (2022), Navalny (2024), The Master and Margarita (2024), and Netflix features Sting and Time Cut (2024). * BMI Film Music Awards: Winner for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark * Moscow Beethoven Competition: First Prize * Bremen International Piano Competition: Mozart Prize Selected filmography * Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) * Fear Street Parte Tres: 1666 (2021) * Werewolves Within (2021) * Barbarian (2022) * Sting (2024) * The Master and Margarita (2024) * Time Cut (2024) * Forbidden Fruits (2026) * Corporate Retreat (2026) References External links * * Official profile at Kraft-Engel Management * Instagram

Anoushavan Ter-Ghevondyan

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Anoushavan Ter-Ghevondyan (Armenian: Անուշավան Գրիգորի Տեր-Ղևոնդյան; 8 March 1887 – 6 June 1961) was an Armenian composer, pedagogue, and sociocultural activist. His father was the photographer Grigor Ter-Ghevondyan; and his daughter, pianist Heghine Ter-Ghevondyan. Early life Anoushavan Ter-Ghevondyan received his general education and musical training in Tiflis (now Tbilisi). In 1915 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, as well as the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied with Anatoly Lyadov (harmony), Alexander Glazunov (composition), Vasily Kalafati (counterpoint), Jāzeps Vītols (analysis of form) and Maximilian Steinberg (orchestration). In 1914, in partnership with Armenian composer and conductor Spiridon Melikyan, he undertook a scientific expedition to the Shirak Province, one of the musically most fertile regions. This trip resulted in the compilation of 252 folk melodies that were of great value and have been widely used by Armenian composers and musicologists ever since. Anoushavan Ter-Ghevondyan himself arranged some of them into a symphonic work named ″Շիրակի էտյուդները″ (Shirak Etudes) (1916). Music Among his works there are two o

Antoine Bullant

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Antoine Bullant, also Anton Bullandt (, 9 February 1751 in Mělník, Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire – 25 OS 13 June 1821 St Petersburg) was a bassoon player and opera composer who worked first in France but primarily in Imperial Russia. He was originally from Bohemia. Antoine Bullant is also sometimes referred to as Jean Bullant (Жан Бюлан) or Anton Bullandt. However, most current scholarly sources refer to him as Antoine Bullant as all 18th-century printed and manuscript copies of his own works spell the name ‘Bullant’. In Russian his name was also transliterated as Булан, Булант, Буллант and sometimes “trans-transliterated” in other languages (e.g., in German, in lists of operas) as Bulant, Bullanto, Bullault, Bullandt, Bulan. The Grove Dictionary of Music describes him as a French composer and bassoonist of Czech origin, born in Amiens (?), who in 1771 or 1772 settled in Paris, where he published four symphonies (1773) and some chamber instrumental ensembles. There is some controversial information that Bullandt came to Russia in 1780, and entered the service in Imperial St Petersburg Theatres in 1783 and was a founder of “St Petersburg Philharmonic Society”. Biographical data about h

Antoine Simon (composer)

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Antoine Simon, commonly known as Anton Simon () (5 August 1850 – 1 February 1916), was a French composer, director and pianist, who made most of his career in Russia. Biography Born in Paris, Antoine Simon studied at Conservatoire de Paris in the piano class of Antoine François Marmontel and the composition class of Jules Duprato. Aged 21, Antoine Simon left for Moscow where he settled permanently. He was hired as a composer (Kapellmeister) for the Théâtre des Bouffes in Moscow and taught the piano for musical classes of the Philharmonic Society of Moscow. In 1897, he was appointed inspector of orchestras of the imperial theaters. Work Antoine Simon was one of the few composers in Russia at the time to create works for wind instruments such as the quartet-like sonata Op. 23 for two cornets, horn and trombone, or his twenty-two small pieces for ensemble, Op. 26, composed in 1887. Simon also composed three operas and a number of piano pieces. His Piano Concerto in A major, Op. 19 met with some success, as did his Clarinet Concerto, Op. 31 and his Fantaisie concertante for cello and orchestra, Op. 42. He also composed a Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 16, a String Quartet in A major, Op. 2

Anton Arensky

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Anton Stepanovich Arensky (; 12 July 1861 – 25 February 1906) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, pianist, conductor and professor of music. He is known especially for his chamber music, songs and piano works, and for a style often associated with the lyricism of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving family in Novgorod, Russian Empire. His father was a doctor and amateur cellist, while his mother was a pianist; Arensky began piano lessons as a child and was composing songs and piano pieces by the age of nine. After graduating, Arensky was appointed to the Moscow Conservatory, where he taught harmony, counterpoint and composition. His pupils included Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Scriabin, Reinhold Glière, Alexander Goldenweiser, Konstantin Igumnov, Georgy Konyus and Arseny Koreshchenko. The Antarctic Arensky Glacier was named after him by the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1987. Music Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was the most important influence on Arensky’s mature musical language. The perception that Arensky lacked a strongly individual style contributed to the long-term neglect of much of his music, though his chamber works

Anton de Kontski

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Anton de Kontski (25 September 18167 December 1899) was a Polish-American pianist and composer. He was also known as Antoni Kątski and Antoine de Kontski, sometimes with the appellation “Chevalier.” Early life Born in Kraków, Anton de Kontski was one of five children, all musical. His sister Eugenia (b. 1816) was a singer; brother Stanislaw (b. 1820) a pianist who taught piano in Paris and composed salon pieces; brother Apolinary (1825–1879) a virtuoso violinist, composer and teacher who debuted at age five at the St. Petersburg court, studied with Paganini, toured Europe, and finally settled in Warsaw where in 1860 he founded the Music Institute; and brother Karol (1815–1867), violinist and composer, member of the orchestra of the Opéra-Comique in Paris. Career Anton himself was a pianist and composer, a student of John Field in Moscow and a child prodigy. He also studied composition with Simon Sechter and piano with Sigismond Thalberg in Vienna. In 1845, in Paris, he performed in a concert at the Czartoryski salon together with Frédéric Chopin. In 1849, he appeared in concerts in Spain and Portugal. Kontski reorganized the National Conservatory in Lisbon and for his efforts was a

Anton Mailyan

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Anton Mayilyan (Armenian: Անտոն Մայիլյան, 1880–1942) was an Armenian Soviet composer, musical and public figure, prose writer, librettist, conductor, teacher, folklorist and Honored art worker of Azerbaijani SSR. Biography He was born on March 28, 1880, in the city of Tbilisi. There he graduated from the Nersisian School and studied at the teacher’s seminary in Tbilisi from Makar Yekmalyan and H. Kara-Murza. Then in 1900–1903 he studied at the Tbilisi Musical College in the composition class of N. D. Nikolaev. He began his career as a composer in 1905. In 1906, he taught singing at the Tbilisi teacher’s seminary. From 1906 he lived and worked in Baku, where in 1908 he created the first working choir here. In 1910-1917, he published in Baku the monthly Armenian magazine Tatron yev yerazhshtutyun (Theatre and Music). On the pages of the magazine, questions of the development of the music of the East were developed. During the World War I he constantly participated in charity evenings organized by Armenians in Baku. So in 1915 he took part in the second Armenian charity evening in favor of refugees called Even or Odd. Armenian folk songs were performed in the evening, the song Kele-ke

Anton Rubinstein

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Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; 28 November 182920 November 1894) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ranks among the great 19th-century keyboard virtuosos. He became most famous for his series of historical recitals, seven enormous, consecutive concerts covering the history of piano music. Rubinstein played this series throughout Russia and Eastern Europe and in the United States when he toured there. Although best remembered as a pianist and educator (most notably as the composition teacher of Tchaikovsky), Rubinstein was also a prolific composer; he wrote 20 operas, the best known of which is The Demon. He composed many other works, including five piano concertos, six symphonies and many solo piano works along with a substantial output of works for chamber ensemble. In 1865 Rubinstein married Vera de Tschikouanov, a maid of honor at the Russian court, who bore him three children. Early life and education Rubinstein was born to Jewish parents in the village of Vikhvatinets in the Podolia Governorate, Russian Empire

Antoni Kocipiński

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Antoni Kocipiński (1816 – 26 May 1866) was a Polish composer, musician, and music publisher. He was mostly active in what is now Ukraine, at the time the areas where he operated were part of the Austrian Empire. Life and career Kocipiński was born in Andrychów in 1816. He received education in Lviv, studied piano, organ, and composition with his father, an organist at the Lviv Cathedral, and served for ten years in the Austrian military orchestra in Chernivtsi. In 1845–46, Kocipiński moved to Kamianets-Podilskyi. Kocipiński gave music lessons (Among his pupils was Vladyslav Zaremba) and worked in a music store. At the same time, he began to collect and transcribe Ukrainian folk songs. In 1849, Kocipiński was exiled for possessing banned poems by Juliusz Słowacki, living in Vienna. He later returned to Kamianets-Podilskyi in 1852–53. From 1855, he lived in Kyiv. He published music and opened music stores in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Kyiv, Chișinău, and Zhytomyr. Kocipiński popularized Ukrainian folk songs as well as publishing works of local composers. While under police surveillance, he organized weekly musical evenings. The musician performed as a tenor and was a skilled harmonium solo

Antonio Sapienza

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Antonio Sapienza (18 June 1794 – 1855) was an Italian composer and conductor. He was born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire where he began his musical studies with his father who was also called Antonio. (Antonio Sapienza Sr. (1755–1829) had emigrated from Naples to Russia in 1783 and served as a musician and voice teacher at the Russian imperial court.) Sapienza returned to St. Petersburg in 1828 where he served as choirmaster and conductor at the Imperial Theatre until his death in 1855. Operas *Rodrigo (opera seria); Librettist: Giovanni Federico Schmidt; Premiere: Teatro San Carlo. Naples, 28 August 1823 (also performed at La Scala, Milan under the title Gonzalvo during the 1825/26 Carnival season) *L’audacia fortunata (opera buffa); Librettist: Jacopo Ferretti; Premiere: Teatro del Fondo, Naples, summer 1824 *Tamerlano (dramma per musica); Librettist: Andrea Leone Tottola; Premiere: Teatro San Carlo, Naples, 27 November 1824 *Ivan Tsarevich; Librettist: unknown; Premiere: St. Petersburg, 1830 References External links *Works by Antonio Sapienza held in Italian libraries *Manuscript score of Sapienza’s opera Roderigo digitized by the library of the Conservatorio San Pietro a Ma

Apollon Hussakovskyi

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Apollon Seliverstovych Hussakovskyi (; 1841 – 9 March 1875) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, and soil chemist. He was close to the Mighty Handful group of composers, however later he abandoned his music career. He is also known by his Russian name Apollon Selivyorstovich Gussakovsky (). Other sources give his birth and death years as 1843–1874 or 1841–1878. The movement was performed at a university concert on 15 January 1861 conducted by Karl Schuberth. It was later performed again on 20 November 1862 at a concert of the Russian Musical Society, conducted by Anton Rubinstein. Hussakovskyi struggled to write more music and did not complete his symphony. He found a tutoring position within a wealthy family by May 1861, but left the country in late 1861 on a scientific assignment and returned in April 1862. Disillusioned with his abilities as a composer, Hussakovskyi met his friends less frequently upon returning. For some time, he lived in a tobacco shop. He married Olga Tilicheyeva in October, a decision which the other composers opposed. Upon graduating from the Saint Petersburg Imperial University in November 1863, he was awarded the equivalent to a Candidate of Sciences and jo

Arkady Ukupnik

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Arkady Semyonovich Ukupnik (; born February 18, 1953, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ) is a Russian composer, pop singer, actor, and producer. Honoured Artist of Russia (2004). In 2017 he became a member of the jury of 3rd Moscow Jewish Film Festival. Selected filmography *Moths Games (2004) *Kiss through a Wall (2011) *All Inclusive (2011) References External links * Официальный сайт * Аркадий Семёнович Укупник // Народный биографический справочник. Сайт Eternaltown.com.ua

Armas Launis

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Armas Launis (April 22, 1884 – August 7, 1959), was a Finnish composer as well as an ethnomusicologist, a professor, a writer and a journalist. He was born in Hämeenlinna. Composer Armas Launis was mainly an opera composer. He wrote ten operas (both libretto and music). Several were performed: *In Finland: “The Seven Brothers” (1913), the first Finnish opera comique, and “Kullervo” (1917), both in full stage performance, and a concert performance of “Aslak Hetta” in 2004 at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, directed by Sakari Oramo. *In France: stage performance of Kullervo (1940, Nice, Palais de la Méditerranée) with radio broadcasts on Paris-Inter and Radio Monte-Carlo (1938–1940). A short version of “Jehudith” was also broadcast in 1954 (Paris-Inter) Armas Launis also wrote chamber music pieces, cantatas, choruses, suites for orchestra, and the music of the first Finnish ethnographic film “A Wedding in Karelia, the Land of Poetry” (1921). Ethnomusicologist Launis was one of the first scholars to research and collect folk music. He was very open-minded; passionately fond of travels, which he undertook alone; and eager to meet other people. He travelled to Lapland (1904, 1905, 1922), Kain

Arseny Avraamov

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Arseny Mikhailovich Avraamov () (1886, Novocherkassk, Russian Empire - 1944, Moscow, USSR) was an avant-garde Russian composer and music theorist. He studied at the music school of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, with private composition lessons from Sergey Taneyev. An avowed Communist, he refused to fight in World War I, and fled the country to work, among other things, as a circus artist. Returning in 1917, he was appointed Culture Minister for the People’s Commissariat for Education. Symphony of Sirens was attempted just once more, a year later in Moscow, though at a much-reduced scale. His other notable achievements were the invention of graphic-sonic art, produced by drawing directly onto the optical sound track of film, and an “Ultrachromatic” 48-tone microtonal system, presented in his thesis, “The Universal System of Tones,” in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart in 1927. His microtonal system predated the creation of the Petrograd Society for quarter-tone music in 1923, by , also contemporary to Julián Carrillo’s Sonido 13. Avraamov was also the sound designer for the first Soviet sound film, Abram Room’s The Plan for Great Works (1930). Avraamov was friends with Leon Therem

Arseny Koreshchenko

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Arseny Nikolayevich Koreshchenko (, 18 December 1870 – 6 January 1921) was a pianist and composer of classical music, including operas and ballets. He was from the Russian Empire. Biography Koreshchenko was born in Moscow in 1870. He entered the Moscow Conservatory, graduating in 1891. He was only the second person ever to be awarded the Conservatory’s Great Gold Medal; the first was one of his teachers, Sergei Taneyev, and the third was Sergei Rachmaninoff. He also studied theory under Anton Arensky. He stayed with his alma mater as a professor of harmony and also taught counterpoint at the Moscow Synodal School. He died in Kharkov in 1921. List of works Opera *Belshazzar’s Feast, Op. 7 (1 act, produced Moscow, 1892) *The Angel of Death, Op. 10 (2 acts, based on Mikhail Lermontov) *The Ice Palace, Op. 38 (based on Ivan Lazhechnikov’s play; produced Moscow 1900) Ballet *The Magic Mirror, Op. 39 Incidental music *The Trojan Women (Euripides), Op. 15 *Iphigenia in Aulis (Euripides), Op. 18 Choral works *Don Juan, cantata, Op. 5 *Armenian Songs, Op. 8 *Prologue for the 25th anniversary of the Moscow Conservatory, Op. 9 *Armenian Songs, Op. 13 *Georgian Songs, Op. 27c *other (Opp. 16,

Artemy Vedel

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Artemy Lukyanovich Vedel (13 April 176726 July 1808), born Artemy Lukyanovich Vedelsky, was a Ukrainian-born Russian composer of military and liturgical music. He produced works based on Ukrainian folk melodies, and made an important contribution in the music history of Ukraine. Together with Maxim Berezovsky and Dmitry Bortniansky, Vedel is recognised by musicologists as one of the “Golden Three” composers of 18th century Ukrainian classical music, and one of Russia’s greatest choral composers. Vedel was born in Kyiv, the son of a wealthy wood carver. He studied at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy until 1787, after which he was appointed to conduct the academy’s choir and orchestra. In 1788, he was sent to Moscow to work for the regional governor, but he returned home in 1791 and resumed his career at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. General Andrei Levanidov recruited him to lead Kyiv’s regimental chapel and choir—under Levanidov’s patronage, Vedel reached the peak of his creativity as a composer. He moved with Levanidov to the Kharkov Governorate, where he organised a new choir and orchestra, and taught at the Kharkiv Collegium. His fortunes declined when the cultural life of Kharkiv was affected

Arthur Lourié

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Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (; born Naum Izrailevich Lurya; ; 14 May 1892 – 12 October 1966), better known as Arthur-Vincent Lourié, was a Russian composer, writer, administrator, and musical agent. Lourié played an important role in the earliest stages of the organization of Soviet music after the 1917 Revolution but later went into exile. His music reflects his close connections with contemporary writers and artists, and also his close relationship with Igor Stravinsky. Russian career Born into a prosperous Jewish family in Propoysk, he converted to Catholicism while still in Russia. An admirer of van Gogh, from whom he derived the name ‘Vincent’, Lourié was partly self-taught, but also studied piano with Maria Barinova and composition with Glazunov at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, graduating in 1913. He became friendly with the Futurist poets and particularly Anna Akhmatova, whose poetry he was among the first to set. He was also acquainted with Vladimir Mayakovsky, Nikolai Kulbin, Fyodor Sologub and Alexander Blok; and was deeply influenced by contemporary art. His early piano pieces, from 1908 onward, take on from the late works of Scriabin but evolve new kinds of discourse,

Artur Kapp

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Artur Kapp (28 February 1878 – 14 January 1952) was an Estonian composer. Early life and career Born in Suure-Jaani, Estonia, then part of the Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire, he was the son of Joosep Kapp, who was also a classically trained musician. Kapp began his musical career studying organ at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory as a student of both Louis Homilius and composition with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1891. Kapp graduated from the Conservatory in 1900 as a composer and from 1904 until 1920 worked as a music director in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan, then returning to Estonia as a professor and conductor at the Tallinn Conservatory where he counted among his students such future notable Estonian composers as Evald Aav, Edgar Arro, Gustav Ernesaks, Helen Tobias-Duesberg, Riho Päts and Enn Võrk. He is, along with Rudolf Tobias (1873-1918), generally considered to be one of the founders of Estonian symphonic music. Kapp’s son Eugen (1908–1996) and nephew Villem (1913–1964) became notable composers as well, having studied at the Tallinn Conservatory under direction of the elder Kapp. Some of Kapp’s most enduring works are the 1899 overture Don Carlos and the

Avet Terterian

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Alfred Roubenovich “Avet” Terterian (also Terteryan) (, July 29, 1929 – December 11, 1994) was an Armenian composer, awarded the Konrad Adenauer Prize. Terterian was a friend and colleague of Giya Kancheli, Konstantin Orbelyan, and Tigran Mansurian. Dmitri Shostakovich praised Terterian as “very talented” and “with great future” in one of his letters, published by his friend Isaak Glikman, having heard a recording of Terterian’s works at Armenia’s “House of Composers” summer resort in Dilijan, Armenia. He studied at the Music Academy in Baku from 1948, and moved to the Romanos-Melikian Music Academy in 1951. He studied composition at the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan from 1952. He was Executive Secretary of the Armenian Composers’ Union from 1960 to 1963, and Chairman of the Music Department at the Armenian Cultural Ministry from 1970 and 1974. He joined Yerevan Conservatory as a professor in 1985. In 1989, he moved to the village of Ayrivank, located on the western shore of Lake Sevan, Gegharkunik region of Armenia. Terterian’s son, Dr. Ruben Terterian, was a professor of music in Samborondón, Ecuador, until his death in January 2020; and former prorector at the Komitas St

Bazyli Bohdanowicz

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Bazyli Bohdanowicz (born in Eastern Lesser Poland in 1740, died on 23 February 1817 in Vienna) was a Polish violinist and composer. He was a member of the orchestra in the Leopoldstädter Theater after moving to Vienna in 1775. He and his wife performed unconventional concerts in Vienna in the years 1785-1803 accompanied by their eight children. Some of the pieces performed included: the 3-part sonata for violin Les prémices du monde (played on one instrument by three children), Non plus ultra for four female voices and violin (played on one instrument by three children and the father), the three-part Sinfonía vocale ed origínale senza parole (for 8 vocal voices, choir, and pipes called Sprach-tone), Aria con variazioni for solo soprano, andantino with variations Rareté extraordinaire de la musique for piano for 8 hands, concerto with cadenza Europa’s Erstling (for three vocal voices accompanied by a whistle and orchestra). Bohdanowicz’s circus performances sparked criticism and earned him the nickname of a “musical charlatan”. He composed a symphony in which he adapted motifs from Polish folk music, one vocal symphony, polonaises and other dances, two violin duets, other works of c

Boris Arapov

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Boris Aleksandrovich Arapov (; 12 September 1905 in Saint Petersburg – 27 January 1992 in Saint Petersburg) was a Soviet and Russian composer. People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1976). Life and career Arapov grew up in Poltava, Ukraine, and took his first musical instruction class there. He moved to Petrograd (formerly Saint Petersburg) in 1921, and took piano lessons with Maria Yudina. However, a hand disease later forced him to abandon piano playing. Arapov oriented himself first of all towards the officially desirable composition style and worked primarily with nationalist elements, mainly restricting his subject matter to Russian folklore. However, from around 1960, his compositional style started to become more experimental, introducing a more complicated harmonic, rhythmic and sound colour. As subject matter, he more often selected works of literature. Although this later work is generally tonal, the levels of internal discord are higher than previously. In his very last works, Arapov introduced a religious subject matter. Selected works Orchestral * Symphony No. 1 in C minor (1947) * Symphony No. 2 in D major (1959) * Symphony No. 3 (1963) * Symphony No. 4 for voices, choir and o

Boris Asafyev

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Boris Vladimirovich Asafyev (29 July 188427 January 1949; also known by pseudonym Igor Glebov) was a Russian and Soviet composer, writer, musicologist, musical critic and one of founders of Soviet musicology. He is the dedicatee of Prokofiev’s First Symphony. He was born in Saint Petersburg. Asafyev had a strong influence on Soviet music. His compositions included ballets, operas, symphonies, concertos and chamber music. His ballets included Flames of Paris, based on the French Revolution, and The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, which was first performed in 1934, and was performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 2006. His writings, under the name Igor Glebov, included The Symphonic etudes , The Book about Stravinsky and Glinka (for which he was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1948). Selected works ;Opera * The Cashier’s Wife * Minin and Pozharsky * The Girl without a Dowry ;Ballets * The Fairy Gift (1910) * White Lily (1911) * Flames of Paris (1931) * The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (1936) * The Prisoner of the Caucasus (1938) * The Rustic Lady * The Stone Guest (1946) ;Orchestra * 5 Symphonies * Concerto for clarinet and orchestra (1939) * Concerto for guitar and chamber orchestr

Boris Berlin

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Boris Berlin (27 May 1907 – 24 March 2001) was a Canadian pianist, music educator, arranger, and composer of Russian birth. He is primarily remembered for his work within the field of piano pedagogy, having published an extensive amount of material in that area and teaching a large number of notable pianists. His more than 20 books on the subject of piano pedagogy sold more than 4 million copies. In 2000 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada with the citation “Known as the teacher of teachers, he profoundly influenced musical instruction in our country. Having taught some of Canada’s most illustrious musicians, he was known for his extensive contribution to pedagogical material and for his piano pieces for young performers.” In February 2026, The Toronto Star published a first-person account by a former student who alleged that Berlin sexually abused her during piano lessons when she was 15 years old while studying at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Life and career Born in Kharkov, Russian Empire, Berlin began his professional musical education at the Sevastopol Conservatory. From 1923 to 1925 he attended the Conservatoire de Genève and then pursued further studies at the

Boris Fitinhof-Schell

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Baron Boris Alexandrovich Fitinhoff-Schell (; 26 August 1829 in Morshansk – 26 September 1901 in St. Petersburg, Russia) was a Russian composer of Baltic German descent. Biography Fitinhoff-Schell was born to Baltic German noble Baron Alexander Otto von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel and Yelisevet Pavlovna Yazykova. The Vietinghoff family, was considered part of the Uradel (or old nobility), the family was of Westphalian origin, originating in Essen. The Baltic branch had moved to the Baltics since the 14th Century. Even though Boris’ father was a Lutheran, he was baptised an Orthodox, because his mother was a Russian. Fitinhoff-Schell was trained at the Moscow Conservatory under Field and Henselt, and was a classmate of Tchaikovsky’s. His most noted work are the ballets The Haarlem Tulip (1887) and Cinderella (1893), composed for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg. He also scored four operas for the St. Petersburg Imperial Opera, which were commissioned by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, director of the Imperial Theatres. His Wedding March, scored especially for the wedding of Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna is still occasionally heard. Fitinhoff-Schell is also noted for his F

Boris Krasin (composer)

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Boris Borisovich Krasin (3 (15) April 1884, Tyumen–21 June 1936) was a Russian musician who was politically active in Proletkult and the Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians. Early life Boris was the fifth and youngest son of Boris Ivanovich Krasin, chief of police in Tyumen. Leonid Krasin was one of his brothers. Musical career Krasin was head of the Moscow Proletkult’s Music Department in which capacity he claimed that the music provided in restaurants and cabarets was anti-art. He set poems to music such as Andrei Bely’s “Чающие” (Tea Lovers), “Одиночество” (Loneliness) and “Осень” (Autumn). He is buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow. Texts *1920 “С чего и как начинать работу в области музыкального искусства” (Where and how to start working in the field of musical art) Proletarskaya Kul’tura, No.17-19, August – December, 1920 References

Boris Sobinov

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Boris Leonidovich Sobinov (; 1895 in Moscow – 1956 in Klin) was a Russian composer and a son of Leonid Sobinov, Russia’s leading lyric tenor during the first quarter of the 20th Century. Biography Boris was the first child born to Maria Karzhavina, a dramatic actress, and Leonid Sobinov, a famous opera singer, who had met as schoolmates at the Philharmonic Society. Though their union dissolved after only a few years, Leonid remained an active and loving presence in the lives of Boris and his younger brother Yuri (1897-1920). Boris received a military education while obtaining musical training. His younger brother Yuri (1897–1920) was a visual artist and painted the pictured oil portrait of Boris at the piano (1910). Both brothers served in the tsarist army, and then in the White Army during the Civil War. Yuri was killed near Melitopol. Boris, along with army baron Pyotr Wrangel, managed to escape to Germany. He later graduated from Berlin’s High Art School, where he later taught. Throughout his professorial years, he continued to compose his own works. Leonid and Boris reunited as Leonid toured Berlin. In 1931 Boris settled in Riga, where Leonid spent much of a one-year sabbatical

Boris Tchaikovsky

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Boris Alexandrovich Tchaikovsky (; 10 September 1925 – 7 February 1996), PAU, was a Soviet and Russian composer, born in Moscow, whose oeuvre includes orchestral works, chamber music, and film music. He is considered as part of the second generation of Russian composers, following in the steps of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (to whom he was not related ) and especially Mussorgsky. He was admired by Dmitri Shostakovich, with whom he studied, who (according to Per Skans in his notes for a recording) suggested in a letter of 1 February 1969 to Isaak Glikman, that “If Barshai’s orchestra (the Moscow chamber orchestra) makes a guest appearance in Leningrad playing Vainberg’s Tenth Symphony and Boris Tchaikovsky’s Sinfonietta, you really have to hear them”. Of his larger-scale works almost all have been recorded. Boris Tchaikovsky generally wrote in a tonal style, although he made brief forays into serialism. Selected works ;Stage * The Star (Звезда), unfinished opera in three scenes (1949); libretto by David Samoilov after the novel by Emmanuil Kazakevich; Moscow Conservatory diploma-work ; Orchestral * Procession (Шествие) (1946) * Symphony No.1 (1947) * Fantasia on Russian Folk Themes (Фа

Boris Tishchenko

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Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (Russian Бори́с Ива́нович Ти́щенко; 23 March 1939 – 9 December 2010) was a Russian and Soviet composer and pianist. Life Tishchenko was born in Leningrad. He studied at the Leningrad Musical College from 1954 to 1957. There he learnt composition under Galina Ustvolskaya and piano under Mikhelis. Then from 1957 to 1963 he studied composition with Vadim Salmanov, Victor Voloshinov and Orest Evlakhov, and piano with L. Logovinski at the Leningrad Conservatory. He took a postgraduate course with the composer Dmitri Shostakovich from 1962 to 1965. He subsequently joined the faculty of the Leningrad Conservatory from 1965, and became a professor there in 1986. Tischenko was married three times. His first marriage, to the pianist Anastasia Braudo, produced a son, Dmitri. His second wife was the singer Galina Kulichenko, and the couple had a son, Vsevolod. Both of these marriages ended in divorce. His third wife was the harpist Irina Donskaya, and their marriage produced a son, Andrei. His third wife and all of his sons survived him. Music His output includes eight numbered symphonies, nine unnumbered symphonies, two violin concertos, two cello concertos, a piano

Borys Lyatoshynsky

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Borys Mykolaiovych Lyatoshynsky, also known as Boris Nikolayevich Lyatoshinsky, (3 January 1895 15 April 1968) was a Ukrainian composer, conductor, and teacher. A leading member of the new generation of 20th century Ukrainian composers, he was awarded a number of accolades, including the honorary title of People’s Artist of the Ukrainian SSR and two Stalin Prizes. He received his primary education at home, where Polish literature and history was held in high esteem. After completing school in 1913, he entered the Faculty of Law at Kyiv University, and as a graduate was employed to teach music at the Kyiv Conservatory. During the 1910s, Lyatoshynsky wrote 31 works of various musical genres. During the 1930s he travelled to Tajikistan to study folk music and compose a ballet about the life of local people. From 1935 to 1938, and from 1941 to 1944, he taught orchestration at the Moscow Conservatory. During the war, Lyatoshynsky was evacuated and taught at the Conservatory’s branch in Saratov, where he worked on arrangements of Ukrainian songs, and organised the transportation of Ukrainian musical manuscripts away to safety. Lyatoshynsky’s main works are his operas The Golden Ring (192

Borys Yanovskyi

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Borys Karlovych Yanovskyi or Janowsky () (31 December 1875, Moscow19 January 1933, Kharkiv) was a Russian/Ukrainian composer, music critic, conductor and teacher of German origin. His actual surname was Siegl. Yanovskyi lived and worked in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kyiv and Kharkiv. Biography Borys Karlovych Yanovskyi was born on 19/31 December 1875 in Moscow, the son of a German, Karl Siegl. His initial musical training was undertaken by his father, before he became a student of E. A. Ryb. Yanovskyi lived in Kyiv until 1910, where he graduated from and Kyiv University (1903). He worked as a conductor, teacher, and critic. He lived in St. Petersburg from 1910. Between 1916 and 1917, he was the conductor of the Zimin Opera in Moscow. In 1918, he travelled back to Ukraine, becoming a teacher at the Music Technical College and the Music and Drama Institute in Kharkiv. Member of the editorial board of the journal. “Music”, head of the music department of the newspaper “Communist” in Kharkiv. Member of the Kharkiv branch of MTL. He worked in Kyiv as an employee of periodicals and magazines, at the same time he taught, had conducting practice and wrote critical articles. He was the first e

Catterino Cavos

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Catterino Albertovich Cavos (; ; October 21, 1777 – May 10 1840) was an Italian composer, organist and conductor who settled in Russia. He played an important role in the history of Russian opera and was the father of Alberto Cavos. Cavos is celebrated in Russian musical history as the man who composed the opera Ivan Susanin in 1815, 20 years before Mikhail Glinka’s opera of the same name. The plot, based on an episode from Russian history, tells the story of the Russian peasant and patriotic hero Ivan Susanin who sacrifices his life for the Tsar by leading astray a group of marauding Poles who were hunting him. Early years and family Cavos was born in Venice, Italy, on October 21, 1777. His father, Alberto Filippo Cavos (also known as Cavosi), was the Primo Ballerino Assoluto (lead male ballet dancer) and director of the La Fenice theatre in Venice. At the age of twelve, Cavos composed a cantata to celebrate Leopold II’s arrival in Venice. At fourteen he was offered the post of organist to St Mark’s Basilica, but refused the position, allowing the post to be given to an older, impoverished musician. Russian years In his early twenties, Cavos accepted a position as conductor of the

César Cui

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César Antonovich Cui (; ; ; 18 January 183526 March 1918) was a Russian composer and music critic, member of the Belyayev circle and The Five – a group of composers gathered by the idea of creating a specifically Russian type of music. As an officer of the Imperial Russian Army, he rose to the rank of engineer-general (equivalent to full general), taught fortifications in Russian military academies and wrote a number of monographs on the subject. Biography Upbringing and career Cesarius-Benjaminus Cui was born in Vilna in the Russian Empire (present-day Vilnius, Lithuania) into a Catholic family of French and Polish–Lithuanian descent, the youngest of five children. The original French spelling of his surname was “Queuille.” His French father, Antoine (Anton Leonardovich) Cui, entered Russia with Napoleon’s army; in 1812, he was injured during the battle near Smolensk and (following the defeat) would settle in Vilna. He married local noblewoman Julia Gucewicz; some sources indicate that her father was the Lithuanian architect Laurynas Gucevičius. The young César grew up learning French, Polish, Russian and Lithuanian. As a secondary school (gymnasium) student in Vilan, he took musi

Charles Mayer (composer)

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Charles Mayer (21 March 1799 – 2 July 1862), also known as Carl Mayer or Charles Meyer, was a Prussian pianist and composer active in the early 19th century. Life Mayer was born in Königsberg. His father was a clarinetist who, soon after Charles’s birth, moved to Saint Petersburg and four years later to Moscow. He received his early musical education from his mother, followed by extended studies with John Field (1782–1837), with whom he continued to study after the family returned to Saint Petersburg after the Moscow fire of 1812. His first successful tour as a concert pianist in 1814 led him to Poland, Germany, Holland, and France, before he settled in Saint Petersburg in 1819. During another celebrated concert tour of 1845 he travelled through Scandinavia (where he became an honorary member of the Royal College of Music in Stockholm), Germany (Hamburg, Leipzig) and Austria (Vienna). Following the rise of Adolf von Henselt in Saint Petersburg, Mayer withdrew to Dresden in 1846, and died there. Mayer was a busy and successful teacher who is supposed to have taught some 800 pupils in Saint Petersburg. He was reputed to have taken over the calm and musical (rather than virtuoso) tech

Cyrillus Kreek

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Cyrillus Kreek (born Karl Ustav Kreek; 3 December 1889 in Võnnu, Lääne county – 26 March 1962 in Haapsalu) was an Estonian composer. Kreek studied trombone and composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory from 1908 to 1916 in the years immediately prior to the Russian Revolution, then worked as music teacher first in his native Haapsalu (in western Estonia), at the Tartu Higher Music College and later at the Tallinn Conservatory. Kreek started collecting religious folksongs in 1911 in the Haapsalu region. He systematically collected the folk music of his native country, and many of his folk melody arrangements have since become part of the permanent repertoire of Estonian choral societies. He was the first Estonian collector to use the phonograph for this purpose and the harmonisations he made became a lifelong preoccupation. His beautiful psalm settings have an unmistakable folk tinge, and yet they are much more than simple folksong arrangements, with their carefully graded choral colouring and passing use of imitation. Kreek’s magnum opus was his Requiem, using an Estonian translation of the text of Mozart’s Requiem, but his essence is perfectly expressed in these choral mini

Daniele Amfitheatrof

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Daniele Alexandrovich Amfitheatrof (, 29 October 1901 – 4 June 1983) was a Russian, American, and Italian composer and conductor. Biography Amfitheatrof was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia on 29 October 1901; his grandfather was Nikolay Sokolov. In his youth, Amfitheatrof studied first with Jāzeps Vītols at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, then Jaroslav Křička in Prague. Most of Amfitheatrof’s studies took place in Rome, where he completed his studies in composition at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia under Ottorino Respighi. Amfitheatrof also graduated in organ playing from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music. His career began as a répétiteur at the Teatro Augusteo, where he eventually became assistant conductor to Bernardino Molinari. After obtaining a number of positions in Italy, including house conductor and manager at the EIAR station in Turin, Amfitheatrof left to become associate conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra under music director Dimitri Mitropoulos. In 1939, Amfitheatrof relocated to Hollywood, California, where he established himself as a film composer. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1944. Altogether, Amfitheatrof scored more than

David Roitman

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David Roitman (November 1, 1884 – April 4, 1943) was a Russian-American hazzan and composer. Early in his career he worked as cantor in villages and cities in Russia such as Vilna and Odessa. In 1921 he immigrated to the United States and eventually joined the Congregation Shaare Zedek. Renowned for his lyric tenor compositional recordings and cantorial recitatives, Roitman became known as “the poet of the pulpit”. Biography Roitman was born to Mordecai and Mariom Roitman on November 1, 1884 at the Jusefpol village in the Russian province of Podolia. At the age of 12, he became the choral assistant to a cantor at the nearby town Lidvinke. He was then apprenticed to a series of cantors starting with Yankel Sorover and including Zeidel Rovner. Roitman would remain with Rovner throughout his teenage years. He studied music at Yeshiva College and continued his studies as a post-graduate at the Leningrad Conservatory. Roitman worked as a cantor for five years at the Jewish Temple of Elisavetgrad, starting in 1904. From 1909 to 1912, he worked as cantor at Vilna. He became the chief cantor at the Ginsbourgh Synagogue in Leningrad starting in 1912, until the October Revolution of 1917 des

David Tukhmanov

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David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov PAR (, was born July 20, 1940) is a Soviet and Russian composer. People’s Artist of Russia (2000), State Prize of Russian Federation (2003, 2019). Biography Tukhmanov is a son of an Armenian engineer Fyodor Davidovich Tukhmanov and a Russian music teacher Vera Anatolyevna Karasyova. The Tukhmanovs are the descendants of the Armenian princely house of Tumanyans, the offspring of the princes Mamikonians, Lords of Dsegh. David began to learn music under the direction of his mother at an early age and wrote his first piece of music (Lezginka), when he was four years old. Then he finished Gnesins musical school (1958) and composer’s branch of Gnesins Musical College (1963). His degree’s work was the oratorio for soloists, chorus and an orchestra Distance After Distance, which is based on fragments of the epic poem of the same name by Alexander Tvardovsky. In 1973 Tukhmanov wrote songs and music for a TV film This Merry Planet. In the following year he released soundtrack album, which also included several additional songs. In 1972 Tukhmanov released his first personally authored album How Beautiful the World is (Russian: Как прекрасен мир, lit. ‘Kak prekrasen

Dina Nurpeisova

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Dina Nurpeisova or Nurpeissova (1861 - 31 January 1955) was a composer from the western part of Kazakhstan in the Uralsk area. She was also a noted dombyra player. For her musical accomplishments, she was recognized as the National Artist of Kazakhstan. as well as a small village, Dina Nurpeisova. On the 150th anniversary of her birth, in 2011, a postage stamp was issued to commemorate her. Biography Nurpeisova was born in the village of Beketay-kum, currently in West Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan, and her father, a dombyra player, taught her how to play at a young age. As a young girl, she met the composer, Kurmangazy, who became her mentor. In 1885, her first husband died, and she married his younger brother. In April 2021, the country of Kazakhstan celebrated the 160th anniversary of Dina Nurpeisova’s birth. Work Nurpeisova’s interpretations of traditional music created a link between the past and modern dombyra music. The type of traditional Kazakh folk music she worked with was called kyuy or kyui. V. Belyaev, a Soviet musicologist, wrote that she “raised the value of folk musical instruments.” Selected compositions * Ana buirigi * Bulbul * Bayzhuma * Enbek ery * Kogentup *

Djumshud Ashurov

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Djumshud Shevanyaevich Ashurov (born Shumshul Ashurov; ; ; 1913–1980) was the first Soviet composer of Mountain Jewish origin. In 1961, he was awarded the title of “Honored Artist of the Dagestan ASSR”. On 10 April 1970, on behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he was awarded the Jubilee Medal “In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin”. Djumshud Ashurov was the first Mountain Jewish composer. Biography Djumshud Ashurov was born on 9 May 1913, in Derbent, Dagestan Oblast, an administrative-territorial entity in the Russian Empire. In 1930, he entered the Derbent Pedagogical College, where he tried to write his own musical compositions, composed songs, and created an instrumental piece. A memorial plaque was installed on the wall of the house where Djumshud Ashurov lived. In 2013, Derbent celebrated the centenary of Djumshud Ashurov, the first composer of Mountain Jewish heritage. References Literature * * * External links * Djumshud Shevanyaeviya Ashurov - Soviet composer, Honored Artist of the DASSR

Dmitri Capyrin

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Dmitri Yuryevich Capyrin (born 1960 in Moscow) is a Russian composer of contemporary classical music. He graduated from Lviv Conservatory in 1984. He lives in Moscow and works as a freelance composer. His music “successfully combines a variety of techniques, often using literary sources and motifs in his works.” He won the second prize in the 1994 ICONS competition in Turin and received a scholarship in 1995 from the Berlin Akademie der Künst. In 2010 he was the finalist of the YouTube Online Composers Competition. His compositions have been performed by “numerous prominent ensembles and soloists, and has also been featured in a variety of concert and festival venues, including the Moscow Autumn (1999), the Paris Presences (1993), Warsaw Autumn (2005) and the Music Biennale Zagreb (1993, 2011).” He has become “one of the most prominent composers of the younger generation of Russians.” His style combines modal scales procedures with new tonal and atonal idioms. He prefers polyphonic texture and dense stratification of flexible melodic voices. At the same time he widely uses isolated tones and brief solo phrases surrounded with silence which resembles quasi-Webernian pointillism. His

Dmitri Klebanov

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Dmytry Lvovych Klebanov (; ; 25 July 1907 – 6 June 1987) was a Soviet-era Ukrainian composer. He studied violin and composition at the Kharkiv Institute of Music and Drama. He was a professor at the Kharkiv Conservatory from 1960. Life and career Born in 1907 in Kharkiv, External links * * Dmitri Klebanov classical.net

Dmitri Pavlov (composer)

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Dmitri Aleksandrovich Pavlov is a Russian composer and director based in Berlin. He is known for his work as a film composer and perhaps best known for his score for the film The Cuckoo (Кукушка in Russian) directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin. Apart from music for film, Dmitri Pavlov has written for ballet, theatre and orchestra. He formed Pavlov Ballet in 1992, and also arranged for the “Spirit of Mozart’“concert in Vienna, commemorating the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. One of his works is Concerto for piano, computer and orchestra, which breaks boundaries and successfully merges sampled computer generated sounds with classical. He composed the orchestral works for The Song of the Little Mermaid, a 2004 ballet in two acts choreographed by Kim Sun-hee. He used computer generated sounds in the recording of The Fall of Babylon, biblical Allegory for Choir and Orchestra, which is based on Old and New Testament Texts. Pavlov studied music theory at Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory. Film music Dmitri Pavlov has written music for the following films: *1988 “Bells of the North”, director - M Micheev *1988 “Requiem”, director - K Artjuchov *1988 “Return”, director -

Dmitri Shostakovich

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Youth#

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was born on 25 September 1906 on Podolskaya Street in Saint Petersburg, the Russian Empire’s capital. He was the second of three children born to Dmitri Boleslavovich Shostakovich and Sofiya Vasilievna Kokoulina. Shostakovich’s immediate forebears came from Siberia, but his paternal grandfather, , was of Polish and Lithuanian descent, tracing his family roots to the region of the town of Vileyka in today’s Belarus. A Polish revolutionary in the January Uprising of 1863–1864, Szostakowicz was exiled to Narym in 1866 in the crackdown that followed Dmitry Karakozov’s assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander II. When his term of exile ended, Szostakowicz decided to remain in Siberia. He eventually became a successful banker in Irkutsk and raised a large family. His son Dmitri Boleslavovich Shostakovich, the composer’s father, was born in Narym in 1875 and studied physics and mathematics at Saint Petersburg State University, graduating in 1899. He then went to work as an engineer under Dmitri Mendeleev at the Bureau of Weights and Measures in Saint Petersburg. In 1903, he married another Siberian immigrant to the capital, Sofiya Vasilievna Kokoulina, one of six children born to a Siberian Russian. Shostakovich displayed musical talent after beginning piano lessons with his mother at the age of 9. On several occasions, he displayed a remarkable ability to remember what his mother had played at the previous lesson, and would get “caught in the act” of pretending to read the score in front of him while actually reproducing it from memory. In 1918, he wrote a funeral march in memory of two leaders of the Kadet Party murdered by Bolshevik sailors. In 1919, at age 13, Shostakovich was admitted to the Petrograd Conservatory, then headed by Alexander Glazunov, who monitored his progress closely and promoted him. Shostakovich studied piano with Leonid Nikolayev and Elena Rozanova, composition with Maximilian Steinberg, and counterpoint and fugue with Nikolay Sokolov, who became his friend. He also attended Alexander Ossovsky’s music history classes. In 1925, he enrolled in the conducting classes of Nikolai Malko, where he conducted the conservatory orchestra in a private performance of Beethoven’s First Symphony. According to the recollections of the composer’s classmate, : Shostakovich stood at the podium, played with his hair and jacket cuffs, looked around at the hushed teenagers with instruments at the ready and raised the baton. … He neither stopped the orchestra, nor made any remarks; he focused his entire attention on aspects of tempi and dynamics, which were very clearly displayed in his gestures. The contrasts between the “Adagio molto” of the introduction and “Allegro con brio” first theme were quite striking, as were those between the percussive accents of the chords (woodwinds, French horns, pizzicato strings) and the momentarily extended piano in the introduction following them. In the character given to the pattern of the first theme, I recall, there was both vigorous striving and lightness; in the bass part there was an emphasized pliancy of tenderly threaded articulation…. Moments of these sorts… were discoveries of an improvised order, born from an intuitively refined understanding of the character of a piece and the elements of musical imagery embedded in it. And the players enjoyed it. On 20 March 1925, Shostakovich’s music was played in Moscow for the first time, in a program that also included works by his friend Vissarion Shebalin. To the composer’s disappointment, the critics and public there received his music coolly. During his visit to Moscow, Mikhail Kvadri introduced him to Mikhail Tukhachevsky, who helped the composer find accommodation and work there, and sent a driver to take him to a concert in “a very stylish automobile”. Shostakovich’s musical breakthrough was the First Symphony, written as his graduation piece at the age of 19. Initially Shostakovich aspired to perform it only privately with the conservatory orchestra, and prepared to conduct the scherzo himself. By late 1925, Malko had agreed to conduct its premiere with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra after Steinberg and Shostakovich’s friend Boleslav Yavorsky brought the symphony to his attention. On 12 May 1926, Malko led the premiere of the symphony; the audience received it enthusiastically, demanding an encore of the scherzo. Thereafter, Shostakovich regularly celebrated the date of his symphonic debut.

Dmitri Smirnov (composer)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (; 2 November 1948 – 9 April 2020) was a Russian-British composer and academic teacher, who also published as Dmitri N. Smirnov and D. Smirnov-Sadovsky. He wrote operas, symphonies, string quartets and other chamber music, and vocal music from song to oratorio. Many of his works were inspired by the art of William Blake. Career Smirnov was born in Minsk Works Smirnov’s works were published by Hans Sikorski in Hamburg, and G. Schirmer in New York City. * Piano Sonata No. 1 (1967), No. 2 (1980), No. 3 (1992), No. 4 String of Destiny (2000), * Violin Sonata No. 1 (1969), No. 2 (1979), No. 3 “es ist ..” in memory of Oleg Firsov (1998), Sources *Yuri Kholopov: Russians in England: Dmitri Smirnov, Elena Firsova. Article, in: Music From the Former USSR. Issue 2. Moscow: Composer, 1996, pp. 255–303 (in Russian); also in «Ex oriente…I» Ten Composers from the former USSR. Viktor Suslin, Dmitry Smirnov, Arvo Pärt, Yury Kasparov, Galina Ustvolskaya, Nikolai Sidelnikov, Elena Firsova Vladimir Martynov, Andrei Eshpai, Boris Chaikovsky. Edited by Valeria Tsenova (studia slavica musicologica, Bd. 25), Verlag Ernst Kuhn – Berlin. pp. 207–266 (in English) *Gerard McBurne

Dmitry Bortniansky

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Dmitry Stepanovich Bortniansky (28 October 1751 – 10 October 1825) was a Russian composer of Ukrainian Cossack origin. He was also a harpsichordist and conductor who served at the court of Catherine the Great. Bortniansky was critical to the musical history of both Russia and Ukraine, with both nations claiming him as their own. is known today for his liturgical works and prolific contributions to the genre of choral concertos. He was one of the “Golden Three” of his era, alongside Artemy Vedel and Maxim Berezovsky. Bortniansky was so popular in the Russian Empire that his figure was represented in 1862 in the bronze monument of the Millennium of Russia in the Novgorod Kremlin. He composed in many musical styles, including choral works in French, Italian, Latin, German, and Church Slavonic. Biography Early years Dmitry Bortniansky was born on 28 October 1751 in the city of Glukhov, Cossack Hetmanate, Russian Empire (present-day Hlukhiv, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine). His father was Stefan Skurat (or Shkurat), a Lemko-Rusyn Orthodox religious refugee from the village of Bartne in the Małopolska region of Poland. Skurat served as a Cossack under Kirill Razumovski; he was entered in the Cossa

Dmitry Kabalevsky

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Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky ( ; 30 December 1904 – 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures during his lifetime. He was a prolific composer of piano music and chamber music; many of his piano works were performed by Vladimir Horowitz. He is best known in Western Europe for his Second Symphony; the “Comedians’ Galop” from The Comedians Suite, Op. 26; and his Third Piano Concerto. Life Kabalevsky was born in Saint Petersburg in 1904, but moved to Moscow at a young age. His father was a mathematician and encouraged him to study mathematics, but he showed a fascination for the arts. He studied at the Academic Music College in Moscow and graduated in 1922. He then continued his studies with Vasily Selivanov. In 1925, he then went on to study at the Moscow Conservatory where he learned composition with first Georgy Catoire, then Nikolai Myaskovsky and piano with Alexander Goldenweiser. By the age of 26 his list of compositions included the String Quartet, Op. 8, Piano Concerto, Op. 9, Eight Children’s Songs, Op. 17, and various work

Dmitry Malikov

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Dmitry Yurievich Malikov (; born 29 January 1970) is a Russian singer, composer, occasional actor and a recent record producer. Early life Dmitry Malikov, who goes by his nickname Dima, was born in Moscow. His mother, Lyudmila Mikhailovna Vyunkova, was a dancer, and his father, Yuriy Fedorovich Malikov, was part of a band called Samotsvety (Самоцветы). This combination of parental talent had a large influence in his becoming a musician. In the early 70s, Samotsvety became one of the most popular groups in the USSR, selling several million records. His younger sister, Inna Malikova (Инна Маликова), is also a recording artist. As his father was often on tour, Malikov was brought up by his grandparents. Music In 1985 Malikov performed two songs at the Soundtrack Concert (звуковая дорожка / Zvukovaya Dorozhka) organized by the popular Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, which was his first major performance. In 1994 Malikov released his first album, Until Tomorrow (До завтра / Do Zavtra), which had been released twice previously, once in 1993 as With You (С тобой / S Toboy) and in 1992, as Searching Soul (Поиски Души / Poiski Dushi). This was a compilation of his early hits, and t

Edison Denisov

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Edison Vasilievich Denisov (, 6 April 1929 – 24 November 1996) was a Russian composer in the so-called “Underground”, “alternative” or “nonconformist” division of Soviet music. Biography Denisov was born in Tomsk, Siberia. He studied mathematics before deciding to spend his life composing. This decision was enthusiastically supported by Dmitri Shostakovich, who gave him lessons in composition. In 1951–56 Denisov studied at the Moscow Conservatory: composition with Vissarion Shebalin, orchestration with Nikolai Rakov, analysis with Viktor Tsukkerman and piano with Vladimir Belov. In 1956–59 he composed the opera Ivan-Soldat (Soldier Ivan) in three acts based on Russian folk fairy tales. He began his own study of scores that were difficult to obtain in the USSR at that time, including music by composers ranging from Mahler and Debussy to Boulez and Stockhausen. He wrote a series of articles giving a detailed analysis of different aspects of contemporary compositional techniques and at same time actively experimented as a composer, trying to find his own way. After graduating from the Moscow Conservatory, he taught orchestration and later composition there. His pupils included the com

Eduard Erdmann

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Eduard Erdmann (5 March 1896 – 21 June 1958) was a Baltic German pianist and composer. Erdmann was born in Wenden (Cēsis) in the Governorate of Livonia. He was the great-nephew of the philosopher Johann Eduard Erdmann. His first musical studies were in Riga, where his teachers were Bror Möllersten and Jean du Chastain (piano) and Harald Creutzburg (harmony and counterpoint). From 1914 he studied piano in Berlin with Conrad Ansorge and composition with Heinz Tiessen. In the 1920s and early 1930s his name was frequently cited among Germany’s leading composers. Moreover, Erdmann had an international reputation as an outstanding concert pianist whose repertoire encompassed Beethoven and the advocacy of contemporary music. In 1925, he gave the premiere of Artur Schnabel’s Piano Sonata, at the Venice ISCM Festival. From 1925 he was professor of piano at the Cologne Academy of Music but was forced to resign from his post by the Nazis in 1935 and became an ‘inner exile’, composing almost nothing until after the end of World War II. He joined the Nazi Party in 1937; while not in sympathy with National Socialism, his decision was to avoid government harassment so that he could continue to wo

Eduard Lazarev

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Eduard Leonidovich Lazarev (; 19 December 1935 – 10 January 2008) was a Moldovan composer of Russian descent. Lazarev arranged the State Anthem of the Moldavian SSR in 1980, with authorization of The First Secretary of the Moldavian Communist Party Ivan Bodiul. In April 1979, Lazarev received a premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow when he combined music with excerpts from speeches of Vladimir Lenin in the opera “Chemarea Revoluţiei” (The Call of the Revolution; also known as Leniniana), which lasted only nine performances. Between 1974 and 1983 he wrote Master and Margarita, a ballet in 8 acts. His second Piano Trio (1992) has been recorded by the Moscow Piano Trio. Eduard Lazarev died on 10 January 2008, at the age of 72. Works * 1973 Acuzaţii de omor (Allegations of murder) * 1973 Dimitrie Cantemir (Dimitrie Cantemir) * 1976 Nimeni în locul tău (Nobody in your place) * 1976 Pe urmele fire (On the trail of the beast) External links * * Filme Istorice References

Eduard Nápravník

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Eduard Francevič Nápravník (; 24 August 1839 – 23 November 1916) was a Czech conductor and composer. Nápravník settled in Russian Empire and is best known for his leading role in Russian musical life as the principal conductor of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg for many decades. In that capacity, he conducted the premieres of many operas by Russian composers, including those by Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Biography Nápravník was born in Býšť, Bohemia, in 1839. His studies of music were precariously uneven as a child, being the son of a poor teacher. Orphaned in 1853 at the age of 14, he first worked as a local church organist. In 1854 he entered the Prague Organ School, where he studied under Jan Bedřich Kittl and others, eventually becoming an assistant teacher as Kittl’s generosity allowed him to continue his studies. In 1861, he worked in Russia for the first time as conductor of the private orchestra of Prince Yusupov in St. Petersburg. Nápravník became organist and assistant conductor at the Imperial theatres in 1863, second conductor in 1867, and chief conductor, succeeding Liadov, in 1869, holding the post until his death. He led the first

Ekaterina Kozhevnikova

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Ekaterina Kozhevnikova (Russian: Екатерина Кожевникова) is a Russian classical music composer. She was born in Moscow on August 2, 1954. At the Moscow Conservatory, she studied composition with Dmitry Kabalevsky and Tikhon Khrennikov and piano with L. N. Naumov, graduating in 1977. In that year she was awarded the 1st Prize for Symphony at the All-Union Competition for Young Composers. In 1979, Kozhevnikova became a member of the Union of Composers of the USSR. Since 2001, she has been a member of the selection and organizing committees of the Moscow Autumn contemporary music festival, where many of her orchestral and chamber works received their premieres. From 2002 to the present, Kozhevnikova has been a member of the Board of the Union of Moscow Composers. Her works in various genres are often unconventional in structure and instrumentation. She has cited Olivier Messiaen and Krzystof Penderecki as influences. Symphonies and works for large symphony orchestra :::*Symphony No. 1 (1977) :::*Symphony No. 2, “Sinfonia da Requiem.” Dedicated to the memory of my mother. (1979) :::*Symphony No. 3 (2003. Second edition 2018) :::*Chant(1988) :::*Plea(1991) :::*Vision Dedicated to Constan

Elena Gnesina

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Elena Fabianovna Gnesina (or Gnessina; ; 30 May 1874 – 4 June 1967) was a Soviet and Russian composer and music educator, a sister of the composer Mikhail Gnesin. Gnesina was born in Rostov-on-Don to Rabbi Fabian Osipovich Gnesin (d. 1891) and his wife Bella Isaevna (née Fletzinger), who was a singer and pianist who had studied with Stanisław Moniuszko. Gnesina received numerous state awards, including two Orders of Lenin, and recognition as an Honoured Artist of the RSFSR (1935). External links * Kadja Grönke, Art. “Gnessina, Jewgenia, Maria, Elena und Jelisaweta”, in: Lexikon “Europäische Instrumentalistinnen des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts”, hrsg. von Freia Hoffmann, 2016.

Ella Adayevskaya

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Ella von Schultz-Adaïewsky; (Ella Georgiyevna Adayevskaya) ; 26 July 1926) was a Russian-German composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. Note: “Adayevskaya” is an incorrect appellation. Adaïewsky purposely selected a Russian male pseudonym to hide her identity as a female Protestant composer of German descent in Imperial Russia. She explained that she derived the first letters of her artist name (A-D-A) from the opening motif of the overture to Mikhail Glinka’s opera Ruslan and Lyudmila. Adaïewsky wrote vocal music (including choral works), chamber music, and two operas. She also edited a collection of Italian songs and published writings on folk music and the music of ancient Greece. Life Born in St. Petersburg on 22 February 1846 as Elizaveta/Elisabeth von Schultz, as the daughter of the prominent Estophile of Baltic German heritage Georg Julius von Schultz. Adaïewsky began learning the piano in childhood. Amongst her teachers were Adolf von Henselt, Anton Rubinstein, and Alexander Dreyschock. She studied composition with Alexander Famintsyn and Nikolai Zaremba. Adayevskaya was a pseudonym derived from the notes A, D, and A, played by the kettledrum in Mikhail Glinka’s opera Rus

Emil Mattiesen

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Emil Karl Gustav Alfred Mattiesen (23 January 1875 – 25 September 1939) was a Baltic-German musician, music pedagogue, composer and philosopher. He composed lieder, song cycles, ballads, chamber music and organ music, but is better known for standard works in German on parapsychology. He was a professor of church music at the University of Rostock from 1929. Life Mattiesen was born in Dorpat. * 1910 Ballade von der Liebe * 1926 Die Kunstkasse in Neukloster. Eine Geschichte und ein Aufruf in Mecklenburgische Monatshefte Parapsychology * 1925 Der jenseitige Mensch. Eine Einführung in die Metapsychologie der mystischen Erfahrung. reprinted unchanged in 1987 by Walter de Gruyter-Verlag Berlin and New York * 1936–39 Das persönliche Ueberleben des Todes. Eine Darstellung der Erfahrungsbeweise (3 vols.). Reprinted in 1961 with a preface by Gebhard Frei, reprinted in 1987 with a preface by Bauer, both Walter de Gruyter-Verlag BerlinNew York References Further reading * * Werner F. Bonin: Lexikon der Parapsychologie und ihrer Grenzgebiete. Bern, München 1976, p. 328. External links * * * * SUB Göttingen * Dr. Emil Mattiesen / 1875–1939 rodiehr.de * Emil Mattiesen classicalvocalreprints.com

Emil Młynarski

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Emil Szymon Młynarski (; 18 July 18705 April 1935) was a Polish conductor, violinist, composer, and pedagogue. Life Młynarski was born in Kibarty (Kybartai), Russian Empire, now in Lithuania. He studied violin with Leopold Auer and composition with Anatoly Lyadov and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He was the founding conductor of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and subsequently served as principal conductor of the Scottish Orchestra in Glasgow from 1910 to 1916. He conducted the premiere of Karol Szymanowski’s opera King Roger. He composed, among other things, a symphony dedicated to his homeland (Symphony in F major, Op. 14, Polonia), and two violin concertos (1897, 1917). The latter concerto, in D major, Op. 16, has been recorded by Konstanty Kulka and Nigel Kennedy. Emil Młynarski died in Warsaw at age 64. His daughter Wanda married Wiktor Łabuński. His daughter Aniela (Nela, Nelly) married Mieczysław Munz and later Arthur Rubinstein. He is the grandfather of John Rubinstein and the great-grandfather of Michael Weston, both American actors. He is closely related to the famous Polish poet and singer Wojciech Młynarski (1941–2017) and his daughter Agata Młynarska (born 1965), a Polish

Ernest Pingoud

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Ernest Pingoud (; 14 October 1887 – 1 June 1942) was a Finnish composer and music critic born in Saint Petersburg. Life Pingoud was born to a father of French Huguenot ancestry and a German-Finnish mother. His father Guido Pingoud was the pastor of the German Lutheran parish of Saint Catherine in Saint Petersburg, and his mother belonged to the Finland-Swedish Sesemann family, related to the Melartin family. He also studied non-musical subjects, including geology, philosophy and literature, at Jena, Munich, Bonn and Berlin, with German literature as his main subject. He wrote a doctoral thesis on the young Goethe and Romanticism, but it was not approved because new sources that emerged at the same time undermined the material in the thesis. The programme included La dernière aventure de Pierrot, Piano Concerto No. 1 and Danse macabre, works influenced by Richard Strauss, Alexander Scriabin and Claude Debussy that were the most daring music yet performed in Finland. Style Pingoud’s preferred mode of musical expression was orchestral, especially in symphonic poems following the example of Scriabin Recordings A CD containing some of Pingoud’s symphonic poems has been recorded for Ondi

Evelina Petrova

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Evelina Petrova (; born 27 May 1974, in Kingisepp, Russia) is a Russian composer and accordion player. Life and career At the Queen Elizabeth Hall, I found myself listening open-mouthed to a Russian woman playing the piano accordion while making wordless vocal sounds into a microphone. Her name was Evelina Petrova and the sounds varied from whoops and bird-like twitterings to a kind of demented lamentation. God knows what it was all about, but it had me transfixed. Dave Gelly, THE GUARDIAN Evelina Petrova graduated from the Saint Petersburg Musical College and after that studied at Theater Academy in a class by titled “The Theater of Musical Improvisation”. She actively participated in all academic activities provided by Gayvoronsky. She began with ensemble performances and eventually joined Gayvoronsky in a duo. In 2002, Evelina graduated from Saint Petersburg State Conservatory with a classical accordionist degree. Since 1997, Evelina has been performing in duo with Gayvoronsky (trumpet). In October 1998 at the Firth International Astor Piazzolla Competition in Castelfidardo, Italy, the duo was awarded the special prize for original music style. In 1999, by vote of Russian music

Evgeny Golubev

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Yevgeny Kirillovich Golubev ( ) (16 February 1910 25 December 1988) was a Soviet and Russian composer. Golubev was born and died in Moscow. He was taught by Nikolai Myaskovsky, and his students included Iosif Andriasov from 1958 till 1963, Alfred Schnittke, who studied with him from 1953 until 1958, Asya Sultanova, and Michael L. Geller. His own compositions included at least twenty-four string quartets, seven symphonies, three piano concertos - the last dedicated to and recorded by Tatiana Nikolayeva -, concertos for violin, cello and viola, ten piano sonatas (the sixth dedicated to Myaskovsky), sonatas for violin, cello and for trumpet (1956) (the latter dedicated to Sergei Nikolaevich Yeryomin), and quintets for strings with piano and with harp, among other works. This harp quintet is one of Golubev’s few works that are still occasionally performed. The Soviet state record label Melodiya released several LPs of his music, including the three piano concertos, two of the symphonies, and some chamber works and songs which are no longer easily available. During the last years, some of these old recordings were released on CD. Melodiya has in 2005 reissued Nikolayeva’s recordings of

Faraj Garayev

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Faraj Gara oglu Garayev (); December 19, 1943 in Baku) is an Azerbaijani composer, music instructor, professor, son of the prominent Azerbaijani composer Gara Garayev and one of the leading composers of post-Soviet period. In 1966, Garayev graduated from the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire, specialising in music composition, taught by his father Gara Garayev. In 1971, he finished his post-graduate studies. From 1966 to 2003, he taught composition, instrumentation and polyphony at the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire and from 1994 he has been a professor there. From 1991, he has been living in Baku and Moscow. In 1991, he became professor of the faculty of music theory at the Moscow State Conservatoire. In 2003, he became professor of composition, in the faculty of the Kazan State Conservatoire. From 1994 to 1996, Faraj Garayev was vice-president of the Moscow Association of Modern Music and from 1995, he has been the president of the Yeni Musiqi Union of Modern Music established in Baku. Faraj Garayev was art director of BaKaRa-ENSEMBLE (Baku) in 1980-1994. In 1991-1992, he was scholar of A.Krupp cultural Foundation (Essen, Germany). Creativity Compositions by Garayev are performed at

Feliks Janiewicz

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Feliks Janiewicz, in English often Felix Yaniewicz (1762 – 21 May 1848) was a Polish composer and violinist in exile. Life Janiewicz was born in Vilnius, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now in Lithuania), in 1762. At an early age, he was violinist at the Polish Royal Chapel, after which he travelled to Vienna about 1785 to see and listen to Haydn and Mozart. From Austria, he accompanied a Polish princess to Italy, to refine his artistic abilities with the Italian masters of that day, where he lived for three years. In Paris, he appeared at the Concerts Spirituels in December 1787, and was described in the Mercure de France as a pupil of the Italian violinist Giovanni Giornovich and was immediately recognised by the Parisians as an artist of high rank. There he was employed by the Duc d’Orléans and for a short time he enjoyed the pension of a musician on the establishment of Mlle. d’Orléans; on the outbreak of the revolution he left France for London in 1790 and did not reappear until his 1792 London debut at Salomon’s Concerts among others. During the subsequent years he expanded his violin performances and musical pursuits to Manchester, Liverpool, and Ireland. In Liverpool, he me

Felix Blumenfeld

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Felix Mikhailovich Blumenfeld (; 19 April 1863 – 21 January 1931) was a Russian and Soviet composer and conductor of the Imperial Opera St-Petersburg, pianist, and teacher. Early life He was born on 19 April 1863 in Kovalyovka, near the city of Yelisavetgrad, in Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine). He was the son of Mikhail Frantsevich Blumenfeld, of Austrian Jewish origin, and Maria Szymanowska. He was the uncle of Heinrich Neuhaus and first cousin, once removed of Karol Szymanowski (Felix’s mother and Karol’s father, Stanisław Szymanowski, were cousins). Blumenfeld studied with Gustav Neuhaus, who was married to his older sister. Then he studied composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatory under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and piano under Fedor Stein between 1881 and 1885. He then taught piano there himself from 1895 until 1918, whilst also serving as conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre until 1911. Career The Mariinsky saw the premieres of the operas composed by his mentor Rimsky-Korsakov. He was also the conductor at the Russian premiere of Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde. In 1908, he conducted the Paris premiere of Modest Mussorgsky’s opera Bor

Feofil Tolstoy

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Feofil Matveyevich Tolstoy (, 6 June 1809, Saint Petersburg, Imperial Russia, — 20 February 1881, Saint Petersburg, Imperial Russia), was a Russian composer, music critic and writer who used the pseudonym Rostislav. Tolstoy, the son of the senator Matvey Fyodorovich Tolstoy (1772—1815) and Praskovya Mikhaylovna Kutuzova (1777—1844), the daughter of the renowned Russian Field marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, worked for the most of his life as a mid-rank level state official, linked to the Moscow and Smolensk governors’ offices, as well as the Ministry of Defense. He authored more than 200 romances (including the earliest, 1829, adaptation of Pushkin’s “Ya vas lyubil…”, “I Loved You”), as well as two operas. The first, Birichino di Parigi (with an Italian libretto), was produced in Naples, Italy, in 1832 and in Saint Petersburg in 1835. The second, Doktor v khlopotakh (Доктор в хлопотах, Doctor in Business) was staged in 1851 in Russia. Tolstoy wrote two short novels, Kapitan Toldi (Капитан Тольди, Sovremennik, 1852) and Bolezni voli (Болезни воли, Ailments of the Will, Russky Vestnik, 1859). Alexandra Davydova (1815—1884), a well-known opera singer and a popular art salon hostess, was his

Franz Adam Veichtner

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Franz Adam Veichtner, also known as “Feichtner” (baptised 10 February 1741 – 3 March 1822) was a German violinist and composer of the classical era. Life Veichtner was born in Regensburg, where his father, Johann Georg, worked as a violin maker. Works * 4 Symphonies (published Mitau: Wilhelm August Steidel & Co., 1770) * Simphonie russienne (published Riga: Johann Friedrich Hartknoch; Berlin: Johann Julius Hummel, 1771) * 2 Divertimenti (published Berlin: Johann Julius Hummel; Amsterdam: au Grand Magazin de Musique, n.d. 1775 ) * Violin Concerto in A-flat major (published Riga, Johann Friedrich Hartknoch, 1775) also in manuscript (Sing-Akademie zu Berlin) External links * *

Frédéric Chopin

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Childhood#

Frédéric François Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola, 46 kilometres ( 46 km ) west of Warsaw, in what was then the Duchy of Warsaw, a Polish state established by Napoleon. The parish baptismal record, which is dated 23 April 1810, gives his birthday as 22 February 1810, and cites his given names in the Latin form (in Polish, he was ). The composer and his family used the birthdate 1 March, which is now generally accepted as the correct date. His father, Nicolas Chopin, was a Frenchman from Lorraine who emigrated to Poland in 1787 at the age of sixteen. He married Justyna Krzyżanowska, a poor relative of the Skarbeks, one of the families for whom he worked. Chopin was baptised in the same Catholic church where his parents had married, in Brochów. His eighteen-year-old godfather, for whom he was named, was Fryderyk Skarbek, a pupil of Nicolas Chopin. Chopin was the second child of Nicolas and Justyna and their only son; he had an elder sister, Ludwika, and two younger sisters, Izabela and Emilia, whose death at the age of 14 was probably from tuberculosis. Nicolas Chopin was devoted to his adopted homeland, and insisted on the use of the Polish language in the household. In October 1810, six months after Chopin’s birth, the family moved to Warsaw, where his father acquired a post teaching French at the Warsaw Lyceum, then housed in the Saxon Palace. Chopin lived with his family on the Palace grounds. His father played the flute and violin; his mother played the piano and gave lessons to boys in the boarding house that the Chopins kept. Chopin was of slight build, and even in early childhood was prone to illnesses. Chopin may have had some piano instruction from his mother, but his first professional music tutor, from 1816 to 1821, was the Czech-born pianist Wojciech Żywny. His elder sister Ludwika also took lessons from Żywny, and occasionally played duets with her brother. It quickly became apparent that he was a child prodigy. By the age of seven he had begun giving public concerts, and in 1817, he composed two polonaises, in G minor and B major. His next work, a polonaise in A major of 1821, dedicated to Żywny, is his earliest surviving musical manuscript. In 1817, the Saxon Palace was requisitioned by Warsaw’s Russian governor for military use, and the Warsaw Lyceum was reestablished in the Kazimierz Palace (today the rectorate of Warsaw University). Chopin and his family moved to a building, which still survives, adjacent to the Kazimierz Palace. During this period, he was sometimes invited to the Belweder Palace as playmate to the son of the ruler of Russian Poland, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia; he played the piano for Konstantin Pavlovich and composed a march for him. Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, in his dramatic eclogue, "" (“Our Discourses”, 1818), attested to “little Chopin’s” popularity.

Galina Ustvolskaya

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Galina Ivanovna Ustvolskaya ( ) (17 June 1919 – 22 December 2006), was a Russian composer of classical music. Known by Dutch critic Elmer Schönberger as “the lady with the hammer”, her music has been described as demanding “everything from the performer”, uncompromising in her trademark textured homophonic blocks of sound. Ustvolskaya created her own unique style, characterized by unusual combinations of instruments that created highly specific tone clusters and textures and by her large dynamic ranges. She was reclusive and rarely accepted to be interviewed as she found it unpleasant to talk about her own music. In her lifetime, she only approved of 21 of her works for performance. Early years Galina Ustvolskaya was born in Petrograd (modern day St. Petersburg). Her mother was a school teacher; her father was a lawyer. Her early childhood took place during the Russian Civil War and the October Revolution. Despite her impoverished childhood and non-musical family, from a young age she developed an interest in music. She was deemed to be gifted when she began musical studies at the age of 7. Middle years Ustvolskaya studied at the Leningrad Conservatory from 1937 to 1939. Her teache

Gavriil Popov (composer)

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Gavriil Nikolayevich Popov (; 12 September 1904 – 17 February 1972) was a Soviet composer. Life and career Popov studied at the Leningrad Conservatory from 1922 until 1930 with Leonid Vladimirovich Nikolayev, Vladimir Shcherbachov, and Maximilian Steinberg. He was considered to have the raw talent of his slightly younger contemporary Dmitri Shostakovich. His early works, in particular the Septet (or Chamber Symphony) (Op. 2, 1927) for flute, trumpet, clarinet, bassoon, violin, cello and bass, and his Symphony No. 1 (Op. 7) are impressively powerful and forward-looking. The symphony had its premiere by the Leningrad Philharmonic in 1935 and was immediately banned by a local censor; Popov was accused of formalism, a terrible stigma at the time. His melodic and instrumental invention was sharp, deeply rooted in Russian folk music. Even pieces adapted from propagandist movies, such as his Symphony No. 2, recorded by Hermann Abendroth (Urania LP), can be profoundly stirring. His sense of the orchestra, brilliant and buoyant, his grasp of large formal patterns, as found in the huge Symphony No. 3 for large string orchestra, are equally outstanding. Symphony No. 6 “Festive” betrays a kind

Gayane Chebotaryan

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Gayane Chebotaryan (8 November 1918, Rostov-on-Don16 January 1998, Moscow) was an Armenian composer and musicologist. She was born in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, and graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory. She studied composition with As a composer, she was praised, along with other Armenian composers, by Dmitri Shostakovich for “working hard and successfully on new compositions.” Works Selected works include: *Piano Concerto *Piano Trio *Suite, for orchestra No. 2 *Six Preludes *Polifonicheskii al’bom dlia iunoshestva. 13 fortepiannykh p’es collection, 1975 Her work has been recorded and issued on CD, including: *Armenian Piano Trios, Audio CD (September 20, 2004) Et’Cetera, ASIN: B0006Z2LEC References External links *Gayane Chebotaryan - Piano Trio at Youtube *Gayane Chebotaryan - Piano prelude no. 3 on Youtube

Gennady Gladkov

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Gennady Igorevich Gladkov (; 18 February 1935 – 16 October 2023) was a Soviet and Russian composer. He composed music for some of the most famous Soviet movies and cartoons, most notably The Bremen Town Musicians. Biography Gladkov was born in Moscow. He was a People’s Artist of Russia (2002). Commander of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” 4th class. From 2019, he had been reissuing his catalogue — for example, he had released soundtracks for the “Til’” performance, for “Separated” cartoon, the An Ordinary Miracle, as well as symphonic pieces, music for theater and cinema, etc. Gladkov died on 16 October 2023, at the age of 88. Personal life He supported the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, even expressing desire to go to the fronts. Filmography Soundtrack Voice acting *On the Trail of the Bremen Town Musicians – The King *Formula of Love – Semyon Farada’s singing voice *The New Bremen Town Musicians – The Cat, the robbers References External links * * Геннадий Гладков — Official Site *

Georgi Conus

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Georgi Eduardovich Conus (Russian: Георгий Эдуардович Конюс; September 30 1862 29 August 1933) was a Russian music theorist and composer of French descent. He is buried in Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow. Family and Education He was the eldest of the three Conus brothers, of whom the others were Julius and Lev, and son to Eduard Konstantinovich Conus, a pianist and composer, and Klotilda (sometimes Clothilde in French) Adolfovna, née Tambroni. His father never intended originally for him to become a professional musician but seeing as this was incompatible with his son, in 1881 he successfully gained admission to the Moscow Conservatory. Originally, Conus decided to pursue a career as a professional pianist, studying with Pavel Pabst. However, after an injury he later pursued composition, studying instead with Sergei Taneyev and Anton Arensky. Give his competency, Conus, along with other students, gained the attention of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Moreover, at the age of 14 Conus began teaching, firstly at the Chernavsky Institute (also known as Usachevsko-Chernyavskya School), in 1891 being invited again to teach counterpoint and harmony, being praised by those like Alexander Goldenwe

Georgi Movsesyan

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Georgi Viktorovich Movsesyan (; 2 August 1945 – 7 November 2011) was a Russian composer of Armenian descent. Biography Movsesyan was born in Kharkov, Ukraine, into a family of artists. He graduated from the Gnessin State Musical College in 1964. Movsesyan is Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (1995) and People’s Artist of Russia (2001). The first song, “Roads”, was written in 1965. In 1969, he was an actor of the Mosconcert association, soloist and concertmaster of the music studio. He is mostly known for his songs “Beryoza”, “Moi goda”, “Olympiada”, “Nachalo” performed by Iosif Kobzon, Lev Leshchenko, Anna German, Vakhtang Kikabidze and others. He died at the age of 67 on November 7, 2011 in Moscow, as a result of a heart attack. References External links * Biography

Georgy Sviridov

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Georgy Vasilyevich Sviridov (; 16 December 1915 – 6 January 1998) was a Soviet and Russian composer. He is most widely known for his choral music, strongly influenced by the traditional chant of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as his orchestral works which often celebrate elements of Russian culture. Sviridov employed, especially in his choral music, rich and dense harmonic textures, embracing a romantic-era tonality; his works would come to incorporate not only sacred elements of Russian church music, including vocal work for the basso profundo, but also the influence of Eastern European folk music, 19th-century European romantic composers (especially Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky), and neoromantic contemporaries outside of Russia. He wrote musical settings of Russian Romantic poetry by poets such as Mikhail Lermontov, Fyodor Tyutchev, and Alexander Blok. Sviridov enjoyed critical acclaim for much of his career in the Soviet Union and Russia. Early life and youth Sviridov was born in 1915 in the town of Fatezh in the Kursk Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Kursk Oblast) in a family of Russian ethnicity. His father, Vasily Sviridov, a Bolshevik sympathizer during the R

Gregory Alchevsky

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Gregory Alchevsky (Ukrainian: Алчевський Григорій Олексійович; 1866–1920) was a Ukrainian composer. Alchevsky was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, then in the Russian Empire, the son of the wealthy industrialist and banker Aleksey Alchevsky, and his wife Khrystyna Alchevska, a teacher who was a prominent activist for national education in Imperial Russia. Their six children were all musically gifted. Alchevsky graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Kharkiv University in 1887 and went on to study at the Moscow Imperial Conservatory. He was the friend of several Russian composers, including Sergei Rachmaninov, Alexander Scriabin and Alexander Goldenweiser. Alchevsky was a late Romantic movement composer. His most popular works were romances and settings of folk songs, which perpetuated the use of Ukrainian folk music into the 20th century. He worked as a music teacher and a singer, activities which acted to limit his output as a composer. He wrote a symphonic poem, , while his work Breathing Tables for Singers and their Application to the Development of the Basic Qualities of the Voice, first published in 1908, remains in print. Biography Family Gregory Oleksiiovych Alchev

Grigor Yeghiazaryan

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Grigor Yeghiazaryan (), also known as Grigory Ilyich (Yegiayevich) Yegiazaryan (; December 21, 1908 − November 4, 1988), was a Soviet Armenian composer. After a childhood spent amidst the Armenian genocide, Yeghiazaryan joined the Red Army in 1921, playing in regimental bands until 1929. He enrolled in the Moscow Conservatory in 1930, where his teachers included Reinhold Glière and Nikolai Myaskovsky. Upon graduation, he taught and lectured in the Armenian SSR; first in Leninakan, then Yerevan. As composer, teacher, and functionary, he established himself as a crucial figure in Armenian musical culture of the mid-20th century. Biography Early life Yeghiazaryan was born to an Armenian peasant family in the village of Blur, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire (today Enginalan, Iğdır Province, Turkey), on December 21, 1908. His family fled to Yerevan in 1918 as a result of the Armenian Genocide, in the course of which two of his brothers and three of his sisters died from starvation. While on an expedition foraging for food, he heard the sound of a nearby military band in a regiment of the 11th Red Army. When the bandmaster saw the sight of the young Yeghiazaryan, he took pity and offe

Grigori Gamburg

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Grigori (German) Semyonovich Gamburg (; also Grigorij Gamburg, Grigory Semenovich Hamburg; 22 October 1900 in Warsaw, Vistula Land, Russian Empire – 28 October 1967 in Moscow, Soviet Union) was a Russian (Soviet) violinist, violist, composer and conductor. Gamburg graduated from the Tiflis Conservatory (now the Tbilisi State Conservatoire) in 1922 studying composition with Nikolai Tcherepnin and violin with V.R. Vilshau (В.Р. Вильшау), and graduated in 1927 from the Moscow Conservatory studying composition with Nikolai Myaskovsky, violin with Boris Sibor (Борис Осипович Сибор), and conducting with Nikolai Malko. Gamburg did postgraduate studies in chamber music, and taught chamber music classes at the Moscow Conservatory from 1928 to 1941, becoming Professor of Chamber Music in 1939. From 1924 to 1930 he was violist with the Stradivari Quartet (of Moscow). From the early 1930s, Gamburg was conductor of the Radio Symphony Orchestra, and of the Orchestra of the Ministry of Cinematography of the USSR where he was musical director for many Russian-language films. From 1945 to 1954 Gamburg was professor of conducting at the Institute of Military Conductors (Институт Военных Дирижеров),

Grigoriy Korchmar

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Grigoriy Korchmar (, Grigorij Ovšievič Korčmar; alternately translated Grigori or Grigory) (1947 – 17 November 2025) was a Russian composer and pianist. Although little-known outside his native Russia, Korchmar was a prominent figure in the musical life of Saint Petersburg. He began to study piano and composition in 1958 at the Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in Leningrad (now St Petersburg). In 1996, he was made an “Honoured Art Worker of Russia”. Notable works by Korchmar include the operas Newlyweds (1970), A Story about Boris and Gleb (1981) and Fedra (1984), Dialogues for cello and piano (1976), Tango macabre for violin and piano (1985), White Nights Serenades (1991) for solo guitar and four symphonies, the latest of which was completed in 2003. Korchmar’s brother, Leonid Korchmar is a conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre and a notable conducting pedagogue. Korchmar died on 17 November 2025, at the age of 77. Works * 4 symphonies * Sonata dolorosa for cello and piano * Concerto for trumpet and string orchestra * Dear Sergei Sergeich! Concerto-message to S. S. Prokofiev. For violin with orchestra * “… Whom my soul loves…”. Poem for piano * Goodbye, dear friend. Fantasy o

Grigory Frid

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Grigory Samuilovich Frid, also known as Grigori Fried (, 22 September N.S. 1915 – 22 September 2012), was a Russian composer of music written in many different genres, including chamber opera. Early life and education Born in Petrograd, now St. Petersburg, Frid studied in the Moscow Conservatory with Heinrich Litinsky and Vissarion Shebalin. He was a soldier in the Second World War. Career Frid was a prolific composer. His most notable works are his two chamber operas, both to his own libretti. The Diary of Anne Frank is a monodrama in 21 scenes for soprano and chamber orchestra, lasting about one hour. It was composed in 1968 and given a first performance with piano accompaniment at the All-Union House of Composers in Moscow on either 17 or 18 May 1972. The Letters of Van Gogh is a mono-opera in two parts for baritone and chamber ensemble, based on the letters of Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo. The opera was composed in 1975 and given its premiere in concert form at the same venue, on 29 November 1976. He wrote three symphonies (1939, 1955, 1964), a series of instrumental concertos including a Concerto for viola, piano and string orchestra (1981), music for theatre and cinem

Grigory Kompaneyets

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Grigory Isaakovich Kompaneyets (Ukrainian: Григорій Ісакович Компані́єць, Russian: Григорий Исаакович Компанеец) (1881–1959) was an internationally recognized composer, choir conductor, and educator. Biography Grigory Kompaneyets was born in Poltava, Ukraine. During his childhood, his family moved to Rostov, where he received his early musical training in the synagogue choir. In 1904–05, he took voice lessons in Milan, with the Italian tenor Augusto Brogi. He was active in the Society for Jewish Folk Music, and in 1912, he conducted the first performance of the opera Samson and Delilah in a modern Hebrew translation, at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1916, he conducted an orchestra of 83 musicians for a concert organized by Society for Jewish Folk Music in St. Petersburg, the first performance by a large orchestra in this context. In the same year, he graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In the mid-1920s, Kompaneyets moved to Mandatory Palestine, where he served as musical director of Habima. From 1932 to 1934, he taught conducting and score-reading at the Kharkiv National University of Arts, and at the same time headed the music department of the Jewish Theater. In

Grikor Suni

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Grikor Mirzaian Suni (; originally Grikor Mirzaian, also Grigor; September 10, 1876 – December 18, 1939) was an Armenian composer and choirmaster. In his hometown of Shushi, Suni became famous for his musical talents and organized his first concert. This would get him in trouble with Russian authorities forcing his chorus out of Shushi where they went on to spread Armenian cultural music around the world. Suni was an instrumental figure in establishing the national identity of Armenian music and considered one of the many founders of modern Armenian music. Biography Grikor Suni came from a family of Armenian meliks (princes) from Syunik. He was the son of the singer and miniaturist Hovhannes Varandetsi and the grandson of the once famous ashug (folk singer) Melik Hovhannes Mirzabekyan. Suni spent much of his childhood in Shushi where he first started to study music. There in the regionally famous Armenian Khandamiryan theater, he gave his first concert with his chorus composed of folk songs he collected from the region. With the money he made from the concert, he moved to St. Petersburg, where he studied music from 1895 to 1904 with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov and A

Gyuli Kambarova

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Gyuli Nizamievna Kambarova (Russian: Гюли Низамиевна Камбарова; 9 May 1982, Makhachkala, Russia) is a Dagestan and Russian composer who is a member of the Union of Composers of Russian Federation, member of the International Alliance for Women in Music, member of the Music Teachers National Association, and member of the Songwriters Guild of America. She authored the music for the documentaries “You Are Not Alone”, “Voice for the Voiceless” and Fine Line directed by Anna Barsukova. She lives and works in United States. Biography Gyuli Kambarova was born on May 9, 1982, in the city of Makhachkala in Republic of Dagestan, Russia. During her early music studies, she won several youth piano competitions, including I. S. Bach competition - II prize, G. Hasanov competition - II prize, and E. Grieg competition - III prize. In 1996, she started to study piano at the Makhachkala College of Music named after Gotfrid Hasanov with Svetlana Papayan. In 1999 she entered the Lyceum of Music at the Rostov State Conservatory named after Sergei Rachmaninoff. She graduated from the Rostov State Conservatory with degrees in piano performance (2005; Professor Natalia Simonova) and composition with hono

Hanina Karchevsky

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Hanina Karchevsky (1877-20 December 1925), was a Jewish composer, conductor and music teacher who became an important figure in the establishment of the musical culture of the pre-state Yishuv and of Israel. Biography Karchevsky was born in 1877 in Petrovka, a village in Russian-ruled Bessarabia. He moved with his parents to the nearby town of Bender, where he studied Torah. At the same time, he learned piano and notation with his teacher, who was also a cantor (hazzan) where he was heard by the well-known cantor Zeidel Rovner, who convinced his parents to move to Kishinev, so the child could join the synagogue’s choir. At the age of 22, he moved to Warsaw, where he conducted an army orchestra. As a supporter of Zionism, he immigrated to the Land of Israel in 1908, during the Second Aliyah. He taught music there in several institutes, among them the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, where he founded an orchestra and a choir. Notes External links * Hanina Karchevsky’s Music, National Library of Israel. Accessed 24 March 2024.

Henryk Wieniawski

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Henryk Wieniawski (; 10 July 183531 March 1880) was a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer, and pedagogue, who is regarded amongst the most distinguished violinists in history. His younger brother Józef Wieniawski and nephew Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski were also accomplished musicians, as was his daughter Régine, who became a naturalised British subject upon marrying into the peerage and wrote music under the name Poldowski. Life Early life Henryk Wieniawski was born in Lublin, in present-day Poland. His father, Tobiasz Pietruszka né Wolf Helman, was the son of a Jewish barber named Herschel Meyer Helman, from Lublin’s Jewish neighborhood of Wieniawa. Wolf Helman later changed his name to Tadeusz Wieniawski, taking on the name of his neighborhood to blend into the Polish environment. Prior to obtaining his medical degree, he had converted to Catholicism. He married Regina Wolff, the daughter of a noted Jewish physician from Warsaw, and out of this marriage, Henryk was born. Henryk’s talent for playing the violin was recognized early, and in 1843 he was accepted by the Paris Conservatoire taught by Lambert Massart, where special exceptions were made to admit him, as he wasn’t French and

Herman Laroche

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Herman Augustovich Laroche (; also German Avgustovič Laroš; 25 May 1845 in Saint Petersburg – 18 October 1904) was a Russian classical music critic and composer who was renowned throughout Moscow. Life Herman Laroche was born in St. Petersburg in 1845 in the family of a French teacher. Laroche studied piano with Alexandre Dubuque at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. After graduating from the Conservatory in 1866, he worked as a professor of music history and theory at the Moscow Conservatory (1867–1870, 1883–1886) and the Saint Petersburg Conservatory (1872–1875 and 1879). Career In 1867, his extensive article appeared in the Russkiy Vestnik: “Glinka and his significance in music”, published as a separate book in Moscow in 1868. Having moved to St. Petersburg in 1871, where he received a position as a professor of theory, and then of the history of music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Laroche became a regular contributor to the Golos newspaper, placing musical and literary feuilletons in it . Under the editorship of Laroche, a Russian translation by M. I. Tchaikovsky of A. D. Ulybyshev ’s New Biography of Mozart (written in French) was published. Of the musical works of Laroc

Hryhoriy Veryovka

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Hryhoriy Huriyovych Veryovka (21 October 1964) was a Soviet and Ukrainian composer and choir director. He is best known for founding the renowned Veryovka Choir in 1943, and leading it for many years, gaining international recognition and winning multiple awards. Veryovka was also a professor of conducting at the Kyiv Conservatory, where he worked alongside faculty including Boleslav Yavorsky, Alexander Koshetz, Mykola Leontovych, and Mykhailo Verykivsky. Career Veryovka was born in an old Cossack town of Berezna (today urban-type settlement). He was the son of a peasant-craftsman who was the regent of a church choir and also played the violin. His mother was also involved in music, and performed many songs in the Ukrainian language. In 1923, he began to work as the choral conductor at his alma mater until 1927, and he also worked at the First Kyiv Music College and at the Ukrainian Republican Philharmonic. Right before the outbreak of World War II, he was working as the conductor of the choir for the Bilshovyk factory in Kyiv and returned to teaching at the Kyiv Conservatory. The first concert of the choir took place in August 1944 following the liberation of Kyiv, and it later ma

Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński

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Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński (15 February 1807 – 9 October 1867) was a Polish pianist and composer. He was the son of Ignacy Dobrzyński, the brother of Edward Dobrzyński, and the father of Bronisław Dobrzyński. Life Dobrzyński was born on former Polish territory in Romanów, in Volhynia, Russian Empire, now Romaniv, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine (Ukr. Романів), known from 1933 to 2003 as Dzerzhynsk (Rus. Дзержинськ, Pol. Dzierżyńsk). He attended a Jesuit school in Romanów, then continued his education at Vinnitsa, where he graduated from the Gimnazjum Podolskie (Podole Gymnasium). He first studied music with his father Ignacy, a violinist, composer and music director. Beginning in 1825 he studied in Warsaw with Józef Elsner, at first privately, then in 1826–28 at the Warsaw Conservatory, where he was a classmate of Frédéric Chopin. In 1835, he won second prize in a composition competition for his Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 15. This symphony was later called “Symphony in the Characteristic Spirit of Polish Music” and movements were conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. In 1845 Dobrzyński toured Germany as a soloist and also conducted operas and concerts. In 1857 he founded “Ignacy Feliks Dobrzy

Igor Markevitch

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Igor Borisovich Markevitch (27 July 1912 – 7 March 1983) was a Russian composer and conductor who studied and worked in Paris and became a naturalized Italian and French citizen in 1947 and 1982 respectively. He was commissioned in 1929 for a piano concerto by impresario Sergei Diaghilev of the Ballets Russes. Markevitch settled in Italy during World War II. After the war, he moved to Switzerland. He had an international conducting career from there. He was married twice and had three sons and two daughters. Early life He was born in Kiev in the Russian Empire (present-day Kyiv, Ukraine) into a family of Ukrainian Cossack starshiny, who were ennobled in the 18th century. His great-grandfather, Andrey Markevitch, was a state secretary during the reign of Alexander II of Russia, actual privy councilor in St. Petersburg, and co-founder of the Russian Musical Society. Igor was the son of pianist Boris Markevitch and Zoia Pokhitonova (daughter of painter Ivan Pokhitonov). The family moved to France in 1914 when he was two years old. They moved again to Switzerland in 1916, during World War I, because of his father’s failing health (he later died of tuberculosis). The French pianist Alfr

Igor Matvienko

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Igor Igorevich Matvienko (; born February 6, 1960) is a Soviet and Russian producer, composer and founder of the bands Lyube, Ivanushki International, Korni, Fabrika, and KuBa. Compositions Igor Matvienko wrote many songs in collaboration with Alexander Shaganov. In 2016, the anthem of the Russian Ground Forces (“Forward, infantry!") was written by Matvienko. A number of songs were written in collaboration with the poet Mikhail Andreev. References External links * Продюсерский центр Игоря Матвиенко *

Igor Nikolayev

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Biography Nikolayev was born in Kholmsk, Sakhalin Oblast, into the family of the Sakhalin marinist poet Yury Nikolayev. He graduated from the pop branch (class of the composer Igor Yakushenko) of the Moscow Institute of Culture. In the early 1980s, he worked in Alla Pugacheva’s ensemble “Recital” as a keyboardist and arranger. In 1983, Pugacheva and Nikolayev recorded the songs “Iceberg” and “Tell, Birds!”, which established him as a celebrated composer. He has a daughter, Yulia Igorevna Nikolaeva, from his first marriage. His second marriage was to the singer Natasha Koroleva. He has a further daughter, Veronika Igorevna Nikolaeva, from his second marriage to the singer Yulia Proskuryakova, who in 2021 attracted public attention after insulting a neighbour who had occupied her parking space. * “Ozero nadezhdy” (, Hope Lake) by Alla Pugacheva * “Ne obijay menya” () by Alla Pugacheva * “Paromshik” () by Alla Pugacheva * “Rasskazhite, ptitsy” () by Alla Pugacheva * “Parahody” () by Valery Leontiev * “Tri minuty” (, Three Minutes) by Valery Leontiev * “Komarovo” () by Igor Sklyar * “Strannik Moy” () by Irina Allegrova * “Zheltye Tyulpani” () by Natasha Koroleva * “Malenkaya strana” (,

Igor Stravinsky

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Early life in Russia, 1882–1901#

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was born in Oranienbaum, Russia—a town renamed Lomonosov in 1948, about 50 km mi west of Saint Petersburg—on 17 June 1882. Oranienbaum was then part of Petergofsky Uyezd in the Saint Petersburg Governorate of the Russian Empire and is now part of Petrodvortsovy District in Saint Petersburg. His mother, Anna Kirillovna Stravinskaya (), was an amateur singer and pianist from an established family of landowners. His father, Fyodor Ignatyevich Stravinsky, was a bass at the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg, descended from a line of Polish landowners. The name “Stravinsky” is of Polish origin, deriving from the Strava river in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The family was originally called “Soulima-Stravinsky”, bearing the Soulima arms, but “Soulima” was dropped after the partitions of Poland. The Stravinsky family vacationed in Oranienbaum during summers, and their primary residence was an apartment along the Kryukov Canal in central Saint Petersburg, near the Mariinsky Theater. Stravinsky was baptized hours after birth and joined to the Russian Orthodox Church in St. Nicholas Cathedral. Constantly in fear of the short-tempered Fyodor and indifferent towards Anna, Stravinsky lived there for the first 27 years of his life with three siblings: Roman and Yury, his older siblings who irritated him immensely, and Gury, his close younger brother with whom he said he found “the love and understanding denied us by our parents”. Stravinsky was educated by the family’s governess until the age of 11, when he began attending the Second Saint Petersburg Gymnasium in present-day Admiralteysky District, a school that he recalled hating because he had few friends. From the age of nine, Stravinsky studied privately with a piano teacher. He later wrote that Fyodor and Anna saw no musical talent in him due to his lack of technical skills; Stravinsky frequently improvised instead of practicing assigned pieces. His excellent sight-reading skill prompted him to frequently read vocal scores from Fyodor’s vast personal library. At around the age of 10, Stravinsky began regularly attending performances at the Mariinsky Theater, where he was introduced to Russian repertoire as well as Italian and French opera; by the age of 16, he attended rehearsals at the theater five or six days a week. By the age of 14, Stravinsky had mastered the solo part of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and at the age of 15, he transcribed for solo piano a string quartet by Alexander Glazunov.

Ilya Shatrov

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Ilya Alekseevich Shatrov (Russian: Илья Алексеевич Шатров; April 1, 1879 (or 1885) – May 2, 1952) was a Russian military musician, conductor and composer. He is known for composing the waltz On the Hills of Manchuria in 1906. The waltz recounts his experiences at the Battle of Mukden during the Russo-Japanese War, and he dedicated it to one of his comrades who was killed in the battle. Biography Shatrov was born in Zemlyansk, Semilukskiy, Voronezh Oblast, Russia, on 1 April 1879 to Aleksei Mikhailovich Shatrov, a retired non-commissioned officer of the Lithuanian Life Guards Regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard. In 1905, Shatrov became the bandmaster of the Mokshansky Regimental Orchestra and served in the Russo-Japanese War. In February 1905, the 214th Reserve Mokshan Infantry Regiment took part in the Battle of Mukden and Liaoyang. In one of the battles the regiment was surrounded by the Japanese and was constantly attacked by the enemy. At a critical moment, when the ammunition was already spent, the regiment commander Colonel Pavel Pobyvanets gave the order: “The banner and the orchestra will go ahead!” Kapellmeister Shatrov led the orchestra to the parapet of the trenches, g

Iosif Kotek

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Iosif Iosifovich Kotek, also seen as Josef or Yosif (, Iosif Iosifovič Kotek; 6 November 18554 January 1885), was a Russian violinist and composer remembered for his association with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He assisted Tchaikovsky with technical difficulties in the writing of the solo part in his Violin Concerto in D. Biography Iosif Kotek was born in Kamenets-Podolsk, Russian Empire, in 1855, the son of a Czech father and a Russian mother. He studied violin under Jan Hřímalý at the Moscow Conservatory, where he was also a composition student of Tchaikovsky. From the outset, their attraction was mutual. He held Tchaikovsky’s music in the highest regard, and he was the composer’s favourite pupil. Tchaikovsky was infatuated with his student—he called him “Kotik”, Russian for little tomcat —and it has been conjectured by some (and asserted unambiguously by others) that they became lovers. They certainly became physically very affectionate, as demonstrated in Tchaikovsky’s 1876 letter to his brother Modest about Kotek: “When he caresses me with his hand, when he lies with his head inclined on my breast, and I run my hand through his hair and secretly kiss it … passion rages within

Iraida Yusupova

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Iraida Yusupova (born February 20, 1962) is a Turkmenistani composer of half Russian half Tatar ethnicity who lives in Moscow, Russia. Iraida Yusupova was born in Ashgabat, Turkmen SSR, and graduated from Moscow Conservatory with a degree in composition in 1987. She has written and composed 3 operas, 2 symphonies, 6 cantatas, 3 instrumental concerts, and a great deal of chamber music, electro-acoustic music, and music for cinema and theater spanning over the late eighties to the present day. Her various styles include minimalism, serialism, and several progressive new age styles. Her music has been performed in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, United States, Switzerland, Turkey and Hungary. Festival participation Mrs. Yusupova has been a continual participant in numerous musical festivals such as Alternative, Moscow Autumn, Moscow forum, and has participated in the music festivals Bach - 2000, White Night’s Stars, Gent-Moscow-Gent, Klang och Rubel, Delphi’s Games, Austrian Cultural Forum, David Oistrakh’s Festival, and the Wean Hean festival. Works *Sonata for oboe and piano (1987) *Concerto for harp with orchestra “Arpa-amplificata” (1987) *Octet in memory of Igor

Irina Dubkova

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Irina Dubkova () is a Russian composer, music teacher and an associate professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Life Irina Dubkova was born in Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg). She began composing at the age of five. After finishing music college as a pianist in 1982, she completed the undergraduate course as a composer. She continued the same way her post-graduate studies with professor Roman Ledenyov and in musicology with Yuri Kholopov until 1987. Dubkova has participated in many competitions and festivals. In 1980 she was the winner at the Moscow International Young Composer’s Competition, with Four Romances to the verses of Sergei Yesenin for baritone and piano; in 1982 she won again with her Symphony No. 1 and in 1985 with a vocal cycle for children. In 1987 her «Allegro» for Symphony Orchestra was awarded. From 1982 to 1985 Dubkova worked as a music editor at the USSR State Radio and TV Company. In 1984 she became a member of the Russian Composers’ Union, the International Music Society «Amadeus» and the Russian Association for Piano Duets (Russian Music Society). Teaching From 1996, Dubkova has been teaching at the Composition Department of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. In 20

Irina Elcheva

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Irina Mikhaylovna Elcheva (; 28 November 1926 – 8 May 2013) was a Russian composer. Biography Her mother, Nadezhda Bogolyubova, was also a composer, music theorist, and pianist, and her father, M.D. Yel’cheva, was a singer. Elcheva was a member of the USSR Union of Composers, the Znanie Society, and the Union of Theatre Workers. Selected works Publications * “On the Development of Musical Memory,” 1953 Orchestral * Simfoniya pamyati pogibshikh v blokadu Leningrada (Symphony in Memory of Those who Perished in the Siege of Leningrad), 1965 * Pechorskiye starinï (Times of Yore in Pechora), suite, 1963 * Piano Concerto, 1968 * Zavadskaya uvertyura (A Factory Overture), 1975 * Ivanovskaya uvertyura (Ivanovo Overture), 1977 Stage * Spartak (Spartacus), opera, V. Chulisov, S. Tsenina, after Giovagnoli, 1961 * Skazka o lenivom bobryonke Tale of the Lazy Beaver (operetta, Yu. Shestalov), 1980 * Riki-Tiki-Tavi (Yel′cheva, after R. Kipling), 1985 * Alen′kiy tsvetochek (The Little Scarlet Flower) (Yel′cheva, after I. Bazhov), 1996 Choral * Russkaya svad′ba (A Russian Wedding), 1966 * Khorovodnïye pesni (Round Songs), 1967 * K novoy zhizni (Towards a New Life) (oratorio, Yu. Shestakov), 1973 *

Irving Berlin

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Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Gerald R. Ford in 1977. The broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite stated he “helped write the story of this country, capturing the best of who we are and the dreams that shape our lives”. Born in Russia, Berlin arrived in the United States at the age of five. His family left Russia to escape pogroms against the Jewish village of Tolochin. He published his first song, “Marie from Sunny Italy”, in 1907, receiving 33 cents for the publishing rights, and became known as the composer of numerous international hits, starting with 1911’s “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”. He also was an owner of the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. For much of his career, Berlin could not read sheet music, and was such a limited piano player that he could only play in the key of F-sharp; he used his custom piano equipped with a transposing lever when he needed to play in keys other

Ivan Khandoshkin

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Ivan Yevstafyevich Khandoshkin (; 1747 – 29 or 30 March 1804) was a Russian violinist and composer of Cossack origin. He has been described as “the finest Russian violinist of the eighteenth century”. Works Khandoshkin’s extant works comprise six violin sonatas and several variation cycles based on folk songs. His music (primarily for the violin) is comparable to music by his contemporaries such as Giuseppe Tartini’s student Antonio Lolli (whose stunts on the violin preceded Paganini), Gaetano Pugnani, Ludwig Spohr, and many others. His music was unfamiliar to the average western ear until recently. In 1996 Elena Denisova recorded three of his violin sonatas for Talking Music where they were released in the following year. In 2016 she performed them at the Salzburg Festival. Anastasia Khitruk performed several works and recorded them for Naxos in St. Petersburg’s St. Catherine’s Church in 2005. “Viola concerto” The so-called Khandoshkin viola concerto in C Major was purported to be written in 1801. It was published in Moscow by the State Publishing House in 1947 and released in the Soviet Union on the Melodya record label, with Rudolf Barshai playing viola and conducting the Moscow

Ivan Wyschnegradsky

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Ivan Alexandrovich Wyschnegradsky ( ; May 14 1893 – September 29, 1979), was a Russian composer primarily known for his microtonal compositions. For most of his life, from 1920 onwards, Wyschnegradsky lived in Paris. Life Ivan Wyschnegradsky was born in Saint Petersburg on May 4, 1893. His father, Alexander, was a banker, and his mother, Sophie, wrote poems. His grandfather Ivan was a celebrated mathematician who served as the Minister for Finance from 1888 to 1892. After his baccalaureate, Wyschnegradsky entered the School of Mathematics. He studied harmony, composition, and orchestration with Nicolas Sokolov at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Wyschnegradsky moved to Paris in 1920. Three years later, he married Hélène Benois, the daughter of Alexandre Benois. It was her second marriage. Their son Dimitri was born in 1924. He grew up to become an influential blues historian using the pen name Jacques Demêtre. Wyschnegradsky and Benois divorced in 1926. His second wife was Lucile Markov (Gayden). In 1942, Wyschnegradsky was arrested by the Germans and transferred to Royallieu-Compiègne internment camp, where he remained for two months. As an American, Lucile was interned at Vittel.

Iwan Müller

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Iwan Müller, sometimes spelled Iwan Mueller (14 December 1786, Reval, Governorate of Estonia – 4 February 1854, Bückeburg), was a clarinetist, composer and inventor who at the beginning of the 19th century was responsible for a major step forward in the development of the clarinet, the air-tight pad. Biography Müller was born in Reval (present-day Tallinn), at that time a city with a strong Baltic German community in the Governorate of Estonia, part of the Russian Empire. He became a chamber musician in Saint Petersburg before he was twenty. At the same time, he was constantly striving to improve the clarinet, with new types of keywork. At the time, the standard clarinet used flat brass plates covered in soft leather to cover the toneholes. Since these leaked air, the number of them had to be kept to a minimum, which meant that notes outside the main scale of the clarinet (accidentals) had to be obtained by complicated fingerings which were difficult to play quickly and rarely were in tune. Clarinets would have five or six keys, the bare minimum to obtain an acceptable chromatic scale. Müller’s solution was the stuffed pad, originally made of kid leather stuffed with felt. These pa

Jack Shaindlin

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Jack Shaindlin (April 14, 1909 – September 22, 1978) was a Russian-American musician, composer, arranger, conductor, and music director. He was musical director for The March of Time newsreel series. Early life and career Shaindlin was born in Karasubazar, Crimea, Russian Empire on April 14, 1909 to a Jewish family. His parents were Rachel ( Golden) and Chaim Shaindlin. His father owned and operated a coal business and was possibly shot and killed during a robbery of his business. Shaindlin came to North America, via Istanbul, on December 8, 1922 and entered the U.S. under the name Jacob Scheindlin. Shaindlin began his musical career as a pianist in silent movie halls, having relocated to the United States as a young boy (Chicago) along with his mother and brother Leo by winning a music scholarship/piano competition in Russia. He became a naturalized US citizen July 28, 1934. In the late 1940s he was musical director of the Carnegie Pops Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He was cited by President Truman for his war contributions for his work on the documentary Tanks. He was the founder and President of Triumph Publications, Inc. of New York City, an extensive and progressive commercial s

Jacob Schaefer (composer)

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Jacob Schaefer (, 1888–1936) was a Russian-born Jewish American composer, political activist and choir director whose career ran from the 1910s to the 1930s. A committed Communist for the last two decades of his life, he founded and operated a number of workers’ orchestras and choirs in Chicago and New York, including most famously the Freiheit Gezang Farein. He composed a number of cantatas, oratorios and song arrangements which were performed by the ensembles he directed, as well as by their affiliated performing groups around the United States. Biography Early life Schaefer was born in Kremenets, Volhynian Governorate, Russian Empire (now located in Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine) on October 13, 1888. Jacob was born into a Jewish family of carpenters; his father, Moishe-Dovid, was a follower of Hasidic Judaism who knew many traditional songs and nigunim, and his mother was named Hania-Chava. (His father spelled the family name Soifer (), which Jacob occasionally did as well even after emigrating. It was through his new higher-paying music jobs that in 1911 he was able to purchase his own piano for the first time in his life. During the summer of 1914 there were extensive discussions a

Jacob Weinberg

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Jacob Weinberg (1 July 1879 – 2 November 1956) was a Russian-born American Jewish composer and pianist who composed over 135 works for piano and other instruments. He was one of the founders of the Jewish National Conservatory in Jerusalem before immigrating to the U.S. where he became “an influential voice in the promotion of American Jewish music” from the 1940s until his death. Life and career Weinberg was born in Odessa in the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) to Dora and Wolf (Zev) Weinberg. His family was middle class and his father was a merchant who died when Jacob was only 12. Jacob wrote an essay about how he had been sent to a synagogue to say the Kaddish prayer in mourning for his father. He wrote that he had not been raised in an Orthodox home and he was not familiar with the sounds of the Hebrew language in the prayer but he fell in love with the music of the language and the rhythm of the prayer. This sparked his interest in Jewish religion and Jewish music. One of his uncles was Peter (or Pyotr) Isaevich Weinberg (or “Veinberg”). (Peter was a very prominent translator of Shakespeare, Goethe, Heine and other luminaries into Russian. Peter was a friend of Anton Che

Jadwiga Sarnecka

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Jadwiga Sarnecka (1877 or 1883 – 29 December 1913) was a Polish composer and pianist whose composition Ballade for piano won second place in a 1910 competition in Lviv (today in Ukraine) commemorating Chopin’s centenary. She also composed works for voice and piano. Biography Sarnecka was born in Slavuta, Volhynia (today in Ukraine). She studied piano with Felicjan Szopski and Władysław Żeleński in Krakow, Poland; Henryk Melcer-Szczawinski and Aleksander Michalowski in Warsaw; and Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna. She presented piano recitals throughout Austria, Germany and Poland. Sarnecka’s compositions were not always favorably reviewed. She self-published her initial works. Arts patron Feliks Jasienski (pseudonym “Manggha”) (1861-1929) funded the publication of subsequent works. Eventually, Sarnecka’s compositions received favorable reviews from Polish music critics Adolf Chybinski, Zdzislaw Jachimecki, and Jozef Wladyslaw Reiss, and A. Piwarski & Company began publishing them. After winning second prize at the Lwów (Lviv) competition in 1910, Sarnecka was the only woman asked to present a paper at the first Congress of Polish Musicians later that year. She wrote about Creativity v

Jan Stefani

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Jan Stefani (c. 1746-1829) was a Polish composer and violinist. Life Stefani was born in Prague, and probably studied music there before moving to Italy. Around 1765, he was employed by Franz Joseph, Count Kinsky as a military bandmaster. Also, he would become a violinist at the court of Joseph II. In Vienna, Prince Andrzej Poniatowski offered him a position in the Polish Royal Court. Stefani accepted, and in 1779 went to Warsaw with a group of musicians. He joined King Stanisław II August’s nine-person band, which developed into a court orchestra. In 1795, the Third Partition of Poland caused this orchestra to disband. For the next four years, Stefani wrote music for St. John’s Archcathedral. After Wojciech Bogusławski became director of the National Theatre in 1799, Stefani played with the first violins. He kept this position until 1818. Stefani died on 23rd February 1829. He is buried in the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw. Works Stefani is renowned for one work, the singspiel Cud mniemany, czyli Krakowiacy i Górale (The Supposed Miracle, or Cracovians and Highlanders), composed in 1794 with a libretto by Bogusławski. The opera is set in Kraków, where the two lovers Stach and Basia,

Jānis Cimze

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Jānis Cimze (3 July/21 June 1814 — 22 October/10 October 1881) was a Latvian pedagogue, collector and harmoniser of folk songs, organist, founder of Latvian choral music and initiator of professional Latvian music. He is buried at the Lugaži Cemetery. Early life Cimze was born at the Rauna Manor Cimze dairy farm (hoflage) to the family of a manor’s dairy farm overseer, Andreas (Ansis) Cimze, and his wife, Anne, as the first of 8 children. His initial education came from Rauna Parish School, where he also learned to play the organ. From the age of sixteen, he worked as a private tutor; later, he taught at Valmiera Parish School and served as an organist. Education In 1836, Cimze went to Germany to study at Weissenfels Teachers’ Seminary, which he finished in 1838. This was where he learned to play the violin and piano and improved his skills as an organist. In 1838—39, he was an external student at Berlin University, where he attended lectures on mathematics, didactics, and the theory of music. His music professor was Ludwig Christian Erk, a collector, harmoniser, publisher, and researcher of German folk songs. Vidzeme Teachers’ Seminary Upon returning from Germany, Cimze headed the

Jāzeps Vītols

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Jāzeps Vītols (; 26 July 1863 – 24 April 1948) was a Latvian composer, pedagogue and music critic. He is considered one of the fathers of Latvian classical music. Biography Vītols, born in Valmiera the son of a schoolteacher, began his studies in composition in 1880 at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. After graduating in 1886, he remained at the Conservatory to teach composition and reached the rank of Professor in 1901. Celebration and remembrance Jāzeps Vītols music days in Gaujiena started soon after 1922, when he spent summers in Gaujiena “Anniņas” with his wife. Celebrating his birthday, different choirs from all over the country started coming to Gaujiena for July 26 to celebrate Vītols’ birthday with music. In 2003, a summer camp for children from music schools was started around this celebration, creating an orchestra and a choir to celebrate music and have fun as well as practice their instruments. Notes References * *Braun, Joachim and Klotiņš, Arnold. “Vītols, Jāzeps”. Grove Music Online (subscription required). ed. L. Macy. Retrieved on March 8, 2007. External links *Homepage of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music *Homepage of Music

Joel Engel (composer)

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Joel Engel (also Yoel or Yury; ; 28 April 1868 – 11 February 1927) was a Russian music critic, composer and one of the leading figures in the Jewish art music movement. Born in the Russian Empire, and later moving to Berlin and then to Mandatory Palestine, Engel has been called “the true founding father of the modern renaissance of Jewish music.” As a composer, teacher, and organizer, Engel inspired a generation of Jewish classical musicians to rediscover their ethnic roots and create a new style of nationalist Jewish music, modelled after the national music movements of Russia, Slovakia, Hungary and elsewhere in Europe. This style—developed by composers Alexander Krein, Lazare Saminsky, Mikhail Gnesin, Solomon Rosowsky, and others—was an important influence on the music of many twentieth-century composers, as well as on the folk music of Israel. His work in preserving the musical tradition of the shtetl—the 19th-century Jewish village of eastern Europe—made possible the revival of klezmer music today. Early life and work Engel was born Yuliy Dmitrievich Engel in Berdyansk (present-day Ukraine). Unlike most Jewish families of the period, he grew up outside of the Pale of Settlement

Johann Gottfried Pratsch

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Johann Gottfried Pratsch (; ; , also called Prach; c. 1750), was a Prussian-born composer of music. He spent most of his life in Russia, and sometimes supported himself by teaching music to students at the Smolnïy Institute and at the St. Petersburg Theatre School. Life Pratsch was born in Silesia in 1750, and was Czech by ethnicity. He worked as a piano teacher in Saint Petersburg in the 1770s. He taught music at the Smolnїy Institute from 1780 to 1785. In 1784, the St. Petersburg Theatre School appointed him harpsichord teacher. He collaborated with Nikolay Lvov on a collection of Russian folk songs, which was published in 1790. The collection, called “Sobraniye Narodnїkh Russikikh Pesen s Ikh Golosami” (“Collection of Russian Folk Songs with Their Tunes”), influenced composers in Russia and throughout the world, including composers such as Alexander Glazunov, Alexander Gretchaninov, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Igor Stravinsky, Gioachino Rossini, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Carl Maria von Weber, Fernando Sor, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Works *Rondo in F major *Sonata for piano in C major, Opus no. 1 *Fandango for piano, Opus no. 2 (1795) *Cello sonata in A minor, Opus 6 Publications * 1790: A

John Field (composer)

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John Field (26 July 1782 – 23 January 1837) was an Irish pianist, composer and teacher widely credited as the inventor of the nocturne. While many of his contemporaries wrote in a similar style, Field was the first to use the term to apply to a character piece featuring a cantabile melody over an arpeggiated accompaniment. Born into a musical family in Dublin, he received his early education in the city, particularly with Tommaso Giordani. The family moved to London in 1793 where, under the tutelage of Muzio Clementi, Field soon became a famous and sought-after concert pianist. Together, they visited Paris, Vienna, and Saint Petersburg. Ambiguity surrounds Field’s decision to remain in the latter, but it is likely that Field acted as a sales representative for Clementi & Co.. Field was very highly regarded by his contemporaries and his playing and compositions influenced many major composers, including Felix Mendelssohn, Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and Franz Liszt. Although little is known of Field’s time in Russia, he undoubtedly contributed substantially to concerts and teaching, and to the development of the Russian piano school. Amongst his students were

Josef Pischna

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Josef Pischna (; 15 June 1826 – 19 October 1896) was a Czech pianist and composer. Josef Pischna was born in near Příbram and studied oboe at the Prague Conservatory from 1840 to 1846. He worked for thirty-five years as a pianist and piano teacher in Moscow. References

Jovdat Hajiyev

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Ahmad Jovdat Ismayil oglu Hajiyev ( / Әһмәд-Ҹөвдәт Исмајыл оғлу Һаҹыјев, , June 18, 1917 - January 18, 2002) was one of the major Azerbaijani composers of the Soviet period. He is remembered for his monumental orchestral works, having been the first Azerbaijani to compose a symphony (1936). He studied under Azerbaijan’s Founder of Composed Music, Uzeyir Hajibeyov and under Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Early life Hajiyev was born in Shaki (then Nukha), a town in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains in northwestern Azerbaijan. From an early age, he was deeply influenced by the traditional music of folk songs, ashug music (folk minstrel) and mugham (modal music). In 1924, his family moved to Baku. In 1935, he enrolled in the theoretical composition faculty at Baku Conservatory, studying under Uzeyir Hajibeyov and the Latvian-born Leopold Rudolf, a student of Sergei Taneyev. The following year, Hajiyev composed his single movement “Symphony No. 1”, the first symphonic piece ever written by an Azerbaijani composer. This work enabled him to enter Moscow Conservatory in 1938. In Moscow, World War II interrupted his studies and he had to return to Baku. Career After the war, Ha

Józef Kozłowski

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Józef Kozłowski (, also or ; 1757/1759 – 11 March 1831) was a Russian composer of Polish origin. Biography For the most part of his life Józef Kozłowski was attached to the Russian Imperial Court, for which he wrote most of his music. In Russia he became popular especially for his patriotic polonaises. Sources vary as to Kozłowski’s time and place of birth. The Polish academia traditionally considers him as a native of Warsaw, born on 10 September 1759. According to the Encyclopedia of Literature and Art of Belarus (1985), he was born in 1757 in Kozlovichi manor near Propoysk (modern Slawharad, Belarus). Author of encyclopedia entry V. D. Bobrovsky based his claim on the data from a metric book he found in Sokolovo, Slawharad District. An obituary in Northern Bee, presumably written by Thaddeus Bulgarin, described Kozłowski as a “descendant of Belarusian nobility.” Kozłowski’s uncle, Vasily Fyodorovich Trutovsky (a famous hussler in his time), noticing his nephew’s musical abilities, took him to study in St. John’s Church in Warsaw, where the young musician received a musical education and underwent practice as a chanter, violinist and organist. For many years Kozlowski was associa

Julian Fontana

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Julian (or Jules) Fontana (31 July 1810 — 23 December 1869) was a Polish pianist, composer, lawyer, author, translator, and entrepreneur, best remembered as a close friend and musical executor of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. Life Born in Warsaw to a family of Italian origin, In 1835, in London, he participated in a concert with music played by 6 pianists, the others including Ignaz Moscheles, Johann Baptist Cramer and Charles-Valentin Alkan. From 1836 to 1838, he lived together with Chopin in his apartment on Chaussée-d’Antin no. 38. In 1840, Chopin dedicated his 2 Polonaises, Op. 40, to Fontana. These included the “Military Polonaise” in A major. He took up a wandering life that included: * England and France (1833–1837); Their son Julian Camillo Adam Fontana was born in Paris on 10 July 1853. He then travelled to Cuba in an unsuccessful bid to recover his late wife’s estate. He spent some years travelling between Havana, New York, Paris and Poland. In 1859, he published 16 of Chopin’s Polish Songs, as Op. 74 (a later edition increased this to 17 songs). In 1860, Louis Moreau Gottschalk dedicated two compositions to Fontana, La Gitanella and Illusions perdues. In the 1860s Fon

Julian Klemczyński

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Julian Klemczyński was a Polish composer and teacher who spent the bulk of his career in France. Biography Julian Klemczyński was born in either 1807 or 1810 in the old section (Stare Miasto) of Kalisz, Poland. His father was a musician. He graduated high school in 1825 (today the Adam Asnyka High School) and began the study of law and administration in Warsaw. He joined the secret student society, the Association of Knights of Narcissus. That year he was arrested by the police and put in custody; he was expelled from university in 1827. In 1831 he participated in the November Uprising - he was in the 6th Lancers Brigade under General Maciej Rybiński and was awarded the Cross of the Order of Military Virtue. 1831 was the year Klemczyński emigrated to France, first settling in Meaux, and then in Paris in 1833. Between 1832 and 1837 he was a member of the Polish Democratic Society. He supported himself by giving lessons and through publication of his compositions. He specialized in writing salon music, often fantasies based on themes from opera, writing for solo piano or piano with violin. Twenty music publishers published his work, attesting to his popularity. He was married to Marg

Julius Conus

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Julius or Jules Conus (, Yuliy Eduardovich Konyus; 1 February 1869 3 January 1942) was a Russian violinist and composer. Early life and education Conus was born in Moscow, the son of Eduard Conus, a pianist, composer and teacher of French descent born in Saratov. His mother, Klotilda (sometimes Clothilde) Adolfovna, née Tambroni, was of Italian parentage and born in St Petersburg. His brothers were the musicians Georgi Conus and Lev Conus. All three brothers studied in the Moscow Conservatory; among their teachers were Sergei Taneyev and Anton Arensky. Following in the footsteps of his brother Georgi Conus, Julius entered the Moscow Conservatory. Here he studied composition under Sergei Taneyev, Music encyclopediaunder Anton Arensky, and violin under Jan Hřímalý. He graduated in 1888, receiving a gold medal. Within a year, and through the personal recommendation of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, he was sent to Paris to further develop his violin skills at the Conservatoire de Paris under Lambert Massart. Tours and concerts During his time at the Conservatoire de Paris, Conus began a successful career, playing first with the Paris National Academy of Music (Paris Opera) as first chair vi

Juliusz Zarębski

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Juliusz Zarębski (3 March 185415 September 1885) was a Polish composer and pianist active in the Russian Empire. Some of his manuscripts have been found in the National Library of Poland (BN). Life Juliusz Zarębski was born on March 3, 1854, in Zhytomyr, (now Ukraine; then former lands of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Polish Kingdom). He would die in the same city in 1885. His mother was his first piano teacher. Later, he studied with Lucja Rucinska. In 1870, he completed his education at the gymnasium with honors and moved to Vienna to study composition with Franz Krenn and piano with Josef Dachs. Two years later, he graduated with two gold medals, even though his curriculum indicated a musical training of six years. The following year he moved to St. Petersburg and studied there for three more years, passed his examination and obtained his diploma of “free artist.” A year later, he moved to Rome and stayed there until 1875. In Rome, he studied piano with Franz Liszt, his friend for some time. The Hungarian composer, who would orchestrate his Danses Galiciennes in 1881, greatly helped Zarębski, appearing with him in concerts and using his contacts to publicize the wor

Karel van Ark

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Karel (Charles) Pieter Hendrik van Ark (9 September 1839 – 24 August 1902) was a Russian pianist, music teacher, and composer. Biography Karel van Ark was of Dutch origin. He was born on 28 August 1839 (c. 1842 in other sources ) in Saint Petersburg. His father was the organist of the Dutch Embassy Church in Saint Petersburg and a Dutch teacher. He received general education at the Peter and Paul Male Lutheran School. A student of Theodor Leschetizky (piano) and Nikolai Zaremba (composition), van Ark became a teacher at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory from its founding in 1862, invited by Anton Rubinstein. He was initially an assistant to Leschetizky before becoming a professor in 1879. Van Ark was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus (third and second degree), Order of Saint Anna (third and second degree), and the Order of Saint Vladimir (fourth degree) during his forty years of teaching at the conservatory. Among his students were: Nikolai Abramychev, Anna Yesipova, Alexander Medem, Sophia von zur Mühlen, Paul de Conne, Nikolai Shishkin, Sergei Bortkiewicz, Pavel Weymarn, Viktor Kolomytsev, Nikolai Tcherepnin, and Lev Steinberg. As a composer, he composed a number of salon pie

Karen Khachaturian

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Karen Surenovich Khachaturian (, ; 19 September 1920 – 19 July 2011) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Armenian ethnicity, the nephew of composer Aram Khachaturian. Early life and education Karen Surenovich Khachaturian was born on 19 September 1920 in Moscow, the son of Suren Khachaturian, a theatrical director. His studies under Genrikh Litinsky at the Moscow Conservatory were interrupted by a term of duty in the entertainment division of the Red Army. Resuming his studies in 1945, he worked with Dmitri Shostakovich and Nikolai Myaskovsky. Career and works In addition to a Violin Sonata (1947), his works include a Cello Sonata (1966), a String Quartet (1969), four symphonies (1955, 1968, 1982, 1991) and a ballet, Cipollino (1973), as well as various other orchestral works and music for the theater and films. Rhythmic drive and a careful and idiomatic use of his instrumental forces characterize his compositions. He adopted a primarily tonal approach to composition. His works have been recorded by artists including David Oistrakh, Jascha Heifetz, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Vladimir Yampolsky. A recording of the opening of his first symphony was played in a lecture-demonstration

Karl August Hermann

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Karl August Hermann (23 September 1851 – 11 January 1909) was an Estonian writer, publicist, linguist and composer. Biography Hermann was born in Võhmanõmme, Põltsamaa Parish, Kreis Fellin in 1851. He died in 1909 in Tartu, and is buried in Tartu Raadi Cemetery. References

Karl Davydov

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Karl Yulievich Davydov (; 15 March 183826 February 1889) was a Russian cellist, described by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the “czar of cellists”. He was also a composer, mainly for the cello. His name also appears in various different spellings: Davydov, Davidoff, Davidov, and more, with his first name sometimes written as Charles or Carl. Biography Davydov was the son of a Jewish physician and amateur violinist, Yuly Petrovich Davidhoff from Courland Governorate. His elder brother August Davidov was a noted mathematician and educator, and his nephew Alexei Davidov also became cellist and composer and also a businessman. In his youth Davydov studied mathematics at St. Petersburg University, and then pursued a career as a composer, studying with Moritz Hauptmann at the Leipzig Conservatory. He became a full-time cello soloist in 1850 while continuing to compose. He took a post as a professor of cello at the St Petersburg Conservatory in 1863, and subsequently became director in 1878. In 1886 scandal forced him from his position, and Anton Rubinstein took the helm. He had many students, including Aleksandr Verzhbilovich. He intended to write an opera on the subject of Mazeppa. Viktor

Kārlis Baumanis

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Kārlis Baumanis (11 May 1835 – 10 January 1905), better known as Baumaņu Kārlis, was an ethnic Latvian composer in the Russian Empire. He is the author of the lyrics and music of Dievs, svētī Latviju! (“God bless Latvia!”), the national anthem of Latvia. Kārlis Baumanis was the first composer to use the word “Latvia” in the lyrics of a song, in the 19th century, when Latvia was still a part of the Russian Empire. Biography Kārlis Baumanis was born on 11 May 1835, in Viļķene (Wilkenhof), in the family of peasants Jekab and Anna Baumanis. He wrote and composed the Latvian national anthem “God bless Latvia” in 1870. He lived and worked in Limbaži (Lemsal) as a teacher and a journalist. One of the most significant milestones of his lifetime was his election as the Speaker of Riga, Latvia, and becoming a Member of the Singing Commission in 1870, in which he played a tremendous role in preparing the First General Latvian Singing Festival. In the same year, he married Marija Carolini Elizabeth, the daughter of Ferdinand von Vite, the tenant of Sāra manor, and was a German teacher at the prestigious Smolny Institute of Exotic Nursery. In 1871, he completed the composition studies with the

Karol Szymanowski

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Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 3 October 188229 March 1937) Since musical opportunities in Congress Poland were quite limited, he traveled throughout Europe and North Africa. Career In Berlin, Szymanowski founded the Young Polish Composers’ Publishing Company (1905–1912), whose primary aim was to publish new works by his countrymen. During his stay in Vienna (1911–1914), he wrote the opera Hagith and two song cycles, The Love Songs of Hafiz, which represent a transition between his first and second stylistic periods. Being lame in one knee made Szymanowski unsuitable for military service in World War I, and between 1914 and 1917, he composed many works and devoted himself to studying Islamic culture, ancient Greek drama, and philosophy. His works from this period, such as Mity (1914; Myths), Metopy (1915; Métopes), and Maski (1916; Masques), are characterized by great originality and diversity of style. The dynamic extremes in Szymanowski’s music lessened, and the composer started to employ coloristic orchestration and use polytonal and atonal material while preserving the expressive melodic style of his previous works. In 1918, Szymanowski completed the manuscript of a two-volume nov

Komitas

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Soghomon Soghomonian, ordained and commonly known as Komitas (; 8 October 186922 October 1935), was an Ottoman-Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer, and choirmaster, who is considered the founder of the Armenian national school of music. He is recognized as one of the pioneers of ethnomusicology. Orphaned at a young age, Komitas was taken to Etchmiadzin, Armenia’s religious center, where he received education at the Gevorgian Seminary. Following his ordination as vardapet (celibate priest) in 1895, he studied music at the Frederick William University in Berlin. He thereafter “used his Western training to build a national tradition”. He collected and transcribed over 3,000 pieces of Armenian folk music, more than half of which were subsequently lost with only around 1,200 now extant. Besides Armenian folk songs, he also showed interest in other cultures and in 1903 published the first-ever collection of Kurdish folk songs titled Kurdish melodies. His choir presented Armenian music in many European cities, earning the praise of Claude Debussy, among others. Komitas settled in Constantinople in 1910 to escape mistreatment by ultra-conservative clergymen at Etchmia

Konstantin Eiges

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Konstantin Romanovich Eiges (surname sometimes spelt Eyges; ; 5 June 1875 – 2 December 1950) was a Russian composer, teacher, and pianist. Early life Eiges was born in Bogodukhov (now Bohodukhiv in Kharkiv oblast, Ukraine), to Jewish parents, the doctor Ruvim Manasiyevich (also known as Roman Mikhailovich) Eiges (born Vilnius, 1840) and his wife Sofiya (Shifra) Iosifovna, née Eltsin. He was one of ten children, many of whom went on to artistic or academic careers; Vladimir Eiges (1877-1949) was a professor of mathematics, Aleksandr (1880-1943), also a mathematician, was an authority on Anton Chekhov, Veniamin (1888-1956) was an artist, Yekaterina (1890-1958) was a poet and sometime girlfriend of Sergei Esenin. Career Eiges attended Moscow Conservatory between 1900 and 1905, where his teachers included Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (composition), Sergei Taneyev (counterpoint) and Adolf Yaroshevsky (piano). He was a colleague of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Nikolai Medtner. His pupils included Alexei Stanchinsky. Most of his compositions are for piano solo, though he also wrote songs and chamber works, a cantata The Song of Oleg the Wise, and a symphonic poem, The Snowstorm. Eiges wrote numero

Konstantin Meladze

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Konstantin Shotayevich Meladze (; ; born 11 May 1963) is a Georgian-born Ukrainian and Russian composer and producer. He is the older brother of singer Valery Meladze and co-founder and co-producer of the Ukrainian girl group Nu Virgos (). Biography Early life Meladze was born on 11 May 1963 in Batumi to Shota and Nelly Meladze, who were engineers. He has a brother, Valery (1965) and a sister, Liana (1968). Career He has composed and produced songs for artists such as Valery Meladze, Nu Virgos, Yin-Yang, Vera Brezhneva, Albina Dzhanabaeva, Sofia Rotaru (“Ya zhe yego lyubila” and “Odin na svete”) and Polina Gagarina. He has also composed songs for a number of films, including Lilya 4-ever and a Russian 2003 version of Cinderella () and Hipsters. In 2016 and 2017 he was a judge at Vidbir, Ukraine’s National Selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Music video appearances Personal life Konstantin was married to Jana Meladze in 1994; they have three children: Alice (2000), Liya (2004) and Valery (2005). He married Ukrainian singer Vera Brezhneva in 2015. The couple divorced in 2023. The alleged reason for the split was their disagreement over Meladze continuing to own real estate in

Konstantin Vassiliev

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Konstantin Vassiliev ( (born 1970)) is a German composer and guitarist. Life Born in Novoaltaysk, Vasilyev studied guitar at the Novosibirsk Conservatory with Arkadi Burchanow and composition with Sergei Tossin. After graduation he moved to Germany, where he continued his guitar studies with Reinbert Evers at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, Münster, and his composition studies with Georg Haidu. In 1991, he organised the Chamber Ensemble Vassiliev for a combination of traditional European and Russian folk instruments, for which he wrote many compositions and arrangements. Together with the singer and reciter Günter Gall, he is also dedicated to the rediscovery of the Jewish poet Mascha Kaléko, who was expelled by the Nazis. Vasiliev is the winner of the composition competition at the Osnabrück guitar festival “Open Strings”. Work * Mountain rhapsody for guitar, A raphsody after a motif by Alban Berg. * “Den Wolken nach …”. * Konstantin Vassiliev: Sonata-Fantasy “Smoke of Love” after Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” und Sonata° auf der CD Sonatas von Roman Viazoskiy, CLCL 102 * Three Lyric Pieces * Swan Princess * Wanderer in Time * Two Russian Pieces (Guitar duet) * Due immagini

Konstantin von Stackelberg

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Konstantin Nikolai Freiherr von Stackelberg (, tr. ; 15 June 184830 March 1925) was a Baltic German composer and cavalry general in the Imperial Russian Army. Stackelberg was best known for his compositions on music about the White Army during the Russian Civil War. He was the head of the Imperial Music Choir from 1883 to 1917 (now the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra) and was also involved in improving the music in the Russian Army and Navy. His brother was Georg von Stackelberg, and their maternal grandfather was Maurycy Hauke, making them first cousins to Alexander I of Bulgaria, and Louis of Battenberg, Marquess of Milford Haven. He was awarded Order of Prince Danilo I, Order of the Cross of Takovo and a number of other decorations. Notes References

Kostiantyn Dankevych

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Kostiantyn Fedorovych Dankevych (December 24, 1905 – February 26, 1984) was a Soviet and Ukrainian composer, conductor, pianist and teacher. He was awarded the People’s Artist of the USSR in 1954. Biography Kostiantyn Dankevych was born in Odesa, in the Russian Empire (in present-day Ukraine). He studied at the Odesa Conservatory with Vasily Zolotarev and Mykola Vilinsky and graduated in 1929. His friendship and collaboration with Vilinsky lasted many years. He was made the director of Songs and Dance of the Red Army Choir in Tbilisi. Kostiantyn wrote his first symphony in 1937. Two years later he wrote his most popular score, the ballet Lileya. Dankevych taught composition at the Odesa Conservatory starting from 1944. In 1953, he was promoted to the staff of the Kyiv Conservatory. Dankevych used many Ukrainian and Russian Folk motifs. One of his notable works was his opera Bohdan Khmelnytsky (premiered January 29, 1951). Following its June premiere in Moscow, Pravda issued some vague and insignificant criticisms of the work, namely that it had not sufficiently portrayed the Polish gentry as enemies, that it did not depict the suffering of the masses, and it lacked a battle scene. The

Kurmangazy Sagyrbaev

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Kurmangazy Sagyrbayuly (, Qūrmanğazy Sağyrbaiūly; 1823–1896) was a Kazakh composer, instrumentalist (kobyz, dombra), and folk artist. He influenced Kazakh musical culture. He was born in 1823 in the Bukey Horde (now Zhanakala District, West Kazakhstan Region). He is buried in the Astrakhan region of Lower Volga in today’s Russian Federation. Biography Kurmangazy was born and raised in the Bukey Horde, in what is now Zhanakala District, West Kazakhstan Region, in a place called Zhideli. His final resting place is in Astrakhan Oblast, at a site formerly known as “Shaitani Bataga”, which is now called “Kurmangazy Hill” in his honor. Kurmangazy Sagyrbaiuly’s origins trace back to the “Kishi Zhuz” (Junior Horde) of the Kazakh people, specifically to the “Sultansiyk” branch of the “Baibakty” clan within the “Baiuly” tribe. His maternal lineage comes from the “Berish” clan, known for its legendary warriors and influential figures. Kurmangazy’s seventh-generation ancestor, “Ershi,” was renowned for his sharp wit and eloquence. A famous saying about him still exists: “Before debating Ershi’s men, try arguing with his women first.” His fifth-generation ancestor, “Baltabai,” and his family we

Kyrylo Stetsenko

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Kyrylo Hryhorovych Stetsenko (; May 12, 1882 – April 29, 1922) was a prolific Ukrainian composer, conductor, critic, and teacher. Late in his life he became a Ukrainian Orthodox priest and head of the Music section at the Ministry of Education of the short-lived Ukrainian People’s Republic. Biography Early life and education Kyrylo Stetsenko was born in Kvitky, in the land of Cherkashchyna, in Ukraine. His father, Hryhoriy, was a painter of icons and was known around for painting churches in nearby villages. His mother, Mariia, was the daughter of a deacon in the same village. Kyrylo was eighth of eleven children. When Kyrylo Stetsenko was aged 10, his maternal uncle Danylo Horyanskyi took him to study at the Saint Sophia Church School, where the boy was enrolled for five years, from 1892 to 1897. The young boy lived with his uncle in Kyiv, only returning home to his parents during the summer. However, since his family was poor, the boy had to work during this “vacation”, and his mother would spend the money that he earned on new clothes for him. During his studies at the school, Stetsenko sang in the school choir and after three years, he already conducted the group. The boy also

Lazar Weiner

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Lazar Weiner (, October 24, 1897 – January 10, 1982) was a Russian and American composer of Jewish music. He also worked as conductor, vocal coach, and accompanist. He was trained as a pianist at the Kiev Conservatory where he began his studies at the age of 13. He studied music composition in New York with Frederick Jacobi and Robert Russell Bennett, and was also well known vocal coach in Manhattan. The composer Yehudi Wyner was his son. Works Weiner composed more than 200 art songs as well as Yiddish and Hebrew cantatas and full synagogue services. He wrote several cantatas, among them Legend of Toil (1933), Fight for Freedom (1943), and To Thee, America (1944). He also wrote the music to the Yiddish play Generations of Green Fields (1974). References External links * Biography at the Milken Archive of Jewish Music

Lazare Saminsky

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Lazare Saminsky (born Lazar Semyonovich Saminsky; ; 8 November 1882 – 30 June 1959) was a Russian-American performer, conductor and composer, especially of Jewish music. Life Born to a merchant family in Valehotsulove (now ), near Odessa, Saminsky received a broad education in the arts, sciences and languages. He studied music at the Odessa Conservatoire from 1903–1905, and then went to Moscow, where he studied mathematics and philosophy as well as music. Expelled for his participation in the student protests of 1905, he went to St.Petersburg, where he studied with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Anatoly Lyadov, and Nikolai Tcherepnin. While still a student he became a founder member, with Mikhail Gnesin, Lyubov Streicher, and others, of the ‘Society for Jewish Folk Music’. He wrote music for the Society and helped organise its earliest publication. He continued an active member, even though from 1911 to 1918 he lived in Tbilisi, where he also interested himself in Georgian and Armenian music, and from 1917 to 1918 he was head of the conservatory. During this period he also wrote an opera Tsar Yulian (Emperor Julian) (which he later destroyed), and researched Jewish music of the Caucasian

Leo Zeitlin

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Lev Mordukhovich Tseitlin (, “Leyb Tseytlin”, born 1884, in Pinsk – July 8, 1930, in New York City), known as Leo Zeitlin, was a Russian-Jewish composer. In 1923, he emigrated to the United States. His best-known work is Eli Zion, a paraphrase for piano and cello “on a folk theme and trope of ‘Song of Songs’”. Life Zeitlin was a violinist, violist, conductor and impresario who was active in Saint Petersburg’s Society for Jewish Folk Music. In 1923, shortly after he arrived in New York City with his wife Esther from the Free City of Danzig, he became the violist and arranger for the Capitol Theatre. In 1925, he began arranging orchestral and small ensemble pieces for the Capitol’s radio program on WEAF, which in 1926 became the flagship station of the NBC Red Network. Beginning in 1926, the series of light classical concerts titled Capitol Theatre was broadcast by the NBC Red Network on Sunday evenings from 7:20pm to 9:15pm. This series continued until 1929, not long before Zeitlin’s death. In an article written by Paula Eisenstein Baker and published in Pro Musica Hebraica, Zeitlin is described as “one of the most important Russian Jewish composers to resurface, after decades of ne

Leokadiya Kashperova

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Leokadiya Aleksandrovna Kashperova (; 16 May 1872 – 3 December 1940) was a Russian pianist and Romantic composer. She was the piano teacher of composer Igor Stravinsky. She graduated first in 1893 from the St Petersburg Conservatoire at the culmination of her studies in Anton Rubinstein’s piano class, Professional musical life Over the following years, she composed works which included a symphony, a piano concerto, choral works, chamber music, piano solos and art-songs. In 1907 she undertook concert tours, to Berlin and twice to London. Selected compositions * 2 Sonatas for piano & cello Op 1 (in G, op 1 no 1, and in E minor, op 1 no 2) * Evening & night chorus a cappella * Sredi prirody * Songs of Love: 12 Romances soprano and piano Legacy In January 1910 Kashperova recorded seven piano rolls for the reproducing piano Welte-Mignon, six pieces by Mily Balakirev and one with own piano pieces. In 2002, while doing his Doctor of Philosophy at Oxford, Graham Griffiths found Kaspherova’s name while researching Stravinsky. Soon, she became his main focus of research. Kashperova’s symphony was subsequently published by Boosey & Hawkes. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of her birth day

Leonid Desyatnikov

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Leonid Arkadievich Desyatnikov (, born 16 October 1955) is a composer. He is a member of the St. Petersburg Union of Composers. Desyatnikov is the author of multiple operas, cantatas and compositions. His best known works are The Children of Rosenthal, his score for the ballet Lost Illusions, the opera Poor Liza; Gift, a cantata on poems by Gavriil Derzhavin; Dichterliebe und -leben, a vocal cycle on poems by Daniil Kharms and Nikolay Oleynikov; The Leaden Echo for voice(s) and instruments on the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins; The Rite of Winter 1949, a symphony for choir, soloists and orchestra; and Songs of Bukovina for piano. Life and career Leonid Desyatnikov was born on October 16, 1955 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. He studied composition and instrumentation at the Leningrad Conservatory in St. Petersburg. He has written four operas, several cantatas and numerous vocal and instrumental compositions. His principal compositions include: The Children of Rosenthal (an opera in two acts; libretto, Vladimir Sorokin), commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre; Poor Liza (a chamber opera in one act; with libretto by the composer, after the novel by Nikolai Karamzin); Gift (a cantata based on the ver

Leonid Malashkin

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Leonid Dimitrievitch Malashkin (1842 – February 11, 1902) was a Russian composer and conductor. Though he wrote a few works in larger forms, he is today chiefly remembered for his romances, particularly “Oh, Could I But Express in Song”. Little is recorded of Malashkin’s career; born in Moscow, he received his musical training abroad, and in 1870 began teaching voice at the Kiev Theological Seminary. He appears to have been primarily a composer of Russian Orthodox liturgical music, of pieces for piano, and of songs. Among his larger-format works were several symphonies, including at least two on folk themes and one titled the “Triumphant”; the latter, along with one of the folk symphonies and a collection of songs, was performed at an all-Malashkin concert at the Hall of the Assembly of the Nobility in Saint Petersburg in 1873. The same program was repeated in Moscow during the same concert season. In both cases, the composer conducted, with tenor Fyodor Nikolsky and mezzo-soprano Aleksandra Krutikova as soloists. Malashkin is remembered today for a single romance, “Oh, Could I But Express in Song” - sometimes translated as “O, Could I in Song Tell My Sorrow” - which was at one tim

Leonid Sabaneyev

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Leonid Leonidovich Sabaneyev (also spelled Sabaneyeff or Sabaneev; ; 1 October 18813 May 1968) was a Russian musicologist, music critic, composer and scientist. He was the son of Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneyev, a famous hunting expert, and his brother Boris was also a musician. Biography Leonid Sabaneyev was born in Moscow in 1881 and his musical studies were under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Taneyev, Nikolai Zverev and Paul de Schlözer at the Moscow Conservatory. piano pieces (including a Piano Sonata, Op. 15), and hoped to create a “Laboratory of the Exact Science of Music”. Sabaneyev left Russia in 1926, after publishing Scriabin (1916, 2/1923), History of Russian Music (1924), The General History of Music (1925), and Music After October (on post-revolution music in Russia). History of Russian Music was translated into German (1926) and received very positive reviews from critics such as Maurice Cauchie. In his later years he lived in Paris, London, the United States, and Nice, where he is buried. His musicological works from this period include Modern Russian Composers (1927), a monograph on Taneyev (1930), and Music for the Films (1935). His students in Paris included the Swed

Leopold Auer

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Leopold von Auer (; June 7, 1845 – July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Auer was born in Veszprém, Hungary, 7 June 1845, to a poor Jewish household of painters. He first studied violin with a local concertmaster. He later wrote that the violin was a “logical instrument” for any (musically inclined) Hungarian boy to take up because it “didn’t cost much.” At the age of 8 Auer continued his violin studies with , who also came from Veszprém, at the Budapest Conservatory. Kohne was concertmaster of the orchestra of the National Opera. A performance by Auer as soloist in the Mendelssohn violin concerto attracted the interest of some wealthy music lovers, who gave him a scholarship to go to Vienna for further study. He lived at the home of his teacher, Jakob Dont. Auer wrote that it was Dont who taught him the foundation for his violin technique. out of poverty. An audition with Henri Vieuxtemps in Graz was a failure, partly because Vieuxtemps’ wife thought so. A visit to Paris proved equally unsuccessful. Auer decided to seek the advice

Lev Gurilyov

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Lev Stepanovich Gurilyov (; 1770–1844) was a Russian serf musician and liturgical music composer, along with pedagogue and composer, who was active in Moscow during the late-18th to early-19th centuries. The father of pianist and composer Aleksander Gurilyov, Lev was a violin player and kapellmeister in the orchestra of Count Vladimir Grigorievich Orlov, the younger brother of Catherine the Great, to which was owned according to the principles of serfdom. The majority of his life was spent on the Semenovskoye-Otrada estate rus , owned by the Orlov family, although several moves occurred. Due to the inherited musical aptitude in his son Aleksander, Count Orlov had the son sent to study under the guidance of Irish composer John Field for music composition, and Joseph Iosifovich Genishta rus for music theory. although this cannot be confirmed. So competent and proficient was Gurilyov at his duties that performances had become well-attended, with popularity of work reaching other royal families and being notable for its praised combination of serf musicians from other regions. * Piano Sonata No. 1 (published in 1954) * E Minor Polonaise * G Minor Polonaise * Russian song “The people bl

Lev Knipper

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Lev Konstantinovich Knipper (; 3 December 1898 – 30 July 1974) was a Soviet and Russian composer and OGPU/NKVD agent. Life and career Lev Knipper was born in Tiflis to railway engineer Konstantin Leonardovich Knipper and Elena-Luiza Yulyevna Rid. Shortly after his birth, the family relocated to Tsarskoye Selo, then to Yekaterinoslav in 1910, and then Saint Petersburg in 1913. He was greatly influenced by his father’s sister, the actress Olga Knipper (wife of the playwright Anton Chekhov), who encouraged his musical interests. He learned to play clarinet, double bass, various brass instruments, and taught himself to play piano. Knipper enlisted in the White Army in 1916. Following the Russian Civil War of 1917, he became stranded in Turkey, though was eventually able to reunite with his aunt Olga, who was touring abroad. Upon his return to the RSFSR in 1922, he was repeatedly interviewed and ultimately recruited by the OGPU foreign department. At their behest, Knipper travelled to Germany in 1922–23, where he made the acquaintance of composers Alois Hába, Philipp Jarnach, and Paul Hindemith. Hindemith’s music in particular had a strong influence on Knipper’s own compositional langua

Lev Pulver

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Lev Mikhailovich Pulver (Yiddish pronunciation: Leib Pulver, , European spelling: Leo Pulver, ; 18 December 1883, Verkhnodniprovsk – 18 March 1970, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian-Jewish composer and musician. Early life He was an offspring of a renowned klezmorim’s family. Pulver studied violin since early childhood, at first with his father; later on, he studied with his brother-in-law, a disciple of Czech violinist Otakar Ševčík. Pulver graduated from Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied violin and composition under Anatoly Lyadov. Initially, he was a violinist and composer in a wandering Ukrainian theatre group. Later on, he was a symphonic concert-master and conductor, a founding member of the Stradivari Quartet. He was the musical director of the State Jewish Theatre in Moscow (the GOSET). Compositions Pulver composed incidental music for works including Shakespeare’s King Lear; Sholem Aleichem’s 200.000 and The Man of the Air; Adventures of Benjamin the Third after Mendele Mocher Sforim; Abraham Goldfaden’s The Sorceress (in collaboration with Joseph Achron); and Zalman Shneyer’s Freylekhs (in collaboration with Maximilian Steinberg). He also composed operettas

Lev Zhurbin

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Lev Zhurbin (born August 18, 1978, in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a composer and violist. Biography Lev Zhurbin immigrated to the United States in the year 1990. He is often credited simply as “Ljova”, the diminutive of his formal name. He is the son of the composer Alexander Zhurbin and the poet/lyricist/writer Irena Ginzburg. He is the author of over 70 original compositions for classical, jazz, and folk music ensembles. He has also contributed musical scores to numerous documentaries, features, shorts and animated films. the City of London Sinfonia, a string quartet for Brooklyn Rider and a commission for Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project; arrangements for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Brooklyn Philharmonic, tenor Javier Camarena, conductor Alondra de la Parra, songwriters Natalia Lafourcade and Ricky Martin, composer/guitarist Gustavo Santaolalla, The Knights, and collaborations with choreographers Aszure Barton, Damian Woetzel, Christopher Wheeldon, Katarzyna Skarpetowska (with Parsons Dance Company), and Eduardo Vilaro (with Ballet Hispanico). In 2018, he was on the faculty of the Atelier program at Princeton University, teaching a course on collaboration with the puppeteer Bas

Ludmila Jeske-Choińska-Mikorska

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Ludmila Jeske-Choińska-Mikorska (1849 – 2 November 1898) was a Polish singer and composer. She was born in Małachowo, near Poznań, and studied singing in Vienna with Mathilde Marchesi and in Milan with Francesco Lamperti and composition in Warsaw with Gustaw Roguski and Zygmunt Noskowski. She taught in Poznań beginning in 1877, and later in Warsaw. Her symphonic poem Rusalka won an award in Chicago in 1893. She married Teodore Jeske-Choiński and died in Warsaw. Works Mikorska wrote for orchestra and theater, and also dances and works for piano. Selected works include: *Rusalka symphonic poem *Markiz de Créqui, comic opera, 1892 *Filutka, operetta, 1884 *Zuch dziewczyna, operetta, 1884 References External links * Scores by Ludmila Jeske-Choińska-Mikorska in digital library Polona

Ludomir Różycki

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Ludomir Różycki (; 18 September 1883 Warsaw – 1 January 1953 Katowice) was a Polish composer, conductor and pedagogue. He was, with Mieczysław Karłowicz, Karol Szymanowski and Grzegorz Fitelberg, a member of the group of composers known as Young Poland, the intention of which was to invigorate the musical culture of their generation in their mother country. Life He was a son of a professor at the Warsaw Conservatory, where he studied piano and composition. He completed his studies with distinction, and then continued his studies in Berlin at the Academy of Music under Engelbert Humperdinck. He began his musical career as a conductor of opera and professor of piano in Lwów in 1907. It was while in Lwów that he began to compose. Subsequently, he moved to Warsaw but had to flee during the Warsaw Uprising. After the war, he lived and taught in Katowice. Music Różycki’s ballet Pan Twardowski (1920) was the first Polish large-scale ballet to be performed abroad, being seen in Copenhagen, Prague, Brno, Zagreb, Belgrade and Vienna, and being performed over 800 times in Warsaw. His eight operas included Casanova and Eros i Psyche (Eros and Psyche, to the libretto of Jerzy Żuławski), the lat

Ludwig-Wilhelm Tepper de Ferguson

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Ludwig-Wilhelm Tepper de Ferguson (Lewis-William Ferguson-Tepper, Tepper von Ferguson, Louis-Guillaume Tepper de Ferguson; 18 December 1768, Warsaw – 12 September 1838, Paris) was a Polish–Russian musician and composer, a music teacher mainly associated with the Imperial Lycée in Tsarskoye Selo (near St Petersburg, Russia). Biography Origin of the family Ludwig-Wilhelm Tepper de Ferguson was born in Warsaw as the sixth child and third son of the extremely wealthy Polish banker Piotr Fergusson Tepper and his wife Maria-Philipina, née Valentin d’Hauterive. The surname ‘Ferguson’ indicates the Scottish origin of the family. Indeed, in 1703, his grandfather William Ferguson of Inverurie had emigrated from Scotland to Poland. In 1714, William Ferguson married Katherina-Concordia Tepper, a sister of the wealthy and influential merchant and banker, furrier and fur trader Pjotr Tepper of Poznań. Pjotr Tepper managed the large-scale international trade using family connections, and imported goods to Poland from many countries, including Britain. William Ferguson and Katherina-Concordia had three sons. One of them, Peter (1732–1794), who would become Ludwig-Wilhelm’s father, entered into par

Lyudmila Lyadova

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Lyudmila Alekseevna Lyadova (; 29 March 1925 – 10 March 2021) was a Russian composer who lived and worked in Moscow. Early life Lyudmila Lyadova was born in Sverdlovsk (modern Yekaterinburg) into a family of professional musicians. Her father was Alexei Ivanovich Lyadov, a tenor soloist and violinist of the Sverdlovsk Opera Theatre, and her mother was Julia Petrovna Lyadova (1902-1980) who sang with the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic. Lyudmila took private piano lessons as a child, studying with Vanda Bernhard-Trzaska. At the age of 10, she entered the Sverdlovsk Conservatory where she studied with Bertha Marants and Victor Trambitsky. At the age of 14 she made her debut with the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic conducted by Mark Paverman. Early career During World War II, Lyadova and her mother became active in concert brigades to entertain the troops, where Lyudmila played and sang popular songs. By November 1943, she had already written a children’s miniature on poems by Agniya Barto and Petrovsky and other works including a piano sonata. She appeared in Moscow in a showcase for young talent, and two years later won a performance prize in Moscow for a duet with Nina Panteleeva. The duo went on

Maksim Dunayevsky

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Maksim Isaakovich Dunayevsky (; born 15 January 1945 in Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian composer. People’s Artist of Russia (2006). He is the artistic director and chairman of the artistic council of the Moscow Regional Philharmonic since 2015. Biography Maksim Dunayevsky was born on 15 January 1945 in Moscow. He is the son of the composer Isaak Dunayevsky and the ballerina of the Alexandrov Ensemble and the Moscow Operetta Theater Zoya Ivanovna Pashkova (1922-1994), born out of wedlock. Maksim’s elder brother on the father’s side, Eugene (1932-2000) was an artist. From 1969 to 1974, Dunayevsky was the conductor of the Vakhtangov Theater. In 1974-1975, he was the chief conductor and music director of the Moscow music hall, in 1985-1987 he was the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the State Pop Orchestra of the RSFSR (he attracted such people as Pavel Smeyan, Irina Ponarovskaya, Boris Oppenheim, Weiland Rodd, Andrey Davidyan and musicians of the rock group SV), In 1994, especially for Nikolai Karachentsov, he wrote 10 songs based on poems by Ilya Reznik, which were later included in the actor’s solo album “My Little Lady”, recorded by him in Los Angeles. He lived in the USA f

Marģeris Zariņš

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Marģeris Zariņš (24 May 1910, Jaunpiebalga – 27 February 1993, Riga) was a Latvian composer and writer. He was an author of symphonic and vocal symphonic music, choir music, vocal chamber music, cantatas, oratories and operas; contemporary picaresque novels and short stories. He is considered to be the first representative of the Postmodern style in Latvian literature. Biography His father was a choir conductor, organist and organ builder. He completed his primary education at , by which time he was already performing as an organist. After 1925, he attended the then, in 1928, studied organ, piano and composition at the Riga Conservatory. He slowly gained recognition as a composer while working as a teacher and a librarian. Following the Soviet Occupation, he was appointed musical director at the Dailes Theatre (1940–1950), and served as chairman of the Latvian Composers’ Union (1951–1952, 1956–1968). He was also the Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra for the 1951–1952 season. Although he was forced to compose in the acceptable Soviet musical styles, he attempted to experiment whenever possible. Toward the end of the 1960s, he turned to writing. In 1969, the journal

Maria Szymanowska

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Maria Szymanowska ( Polish pronunciation: ; born Marianna Agata Wołowska; Warsaw, 14 December 1789 – 25 July 1831, Saint Petersburg, Russia) was a Polish composer and one of the first professional virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. She toured extensively throughout Europe, especially in the 1820s, before settling permanently in Saint Petersburg. In the Russian imperial capital, she composed for the court, gave concerts, taught music, and ran an influential salon. The salons in 18th-century France were intellectual gatherings held at home by educated women. In 1837, the composer and music critic Robert Schumann defined salon music as elegant light music and stated that this type of social music should sound beautiful, delicate, and fashionable. Szymanowska was highly praised by Schumann for her salon music works, especially her etudes. Her compositions—largely piano pieces, songs, and other small chamber works, as well as the first piano concert etudes and nocturnes in Poland—typify the of the era preceding Frédéric Chopin. She was the mother of Celina Szymanowska, who married the Polish Romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz. Biography Marianna Agata Wołowska was born in Warsaw, Poland,

Maria Zubova

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Maria Voinovna Zubova (Russian: Мария Воиновна Зубова), (1749?–1799) was a Russian poet, composer, and concert singer, known for her rendition of folksongs. She was born in Saint Petersburg and was the daughter of Vice-Admiral Warrior Yakovlevich Rimsky-Korsakov. She was married to Afanasy Nikolaevich Zubov (1738–1822), Governor of Kursk from 1782 to 1791. With her husband, on June 19, 1780, they moved into an estate located near Murom, Vladimir Oblast, regarded as one of the most ancient cities within Russia. Composer Zubova was the creator of heartfelt poems and a composer of salon songs during the late 18th and was considered by the Russian Writer Daniil Mordovtsev as one of the “literary daughters of Lomonosov and Sumarokov.” Only a small portion of her musical work was published, the majority being published in Saint Petersburg during 1770. She was also a minor translator of French literature, although her work remains unpublished. She is most recognized for her folksong “I am moving to the desert…” written in 1791, whose words are now commonly used within the Russian vernacular. The second line of the first stanza is used, e.g., “From the beautiful places here,” to denote a

Mark Fradkin

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Mark Grigoryevich Fradkin (May 4, 1914 – April 4, 1990) was a Soviet composer, author of numerous popular songs (many of which were co-written with poet Yevgeny Dolmatovsky) and musical scores for forty films. In 1979, Mark Fradkin received the USSR State Prize and, in 1985, he was granted the status of the People’s Artist of the USSR. Biography Mark Fradkin was born in Vitebsk, Russian Empire (now Belarus), to a family of doctors. In the 1920s, having graduated from the technological secondary school, Mark joined a clothing factory in Vitebsk. After two years there, he joined the Third Belorussian Theatre as an actor (later musical administrator). In 1934, he enrolled in the Leningrad Theatre Institute where he started writing music. In 1938-1939, he studied in the Belorussian Conservatory under the guidance of Professor Aladov while working as an actor in the Minsk Children Theater (ТЮЗ). Family Mark Fradkin’s father, Grigory Konstantinovich Fradkin, a medical doctor in Kursk, was executed by the White Army troops retreating from the city in 1920. His mother, Yevgenya Mironovna Fradkina (née Shagalova), also a medical doctor, was murdered during the Holocaust, along with many other

Mark Minkov

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Mark Anatolievich Minkov (; 25 November 1944 – 29 May 2012) was a Soviet and Russian music composer. His music is featured in a number of operas, ballets, stage performances, and films. He composed the scores for more than a hundred cinema and television films, including Investigation Held by ZnaToKi (1985), We Are from Jazz (1983) and Neznayka with Our Court (1983). On May 29, 2012 Mark Minkov died at the age of 68. He was buried at Vostryakovsky cemetery. Early life and career Minkov was born in Moscow, USSR. He attended the Merzlyakovki Conservatory School where he studied composition under Nikolay Sidelnikov. He then studied under Aram Khachaturian at the Moscow Conservatory in 1964. A song by Minkov based on the lyrics Invisible struggle (translit. Nezrimiy Boi - If somebody, somewhere among us, sometimes…) by Anatoly Gorokhov is featured in almost all the series. It became an unofficial hymn of the Soviet Militia. In 2001, he was awarded the MVD Russian Interior Ministry award for the music theme to the Sledstvie vedut znatoki. Awards and honours * 1970 – member of the Composers Union * 1981 – member of the Cinematographers Union * 1989 – Honored Artist of the RSFSR * 1999

Martin Wegelius

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Martin Wegelius (10 November 1846 – 22 March 1906) was a Finnish composer and musicologist, primarily remembered as the founder, in 1882, of the Helsinki Music Institute, now known as the Sibelius Academy. Wegelius studied in Leipzig, Vienna, and Munich. He had intended to pursue a career as a composer and wrote a handful of orchestral works and a significant number of chamber and vocal works. He was a particular admirer of Wagner but wrote predominantly in the Romantic style. After founding the Institute, he had little time for composing and appears to have concentrated exclusively on teaching. Graduates of Wegelius’ Institute include Jean Sibelius and Agnes Tschetschulin. He is often compared with his contemporary and rival Robert Kajanus, founder of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (initially the Helsinki Orchestral Association), the first professional symphony orchestra in the Nordic countries. He is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki. Publications * Grunderna i allmänna musikläran (1887) * Lärobok i allmän musiklära och analys (1888-89) * Hufvuddragen af den västerländska musikens historia från den kristna tidens början till våra dagar. 1-3 (1891-93) * Kurs i ton

Masguda Shamsutdinova

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Masguda Islamovna Shamsutdinova (; born June 1, 1955, in Kshlau-Yelga, Bashkir ASSR) is a Tatar writer and composer. Biography Masguda Shamsutdinova was born in Bashkortostan. She studied music in Kazakhstan and graduated from Kazan State Conservatoire in the Republic of Tatarstan. She continued her studies at the Tatar History Institute and St. Petersburg State University and received a Ph.D. in 2002. The same year Shamsutdinova moved to Seattle, Washington, where she lives and works. Honors and awards *2003 Best Composer, Art-Horde International Theater Festival *2002 Best Composer, Nauruz International Theater Festival *2000 1st Place, Tatar Theater Festival *1994 Best Composer, Tatar Theater Festival *1993 Tatarstan Republican Award for contributions to national music *1983 Diploma, Romanian Drama Festival in the USSR Works Shamsutdinova’s compositions are influenced by Tartar folk music. She composes chamber and symphony music, and for film soundtracks. Selected works include: *Dervish symphonic poem 2006 *Symphony No.3, Genghis-Khan 2004 *Marriage of Geese choral 2001 *Amazons of Tartary 2002 *The Butterfly on the Snow 2002 *Hymn to Prophet Muhammad, Maulid an-Nabi 2006 Shams

Maxim Berezovsky

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Maxim Sozontovich Berezovsky ( ; ; c. 17452 April 1777) was a composer of secular and liturgical music, and a conductor and opera singer, who worked at the Saint Petersburg Court Chapel in the Russian Empire, but who also spent much of his career in Italy. He made an important contribution to the music of Ukraine. Together with Artemy Vedel and Dmitry Bortniansky, both of whom have cited him as an influence, Berezovsky is considered by musicologists as one of the three great composers of 18th-century Ukrainian classical music, and one of the Russian Empire’s first composers. Berezovsky’s place of birth and his father’s name are known only from verbal accounts. He is traditionally thought to have been educated at the ; he may have also attended the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, although this is uncertain. In 1758, he was accepted as a singer into the capella at Oranienbaum, before being employed at the imperial court of Catherine II in Saint Petersburg, where he received lessons from the Italian composer Baldassare Galuppi. In 1769, Berezovsky was sent to study in Bologna. There he composed secular works, including Demofonte, a three-act opera seria that was the earliest Italian-style opera

Maxim Fadeev

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Maxim “Max” Aleksandrovich Fadeev (; born 6 May 1968) is a Russian singer-songwriter, composer and producer. Biography Early life and career Maxim Fadeev was born on 6 May 1968 in Kurgan, Kurgan Oblast, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. His father, Alexander Ivanovich Fadeev (1941–2016) was a head teacher at a music college. When he was a child, he attended a musical school in Kurgan, and learned how to play bass guitar. He later attended two universities, both musical, when aged only fifteen. Fadeev started working with professional musicians in 1989, such as Larisa Dolina and Valery Leontyev. He was supported by showman and actor Sergei Kirillov, who also presented Fadeev to the world of professional music. 1993–2003: Linda and Star Factory 2 In 1993 Fadeev started managing singer Svetlana Geiman, who would later become famous as Linda. Fadeev wrote, produced and composed her music material. Having been managed by Fadeev, Linda rose to media attention and a quick shot to stardom followed, backed by both her over-the-top music which pleased the critics, and her offbeat, semi-ethnic, Tibet-driven visual persona, epitomised by the “Vo

Maximilian Steinberg

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Maximilian Osseyevich Steinberg (; – 6 December 1946) was a Russian composer of classical music. Though once considered the hope of Russian music, Steinberg is far less well known today than his mentor (and father-in-law) Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, his rival Igor Stravinsky, or his student protege Dmitri Shostakovich. In 2014, Steinberg’s choral concerto Passion Week was rediscovered and performed for the first time. It was instantly praised as a masterpiece by both lovers and performers of Classical music. This has triggered a revival of interest in the life and music of Maximilian Steinberg. Life Steinberg was born into a Lithuanian Jewish family in Vilna, Russian Empire (present-day Vilnius, Lithuania). His father, Osey (Hosea) Steinberg (Joshua Steinberg), was a leading scholar of Hebrew. In 1901, he went to Saint Petersburg, to study biology at the university there. He graduated in 1906. In the meantime he also started studying at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He entered Anatoly Lyadov’s harmony class, moving on to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s harmony class and Alexander Glazunov’s counterpoint class. His considerable talent in composition soon became clear, encouraged especia

Mieczysław Karłowicz

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Mieczysław Karłowicz (, 11 December 18768 February 1909) was a Polish composer and conductor. Life Mieczysław Karłowicz was born in Vishneva, in the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire (now in Belarus) into a noble family belonging to Clan Ostoja. His father Jan was a Polish linguist, lexicographer, and musician. As a child, Karłowicz studied violin, for which he later composed his only concerto. Karłowicz studied in Warsaw with Zygmunt Noskowski, Stanisław Barcewicz, Piotr Maszyński, and Gustaw Roguski. He later studied in Berlin with Heinrich Urban, to whom he dedicated his Serenade for Strings, which he composed and performed while Urban’s student. From 1906 to 1907 he studied conducting with Arthur Nikisch. Career Karłowicz’s music is of a late Romantic character. He was a great admirer of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky whose Symphony No. 6 he praised. Tchaikovsky’s influence can be heard in Karłowicz’s earlier works, most notably the E minor symphony and the Violin Concerto. Like most of the late Romantics he also fell under the considerable influence of Richard Wagner, especially with Tristan und Isolde. Nevertheless, he managed to develop an original musical language expressed

Mieczysław Weinberg

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Mieczysław Weinberg (December 8, 1919 – February 26, 1996) was a Polish, Soviet, and Russian composer and pianist. Born in Warsaw to parents who worked in the Yiddish theatre in Poland, his early years were surrounded by music. At the age of 12, he began formal music lessons. Later, he studied piano at the Warsaw Conservatory. In 1939, Weinberg fled Warsaw when Germany invaded Poland and started World War II. His family was later murdered at the Trawniki concentration camp. Weinberg found refuge in the Soviet Union. He established himself successfully in Moscow with support from Dmitri Shostakovich and the Committee on the Arts. Postwar changes in Soviet cultural policy led to increased persecution of minority groups, including Jews. Although Weinberg’s music was well regarded and regularly played, he was surveilled and harassed by the MVD. On February 6, 1953, Weinberg was arrested and jailed at Lubyanka Prison. Intercession on his behalf by Shostakovich and Stalin’s death led to Weinberg’s release on April 25. The 1960s were the peak of Weinberg’s professional success. Aside from his concert works, his music for film also became well known. His score for Fyodor Khitruk’s cartoon

Miina Härma

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Miina Härma (; 9 February 1864 – 16 November 1941) was an Estonian composer, organist, choir director, and music teacher, known for being Estonia’s first professional female composer and organist. Early life and education Miina Hermann was born on 9 February 1864 at the schoolhouse of in Kõrveküla, Governorate of Livonia (present-day Estonia). Härma’s father was a schoolteacher. Personal life In 1935, Härma changed her surname from Hermann to Härma. Legacy Her greatest contribution is perhaps the fact that she took organ music to the countryside, as virtually no skilled organists gave concerts outside of towns. During Estonia SSR the in Tartu district was named after Härma. In 1965, the by was erected on Härma’s grave. The memorial monument was declared an Estonian cultural heritage monument in 1997. References

Mikael Tariverdiev

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Mikael Leonovich Tariverdiev (also Mikayel Levoni Tariverdian; 15 August 1931 – 25 July 1996) was a Soviet composer of Armenian descent. He headed the Composers’ Guild of the Soviet Cinematographers’ Union from its inception and is most famous for his movie scores, primarily the score to Seventeen Moments of Spring. Biography Mikael Tariverdiev was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR to Armenian parents, but lived and worked in Russia. His father, Levon Tariverdiev, was from Baku but a native of Nagorno-Karabakh. Tariverdiev wrote over 100 romances and four operas, including the comic opera Count Cagliostro and the mono-opera “The Waiting”. However, he is mostly known for his scores to many popular Soviet movies (more than 130 in total), including “Seventeen Moments of Spring” and “The Irony of Fate”—see List of film music by Mikael Tariverdiev. He received many awards, including the USSR State Prize in 1977 and the Prize of the American Music Academy in 1975. In 1986 he was awarded the title of People’s Artist of Russia. In 1990, he won three Nika Awards for Best Composer. The Best Music prize at the largest Russian National Film Festival Kinotaur is named after Tariverdiev. On 31 May 1

Mikalay Shchahlou-Kulikovich

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(; 13 October 1896 – 31 March 1969) was a cultural and social activist, composer and musicologist, researcher of Belarusian church and secular music. Biography Kulikovich was born on October 13, 1896, in Moscow (according to other sources his date of birth is April 4 at the Smolensk Oblast). Born in the Orthodox Russian – Belarusian family, father’s family came from the Don Cossacks and the mother from Smolensk. Since childhood, brought up by his maternal aunt, who was Abbess of the Orthodox Monastery in Tula. He sang in the church choir, where he revealed his musical abilities. He graduated from the Moscow Synodal School of Church Music, where he was influenced by the famous reformer of Russian church music Alexander Kastalsky. Prior to 1925 he studied at the Moscow Conservatory as a singer took part in the European tour. In 1930 Kulikovich was engaged in collecting and studying Smolensk song folklore. For a time he lived in the Ukrainian SSR and from 1936 in Minsk. He worked as a music editor at the Belarusian Radio. Since 1937 he was the conductor of a symphony orchestra of the Belarusian Radio Committee. He was one of the organizers of the Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus. A

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis

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Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (; 22 September 1875 – 10 April 1911) was a Lithuanian composer, painter, choirmaster, cultural figure, and writer in Polish. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and Art Nouveau, and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. He has been considered one of the pioneers of abstract art in Europe. During his short life, he composed about 400 pieces of music and created about 300 paintings, as well as many literary works and poems. The majority of his paintings are housed in the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania. His works have had a profound influence on modern Lithuanian culture. Biography Childhood and early music studies Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis was born in Senoji Varėna, a town in southeastern Lithuania which at the time was part of the Russian Empire. His mother Adelė (Adelaidė) Ona Marija Magdalena née Radmanaitė (Radmann) (1854-1919) came from a Lutheran family of Bavarian origin, born in Vileikiai village (Lazdijai region). She finished elementary school in Seirijai. Orphaned at the age of 14, she worked as a nanny in Count Oppermann’s estate in Aniškis. His father, Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1851-1914, born

Mikhail Glinka

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Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (; 1 June 180415 February 1857) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country and is often regarded as the fountainhead of Russian classical music. His compositions were an important influence on other Russian composers, notably the members of The Five, who produced a distinctive Russian style of music. Early life and education Glinka was born in the village of Novospasskoye, not far from the Desna River in the Smolensk Governorate of the Russian Empire (now in the Yelninsky District of the Smolensk Oblast). His wealthy father had retired as an army captain, and the family had a strong tradition of loyalty and service to the tsars, and several members of his extended family had lively cultural interests. His great-great-grandfather was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth nobleman, Wiktoryn Władysław Glinka of the Trzaska coat of arms who was given lands in the Smolensk Voivodeship. In 1655, Wiktoryn converted to Eastern Orthodoxy with the new name Yakov Yakovlevich (Jacob, son of Jacob), and remained the owner of his lands under the tsar. Mikhail was raised by his overprotective and pampering paternal grandmother, who fed him s

Mikhail Gnessin

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Mikhail Fabianovich Gnessin (or Gnesin; ; 2 February 18835 May 1957) was a Russian Jewish composer and teacher. His grandfather Y’shayah was also a famous singer and Badchen (wedding entertainer) in Vilnius. Each of the Gnessin children appears to have possessed musical talent, and Gnessin’s three elder sisters, Evgenia, Elena and Maria, all graduated with distinction from the Moscow Conservatory. His sisters went on to found the Gnessin State Musical College (now the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music), an elite music school in Moscow in 1895. and others, the Society for Jewish Folk Music. During this period Gnessin continued to take part in Socialist activities, teaching music to factory workers at workmen’s clubs. Just prior to the Revolution, Jewish music and musicians in Russia were experiencing a nationalist boom. Figures such as Rimsky-Korsakov and Stasov were actively encouraging the establishment of such a school…both Tsarist and Soviet authorities were not too happy about this development, and gave grudging permission for the folk side of Jewish culture to be established, rather than an openly Jewish nationalist compositional movement. Paradoxically, the number of Jewish

Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov

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Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (; born Mikhail Mikhailovich Ivanov; 19 November 185928 January 1935) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor and teacher. His music ranged from the late-Romantic era into the 20th century era. Biography Mikhail Mikhailovich Ivanov was born in 1859 at Gatchina, near St. Petersburg, where his father was a mechanic employed at the palace. He later added the name Ippolitov, his mother’s maiden name, to distinguish himself from a composer and music critic with an identical name. He studied music at home and was a choirboy at the cathedral of St. Isaac, where he also had musical instruction, before entering the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1875. In 1882 he completed his studies as a composition pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov, whose influence was to remain strong. Ippolitov-Ivanov’s first appointment was to the position of director of the music academy and conductor of the orchestra in Tiflis, the principal city of Georgia, where he was to spend the next seven years. This period allowed him to develop an interest in the music of the region, a reflection of the general interest taken in the music of non-Slav minorities and more exotic neighbours that

Mikhail Ivanov (composer)

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Mikhail Mikhaylovich Ivanov (; 23 September 184920 October 1927) was a Russian composer, critic and writer of music. Biography Mikhail Mikhaylovich Ivanov was born in Moscow in 1849. He studied at the Technological Institute, Saint Petersburg, then at the Moscow Conservatory for a year, under Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (harmony) and Alexandre Dubuque (piano). He lived the next six years of his life in Rome, where he associated with Franz Liszt and his pupils and studied with Giovanni Sgambati. He returned to Russia and became a music critic with the Novoye Vremya. Many of his compositions were performed, but not published. Arias from his opera Zabava Puytatishna (1899) have been recorded by Olimpia Boronat, Eugenia Bronskaya and Leonid Sobinov. His liturgical piece The Lord’s Prayer has been recorded by Nicolai Gedda. He died in Rome in 1927. Musical works * Potemkin’s Feast (or Potemkin’s Holiday), opera (1888; 16 December 1902, St Petersburg) * Zabava Putyatishna, opera (1899; 15 January 1899, Moscow) * The Proud Woman, opera (not prod.) * Woe to the Wise, opera (19 April 1910, Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg) * La Vestale (a.k.a. Vyestalka), ballet (choreography by Marius Peti

Mikola Ravienski

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Mikola Jakaŭlievič Ravienski (; ; 5 December 1886 – 9 March 1953) was a Belarusian composer, conductor and music critic who authored music for the famous hymn Mahutny Boža (Almighty God). Early life Ravienski was born on 5 December 1886 into the family of a gardener working at the Kaplancy estate in Igumensky Uyezd, Minsk Governorate of the Russian Empire (nowadays the village of Kaplancy in Byerazino District, Minsk Region, Belarus). From the age of five he sang in a local church choir and was later invited to a church choir in Minsk where he received his primary musical education. In 1903 he was posted as a choir conductor to a Minsk monastery and then to Navahrudak where he collected over 500 folk songs. Later life From 1919 Ravienski worked in Minsk as a choir conductor and a school teacher. At this time his first compositions appeared - songs based on poems by Maksim Bahdanovič, Kanstancyja Bujło, an introduction to the poem “Hapon” by Vincent Dunin-Marcinkievič, the song “Oh you, Neman River” based on poetry of Źmicier Žyłunovič. In 1922 a compilation of his music was published. All of Ravienski’s manuscripts and print-outs were destroyed in a fire caused by German bombing of

Mily Balakirev

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Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev ( , ; , ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known today primarily for his work promoting musical nationalism and his encouragement of more famous Russian composers, notably Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He began his career as a pivotal figure, extending the fusion of traditional folk music and experimental classical music practices begun by composer Mikhail Glinka. In the process, Balakirev developed musical patterns that could express overt nationalistic feeling. After a nervous breakdown and consequent sabbatical, he returned to classical music but did not wield the same level of influence as before. In conjunction with critic and fellow nationalist Vladimir Stasov, in the late 1850s and early 1860s, Balakirev brought together the composers now known as The Five (a.k.a., The Mighty Handful)the others were Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. For several years, Balakirev was the only professional musician of the group; the others were amateurs limited in musical education. He imparted to them his musical beliefs, which continued to underlie their thinking long after he left the group in 1871, and enco

Modest Mussorgsky

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Name#

The spelling and pronunciation of the composer’s name have caused some confusion. The family name derives from a 15th- or 16th-century ancestor, Roman Vasilyevich Monastyryov, who appears in the Velvet Book, the 17th-century genealogy of Russian boyars. Roman Vasilyevich bore the nickname “Musorga” (from , meaning “music maker” ), and was the grandfather of the first Mussorgsky. The composer could trace his lineage to Rurik, the legendary ninth-century prince of Novgorod and founder of the Russian monarchy. In Mussorgsky family documents, the spelling of the name varies: “Musarskiy”, “Muserskiy”, “Muserskoy”, “Musirskoy”, “Musorskiy”, and “Musurskiy”. The baptismal record gives the composer’s name as “Muserskiy”. In early (up to 1858) letters to Mily Balakirev, the composer signed his name “Musorskiy” (). The “g” made its first appearance in a letter to Balakirev in 1863. Mussorgsky used this new spelling (, Musorgskiy) to the end of his life, but occasionally reverted to the earlier “Musorskiy”. The addition of the “g” to the name was likely initiated by the composer’s elder brother Filaret to obscure the resemblance of the name’s root to an unsavory Russian word: :мусoр (músor) — n. m. debris, rubbish, refuse Mussorgsky apparently did not take the new spelling seriously and played on the “rubbish” connection in letters to Vladimir Stasov and to Stasov’s family, routinely signing his name Musoryanin, roughly “garbage-dweller” (compare dvoryanin: “nobleman”). The addition of the “g” and the accompanying shift in stress to the second syllable (i.e., Mu-SÓRK-skiy), sometimes described as a Polish variant, was supported by Filaret Mussorgsky’s descendants until his line ended in the 20th century. Their example was followed by many influential Russians, such as Fyodor Shalyapin, Nikolay Golovanov, and Tikhon Khrennikov, who, perhaps dismayed that the great composer’s name was “reminiscent of garbage”, supported the second-syllable stress that has also become entrenched in the West. The Western convention of doubling the first “s”, which is not observed in scholarly literature (e.g., The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians), likely arose because in many Western European languages a single intervocalic /s/ often becomes voiced to /z/ (as in “music”), unlike in Slavic languages where the intervocalic /s/ is always unvoiced. Doubling the consonant thus reinforces its voiceless sibilant /s/ sound. “Modest” is the Russian form of the name “Modestus” which means “moderate” or “restrained” in Late Latin. He was called “Modinka” (), diminutive form with the stressed O, by his close friends and relatives.

Moses Milner

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Mikhail “Moshe” Arnoldovich Milner (Мильнер, Михаил “Моше” Арнольдович; 1886–1953) was a Russian Jewish pianist and composer. He is notable as composer, and conductor, of the first Yiddish opera in post-revolution Russia “Die Himlen brenen” (“The Heavens Burn”) in 1923. Biography Moses Milner was born in Rokitno Basilovsky, Kiev Governorate in 1886. He sang in the choir of the Brodsky Choral Synagogue in Kiev, then attended the Kiev Conservatory. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1907 till 1915. While in St Petersburg Milner began to compose Yiddish songs for Susman Kiselgof (Зусман Кисельгоф)’s Society for Jewish Folk Music (Общество еврейской народной музыки). He also wrote incidental music for Jewish theaters. He provided music for the Habima Theater and State Jewish Theater, Moscow (GOSET) (Государственный еврейский театр (ГОСЕТ)), and the Leningrad choir Evokans (Евоканс). He died in Leningrad in 1953. References

Murad Kazhlayev

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Murad Magomedovich Kazhlayev (15 January 193123 December 2023) was a Russian and Lak composer and conductor. He was a People’s Artist of the USSR (1981), (2016), and laureate of international premiums and contests. He was also Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the , a professor and academician at Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. Biography Murad Kajlayev was born on 15 January 1931 in Baku to a Lak family. He graduated from Baku State Conservatoire from the composition class of . He was expelled from there for his ardour for practicing non-academic musical genres but soon he was reclaimed. He worked as a teacher at a musical school named after Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in Makhachkala, as a chief conductor of the Dagestan Radio Symphonic Orchestra (1957–1958), artistic director of the Dagestan Philharmonic Hall (1963–1964) and secretary of administration of the Union of Soviet Composers (from 1968). Awards * Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation (2021) * Honoured Artist of the RSFSR (1960) * People’s Artist of the USSR (1981) * Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1971) * Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” of the III and IV degrees (2008, 1995) * Order of Friendship (201

Muslim Magomayev (composer)

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Abdulmuslim Muhammad oghlu Magomayev (; 18 September 1885 – 28 July 1937), commonly known as Muslim Magomayev (), was an Azerbaijani composer and conductor. He is the paternal grandfather and namesake of Azerbaijani opera singer Muslim Magomayev. Early life He was born Abdulmuslim Magomayev into a family of a blacksmith on the same day another prominent Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov was born. He studied at a primary school in Grozny before being admitted to the Gori Pedagogical Seminary (in present-day Georgia) in 1900. There, Magomayev developed a passion for music and conducting. That was also where he first met Uzeyir Hajibeyov, then his fellow student. However, Magomayev found the musical career financially unpromising and decided to focus on teaching. In 1905, he acquired his teaching certificate at the Tiflis Teachers’ College and was appointed a teacher to the village of Bekovichi (now Kizlyar, Republic of North Ossetia–Alania). In 1906, he was voluntarily reappointed to Lankaran (present-day Azerbaijan). In 1911, he received a license that allowed him to teach in high schools and moved to a Baku suburb, Sabunchu. While teaching at a school, he took up music and cond

Mykhailo Verykivsky

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Mykhailo Verykivsky ( 20 November 189614 June 1962) was a Ukrainian composer, conductor and teacher. He was an Honored Artist of Ukraine in 1944. Biography In early years Mykhailo Verykivsky grows in an atmosphere of love and respect for Ukrainian native folk songs, which influenced his musical work. After graduating from elementary school, Verykivsky entered the city school and was admitted to the bishop’s choir. He continued his musical education at the Kremenets Commercial School (1912–1914), where he conducted the choir and orchestra of folk instruments, played in the school symphony orchestra, studied cello, piano and made his first attempts at composition - he created piano preludes and romances. In 1914 Verykivsky began to study at Kyiv Conservatory as double bass player. From 1922 he works as a teacher at the Mykola Lysenko Institute of Music and Drama and, later, in Kyiv Conservatory (until 1960, with a break in 1941–1944; from 1946 he was its professor). 5 operas (including Taras Shevchenko-based operas The Sotnyk and The Servant Girl); an oratorio on Marusia Bohuslavka; five cantatas; a concerto for piano and orchestra (1950); a number of orchestral works; a large body o

Mykola Leontovych

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Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (, ; 13 December 187723 January 1921) was a Ukrainian composer, conductor, ethnomusicologist, and teacher. His music was inspired by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko and the Ukrainian National Music School. Leontovych specialised in a cappella choral music, ranging from original compositions to church music to elaborate arrangements of folk music. Leontovych was born and raised in Monastyrok in the Podolia province of the Russian Empire (now in Vinnytsia Oblast, west of Ukraine). He was educated as a priest in the Kamianets-Podilskyi Theological Seminary. With the independence of the Ukrainian State in the 1917 revolution, he moved to Kyiv, where he worked at the Kyiv Conservatory and the Mykola Lysenko Institute of Music and Drama. He composed “Shchedryk” in 1914 (premiered in 1916), now known to the English-speaking world as “Carol of the Bells”. He was murdered by a Soviet agent in 1921 and is known as a martyr in the Eastern Orthodox Ukrainian Church, where he is also remembered for his liturgy, the first composed in the vernacular, specifically in the modern Ukrainian language. During his lifetime, Leontovych’s compositions and arrangements be

Mykola Lysenko

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Mykola Vitaliiovych Lysenko (; 22 March 1842 – 6 November 1912) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, conductor, and ethnomusicologist of the late Romantic period. In his time, he was the central figure of Ukrainian music, with an oeuvre that includes operas, art songs, choral works, orchestral and chamber pieces, and a wide variety of solo piano music. He is often credited with founding a national music tradition during the Ukrainian national revival, in the vein of contemporaries such as Grieg in Norway, The Five in Russia, and Smetana and Dvořák in what is now the Czech Republic. By studying and drawing from Ukrainian folk music, promoting the use of the Ukrainian language, and separating himself from Russian culture, Lysenko’s compositions form what many consider the quintessential essence of Ukrainian music. This is demonstrated in his epic opera Taras Bulba from the novella of the same name by Nikolai Gogol. The grandeur and complexity, and a libretto in Ukrainian, prevented the opera being performed during the composer’s lifetime. To promote and cultivate Ukrainian culture, Lysenko set works by many Ukrainian poets to music, especially Taras Shevchenko, to whom he was particula

Mykola Markevych

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Mykola Markevych (; 7 February 1804 – 21 June 1860) was a Ukrainian historian, ethnographer, musician and poet of Ukrainian Cossack descent, who was known as a friend of Alexander Pushkin, Wilhelm Küchelbecker, Anton Delvig and Kondraty Ryleyev. His main work is his five-volume History of Little Russia, which was published in Moscow between 1842 and 1843. Life Background and early life Mykola Markevych was of Ukrainian Cossack descent. He was born in Dunaiets, Chernigov Governorate, Russian Empire (now in modern-day Ukraine) on 7 February 1804. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Pedagogical Institute from 1817 to 1820, before studying piano and composition under John Field in Moscow. His collections Elegies and Jewish Melodies and Erotic Poems and a translation of Byron’s poem Parisina were published in Moscow in 1829, followed in 1831 by Ukrainian Melodies. Death and legacy Markevych died in Turivka, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire on 21 June 1860. Many of his works remain unpublished. His personal archive and diary are kept at the Institute of Russian Literature in Saint Petersburg. References External links * Косачевская Н. А. Маркевич, 1804—1860. — Л. : Изд-во ЛГУ, 1987. —

Näcip Cihanov

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Näcip Ğayaz ulı Cihanov (15 January 19112 June 1988, Russification : Nazib Gayazovich Zhiganov) was a Soviet and Tatar composer, pedagogue and statesman. He was born in Uralsk; and died in Ufa. Cihanov wrote eight operas (notably Altınçäç and Cälil), three ballets, 15 symphonies, other symphonic works (Qırlay, Suite on Tatar Themes, Näfisä, Symphonic novellas, and Symphonic Songs among them), the cantata Republic of Mine (1960), camera-instrumental compositions, and romances and songs. Granted the titles of People’s Artist of the USSR (1957) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1981), Cihanov served as artistic leader of the Tatar Opera and Ballet from 1941 to 1943, chairman of Tatarstan’s Composers Union from 1939 to 1977, and rector of Kazan Conservatory from 1945 to 1988. He was made professor in 1953; Kazan Conservatory was renamed in his honor in 2000. Importantly, Cihanov was one of the founders of the State Symphony Orchestra of Tatarstan. In his capacity as statesman, he served as a deputy in the Supreme Soviet of RSFSR (1951–1959), the Tatar ASSR (1963–1967, 1977–1988), and indeed the Soviet Union (1966–1970). Operas *Qaçqın (1939) *İrek (1940) “Freedom” *Altınçäç (1941) “The gol

Napoleon Orda

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Napoleon Mateusz Tadeusz Orda (; ; 11 February 1807 – 26 April 1883) was a Polish–Lithuanian musician, pianist, composer, and artist, best known for numerous sketches of historical sites of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Biography Napoleon Orda was born in the village of Varacevičy in the Pinsky Uyezd of Minsk Governorate (now in Ivanava District of Belarus) in his father’s manor. His father, Michał Orda, was an impoverished noble of Lithuanian ancestry and the marshal of the powiat of Kobryn. His mother was Józefa (nee Butrymowicz). After finishing Svislach gymnasium in 1823, he started mathematical studies at the Imperial University of Vilnius. However, his university career came to an end on 27 August 1826, when he was arrested by the Russian secret police for taking part in a secret student society “Zorzanie”, which was active in Svislach and Białystok gymnasiums. Although he was released soon afterwards, he was expelled from the university and was not allowed to continue his studies. Orda took part in the failed November Uprising of 1830 against Russian Empire and served with distinction in the famous 4th Regiment (Czwartacy). For his bravery he received the highes

Nicolas Chopin

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Nicolas Chopin (; 15 April 17713 May 1844) was a teacher of the French language in Partitioned Poland, and father of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. Life Nicolas Chopin was born in the village of Marainville-sur-Madon (Vosges department), in the province of Lorraine, France. He was the son of François Chopin (9 November 1738, Ambacourt – 31 January 1814, Marainville), a wheelwright and village administrator for Marainville, and Marguerite, née Deflin (1 February 1736, Diarville – 21 August 1794, Marainville), an educator respected by her colleagues and students. François and Marguerite were married on 17 January 1769. Nicolas had four sisters, only two of whom survived to adulthood: Anne (b. 23 November 1769, Marainville), who married Joseph Thomas on 13 February 1798, and Marguerite (5 August 1775, Marainville – 10 March 1845), who married Nicolas Bastien on 2 December 1798. Nicolas’ godmother was his aunt Thérèse Lhumbert née Chopin, the half-sister of his father François. the Polish-born estate administrator for Count Michał Jan Pac. Weydlich took an interest in the education of young Nicolas, teaching him the rudiments of the Polish language, while Weydlich’s wife—a Parisian,

Nicolas Nabokov

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Nicolas Nabokov (Николай Дмитриевич Набоков; 17 April 1903 – 6 April 1978) was a Russian-born composer, writer, and cultural figure. He became a U.S. citizen in 1939. Life Nicolas Nabokov, a first cousin of Vladimir Nabokov, and of the baron Eduard von Falz-Fein, was born to a family of landed Russian gentry in the town of Lubcza near Minsk, and was educated by private tutors. In 1918, after his family fled the Bolshevik Revolution to the Crimea, he began his musical education with Vladimir Rebikov. After living briefly in Germany he settled in Paris in 1923, where he studied at the Sorbonne. Nabokov was married five times. His first wife was the Russian princess Nathalie Shakhovskaya (1903–1988). His last (1970–1978) was the French photographer Dominique Nabokov. He had three sons: French publisher Ivan Nabokov, Alexander Nabokov, and anthropologist Peter Nabokov. His close friends included the philosopher and fellow émigré Isaiah Berlin and composer Igor Stravinsky. Career After the years in Paris from 1923 to 1932, in 1933 he moved to the U.S. as a lecturer in music for the Barnes Foundation. He taught music at Wells College in New York from 1936 to 1941, then moved to St. John'

Nicolas Slonimsky

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Nicolas Slonimsky (April 27 1894 – December 25, 1995), born Nikolai Leonidovich Slonimskiy (), was a Russian-American musicologist, conductor, pianist, lexicographer, and composer. Best known for his writing and musical reference work, he wrote the Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns and the Lexicon of Musical Invective, and edited Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Biography Early life in Russia and Europe Slonimsky was born Nikolai Leonidovich Slonimskiy in Saint Petersburg. He was of Jewish origin; his grandfather was Rabbi Chaim Zelig Slonimsky. His parents adopted the Orthodox faith after the birth of his older brother, and Nicolas was baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church. His maternal aunt, Isabelle Vengerova, later a founder of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, was his first piano teacher. He grew up in the intelligentsia. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, he moved south, first to Kiev , then to Constantinople, and ultimately to Paris, where many other Russian musicians and his sister Yulia Slonimskaya Sazonova had already fled. He worked as accompanist to the conductor Serge Koussevitzky, and he toured Europe in 1921–22 as accompanist to tenor

Nikita Koshkin

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Nikita Arnoldovich Koshkin (; born 28 February 1956) is a classical guitarist-composer born in Moscow USSR. His early influences included Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Prokofiev, as well as rock music. Koshkin first came to prominence with his suite The Prince’s Toys, completed in 1980 and first performed by the Czech-born guitarist Vladimir Mikulka. Koshkin’s best-known guitar work is Usher-Waltz (1984), a piece inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe story The Fall of the House of Usher, written for the guitarist Vladislav Blaha. It was made famous by John Williams’ performance in the Seville Concert CD in 1993. Other famous performers of Koshkin’s work include the Assad Duo and the Zagreb and Amsterdam Trios. His other important works include the set of variations The Porcelain Tower and the Andante quasi Passacaglia e Toccata: The Fall of Birds (1978). Besides writing works for solo guitar, Koshkin has composed guitar-ensemble music as well; in addition to numerous pieces for guitar duo, he has written two works for guitar quartet, Changing the Guard (1994) and Suite for Four Guitars (composed for the Georgia Guitar Quartet, 2007). Early life Koshkin received his first guitar from his g

Nikolai Bakhmetev

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Nikolai Ivanovich Bakhmetev (, scientific transliteration: Nikolaj Ivanovič Bachmetev; 1807–1891) was a Russian soldier, composer, violinist and long-serving director of the Imperial Court Capella in Saint Petersburg. Biography Bakhmetev was born in 1807 in the Russian Empire. He served in the military before devoting himself to music. In 1861 he succeeded Alexei Lvov as director of the Imperial Court Capella. He remained in the position until 1883, overseeing repertoire, performance practice and the publication of official choral editions. Works Bakhmetev edited and published the two-volume Obikhod notnovo tserkovnovo peniya (Common Book of Musical Church Singing, 1869–1879), which became the standard liturgical collection of the Imperial Court. Under his supervision, three further volumes of sacred choral compositions were issued, and his editorial revisions of traditional chants had lasting influence on Russian Orthodox church music. Legacy Lvov-Bakhmetev’s Obikhod became the most widely used “court” edition of its time and influenced later four-part choral arrangements. Iakov Tichai for example adapted it extensively for Orthodox services in Japan under St. Nicholas of Japan. T

Nikolai Dmitriev (composer)

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Nikolai Dmitrievich Dmitriev (; 5 August 1829 – 27 July 1893) was a Russian composer and pianist. Dmitriev was born in Moscow and attended a boarding school. He studied piano with Alexandre Villoing. Dmitriev served in the judicial department and was a member of a court in Berdyansk. He studied composition and toured Russia, performing in various charity concerts at the same time, as a pianist and conductor (Vyatka, Taganrog, Mariupol, Kazan, Ryazan). Dmitriev’s performing career began in the 1840s in Moscow. He lived in Kharkov from 1857, taught piano and flute, and opened a music salon there. He taught Mykola Lysenko in 1858. Dmitriev left Kharkov some time later, returning in 1861. He lived in Ryazan from 1863, Kazan from the 1870s, and Vyatka from 1874. He settled in Taganrog in 1885, where he died in 1893. As a composer, Dmitriev’s musical language was largely influenced by the Russian style and also other Romantic styles. His music is influenced by Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Glinka. Dmitriev’s music is distinguished by its virtuosity and expressiveness. He was a composer of mazurkas. Dmitriev also composed a symphony (unfinished), about 100 romances (55 published), and the popu

Nikolai Kapustin

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Nikolai Girshevich Kapustin (, 22 November 1937 – 2 July 2020) was a Soviet-born Russian composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most significant figures in the synthesis of jazz idioms and Western classical structures. A virtuoso of the “Moscow School” of piano playing, Kapustin composed 161 opus numbers, including 20 piano sonatas, six piano concertos, and sets of preludes and fugues, all of which utilize a sophisticated harmonic and rhythmic language derived from bebop, stride piano, and jazz fusion. Born in Horlivka, Ukraine, Kapustin was a student of the legendary pedagogue Alexander Goldenweiser at the Moscow Conservatory. He rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s as a jazz pianist and arranger for the Oleg Lundstrem State Jazz Orchestra and later the “Blue Screen” Orchestra. Despite the improvisational sound of his music, Kapustin was a meticulous composer who wrote out every note, articulation, and nuance. He famously rejected the label of “jazz musician,” insisting that he was a classical composer whose works were meant to be performed exactly as notated, without improvisation. For much of the 20th century, Kapustin’s music remained a well-kept secret

Nikolai Karetnikov

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Nikolai Nikolayevich Karetnikov (; 28 June 1930 in Moscow – 9 October 1994 in Moscow) was a Russian composer of the so-called Underground – alternative or nonconformist group in Soviet music. Biography Karetnikov studied at the Central Musical School (1942–1948) and the Moscow Conservatory (1948–1953) where his teachers were Vissarion Shebalin (composition), Tatiana Nikolayeva (piano), Igor Sposobin and Viktor Tsukkerman (theory). He also studied privately with Philip Herschkowitz, a pupil of Berg and Webern. He was influenced by music of the New Viennese school and was a firm supporter of twelve-tone technique. His ballets Vanina Vannini and The Geologists were performed at the Bolshoi Theatre with choreography by Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasiliev. However, the authorities found the music unacceptable. It was criticized, and then banned from the performances in the Soviet Union for decades. His Symphony No. 4 (1963) received its first performance in 1968 in Prague, just before the Soviet army invasion to suppress the Prague Spring. His third ballet Little Zaches Called Zinnober was performed at the Hanover Opera House (1971) in the composer’s absence, because he was not give

Nikolai Lodyzhensky

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Nikolai Nikolayevich Lodyzhensky (Russian: Николай Николаевич Лодыженский; 1 January 1843 15 February 1916) was a Russian composer and diplomat. Lodyzhensky was born in Saint Petersburg. He was the son of an impoverished landowner, and came from a musical family related to the composer Alexander Dargomyzhsky. His sister Anka fell in love with Alexander Borodin, who had to write many letters to his wife to explain his daily meetings with her. an opera, Dmitri the Usurper (based on Alexander Pushkin’s play Boris Godunov Borodin wrote his String Quartet No. 2 in D while spending a summer holiday at Lodyzhensky’s estate at Zhitovo in 1881. Lodyzhensky himself wrote some music in the string quartet genre. The only music he ever published was Six Romances for voice and piano, in 1873, which showed great promise, displaying melodic and harmonic invention. Another set of four romances is in manuscript. His early work gained the respect of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Vladimir Stasov, but he was criticised in other quarters and this may have discouraged him from continuing to compose. In that year, 1873, he was sent to Budapest, whence he wrote to Stasov saying he could not dedicate himself

Nikolai Medtner

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Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (; 5 January 1880 – 13 November 1951) was a Russian composer and pianist. A younger contemporary of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, he wrote a substantial number of compositions, all of which include the piano. His works include 14 piano sonatas, three violin sonatas, three piano concerti, a piano quintet, two works for two pianos, many shorter piano pieces, a few shorter works for violin and piano, and 108 songs including two substantial works for vocalise. His 38 Skazki (generally known as “Fairy Tales” in English but more correctly translated as “Tales”) for piano solo contain some of his most original music. Biography Nikolai Medtner was born in Moscow on 24 December 1879, according to the Julian calendar, or 5 January 1880 by the Gregorian calendar. He was the son of Karl Petrovich Medtner (1846–1921) and Alexandra Karlovna Goedicke (1843–1918), and the fifth of their six children. Both of them were of German origin. Medtner took piano lessons from his mother until the age of ten. He also had lessons from his mother’s brother, Fyodor Goedicke (the father of his more famous cousin Alexander Goedicke). He entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1

Nikolai Myaskovsky

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Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky (; ; 20 April 18818 August 1950) was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is sometimes referred to as the “Father of the Soviet Symphony”. Myaskovsky was awarded the Stalin Prize five times. Early years Myaskovsky was born in Nowogieorgiewsk, near Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, the son of an engineer officer in the Russian army. After the death of his mother the family was brought up by his father’s sister, Yelikonida Konstantinovna Myaskovskaya, who had been a singer at the Saint Petersburg Opera. The family moved to Saint Petersburg in his teens. Though he learned piano and violin, he was discouraged from pursuing a musical career, and entered the military. However, a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony conducted by Arthur Nikisch in 1896 inspired him to become a composer. In 1902 he completed his training as an engineer, like his father. As a young subaltern with a Sappers Battalion in Moscow, he took some private lessons with Reinhold Glière and when he was posted to Saint Petersburg he studied with Ivan Krizhanovsky as preparation for entry into the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where he enrolled in 1906 and became a student

Nikolai Peiko

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Nikolai Ivanovich Peiko (; 25 March 1916, Moscow – 1 July 1995, Moscow) was a Russian and Soviet composer and professor of composition. Early life Peiko began his music education at the Academic Music College from 1933 through 1937 where his teachers included Igor Sposobin (harmony) and Genrik Litinsky (composition). This was followed by three years of training at the Moscow Conservatory where his teachers included Nikolai Myaskovsky (composition), Nikolai Rakov (orchestration), and Viktor Zukkerman (analysis). He graduated in 1940. Career Peiko worked in a military hospital during World War II and taught at the Moscow Conservatory from 1942 to 1949. After working in the period 1941–1943 in Ufa at a military hospital, Peiko partly worked with and was influenced by Dmitri Shostakovich. From 1959 until retirement Peiko was professor of composition at the Gnessin State Musical College where his students included Sofia Gubaidulina, Alexander Arutiunian, and Inna Zhvanetskaya. Peiko taught his students twelve-tone technique. Peiko’s first successful work was From the Legends of Yakuta (1940). During World War II he composed several patriotic pieces, including Dramatic Overture (1941) an

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

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Early years#

Rimsky-Korsakov was born in Tikhvin, 200 km miles east of Saint Petersburg, into a Russian noble family. Tikhvin was a town of Novgorod Governorate at that time. Throughout history, members of the family served in Russian government and took various positions as governors and war generals. Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov was famously a lover of Catherine the Great. By a Tsar’s decree on 15 May 1677, 18 representatives of the Korsakov family acquired the right to be called the Rimsky-Korsakov family (the Russian adjective ‘Rimsky’ means ‘Roman’) since the family “had a beginning within the Roman borders”, i.e. Czech lands, which used to be a part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1390, Wenceslaus Korsak moved to the Grand Prince Vasily I of Moscow from the Duchy of Lithuania. The father of the composer, Andrei Petrovich Rimsky-Korsakov, was one of the six illegitimate sons of Avdotya Yakovlevna, daughter of an Orthodox priest from Pskov, and lieutenant general Peter Voinovich Rimsky-Korsakov, who had to officially adopt his own children as he was unable to marry their mother because of her lower social status. Using his friendship with Aleksey Arakcheyev, he granted them all the privileges of the noble family. Andrei went on to serve in the Interior Ministry of the Russian Empire, as vice-governor of Novgorod, and in the Volhynian Governorate. The composer’s mother, Sofya Vasilievna Rimskaya-Korsakova, was also born as an illegitimate daughter of a peasant serf and Vasily Fedorovich Skaryatin, a wealthy landlord who belonged to a noble Russian family. Her father raised her in full comfort, yet under an improvised surname, Vasilieva, and with no legal status. By the time Andrei Petrovich met her, he was already a widower: his first wife, knyazna Ekaterina Meshcherskaya, died just nine months after their marriage. Since Skaryatin found him unsuitable for his daughter, Andrei secretly “stole” his bride from the father’s house and brought her to Saint Petersburg, where they married. He later recalled that his mother played the piano a little, and his father could play a few songs on the piano by ear. Beginning at six, he took piano lessons from local teachers and showed a talent for aural skills, but he showed a lack of interest, playing, as he later wrote, “badly, carelessly, … poor at keeping time”. Although he started composing by age 10, Rimsky-Korsakov preferred literature to music. This love, with subtle prompting from Voin, encouraged the 12-year-old to join the Imperial Russian Navy. Voin, now director of the school, Ulikh perceived Rimsky-Korsakov’s musical talent and recommended another teacher, Feodor A. Kanille (Théodore Canillé). Beginning in late 1859, Rimsky-Korsakov took lessons in piano and composition from Kanille, whom he later credited as the inspiration for devoting his life to composition. Through Kanille, he was exposed to a great deal of new music, including Mikhail Glinka and Robert Schumann. Voin cancelled his brother Nikolai’s musical lessons when the latter reached age 17, feeling they no longer served a practical purpose. In November 1861, Kanille introduced the 18-year-old Nikolai to Mily Balakirev. Balakirev in turn introduced him to César Cui and Modest Mussorgsky; all three were known as composers, despite only being in their 20s. Rimsky-Korsakov later wrote, “With what delight I listened to real business discussions Rimsky-Korsakov’s emphasis of instrumentation, part writing, etc! And besides, how much talking there was about current musical matters! All at once I had been plunged into a new world, unknown to me, formerly only heard of in the society of my dilettante friends. That was truly a strong impression.” Balakirev encouraged Rimsky-Korsakov to compose and taught him the rudiments when he was not at sea. When he showed Balakirev the beginning of a symphony in E-flat minor that he had written, Balakirev insisted he continue working on it despite his lack of formal musical training. By the time Rimsky-Korsakov sailed on a two-year-and-eight-month cruise aboard the clipper in late 1862, he had completed and orchestrated three movements of the symphony. He composed the slow movement during a stop in England and mailed the score to Balakirev before going back to sea. At first, his work on the symphony kept Rimsky-Korsakov occupied during his cruise. He purchased scores at every port of call, along with a piano on which to play them, and filled his idle hours studying Berlioz’s Treatise on Instrumentation.

Nikolai Roslavets

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nikolai Andreevich Roslavets ( 23 August 1944, also Mykola Andriiovych Roslavets) was a modernist composer active in the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. Roslavets was a convinced modernist and cosmopolitan thinker; his music was officially suppressed from 1930 onwards. Among his works are five symphonic poems (three of them are lost), two violin concertos, five string quartets, two viola sonatas, two cello sonatas, six violin sonatas, and five piano trios. Life Roslavets was born in Surazh, Chernigov Governorate, Russian Empire. There are three autobiographies by Roslavets that differ considerably from one another. In one of them, published 1924, the composer deliberately misrepresented his biography in order to prevent the attacks by the “Proletarian Musician” faction. There are differing accounts of Roslavets’ birthplace, some indicating that he was born in Dushatyn to a peasant family, In 1902 Roslavets was accepted as a student at the Moscow Conservatory where he studied violin under Jan Hřímalý, free composition under Sergei Vasilenko, and counterpoint, fugue and musical form under Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov and Alexander Ilyinsky. He graduated in 1912 with a silver m

Nikolai Rubinstein

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nikolai Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; 14 June 1835 – 23 March 1881) was a Russian pianist, conductor, and composer. He was the younger brother of Anton Rubinstein and a close friend of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Life Born to Jewish parents in Moscow, where his father had just opened a small factory, Rubinstein showed talent at the keyboard early on. He studied piano first with his mother, and while the family was in Berlin between 1844 and 1846, he studied piano with Theodor Kullak and harmony and counterpoint with Siegfried Dehn; during this time both he and his brother Anton attracted the interest and support of Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer. When the family returned to Moscow, Nikolai studied with Alexander Villoing, who also toured with him. He studied medicine to avoid army conscription, graduating from Moscow University in 1855. in Paris. He also gave the first performance of Balakirev’s piano work Islamey, the work for which he is best known today. According to Harold C. Schonberg, Anton Rubinstein is reported to have said that “if Nikolai had really worked on it, he could have been the better pianist of the two.” One of Nikolai’s pupils, Emil von Sauer, wrote a comparison of the tw

Nikolai Tcherepnin

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Nikolai Nikolayevich Tcherepnin or Cherepnin (; May 15 1873 – 26 June 1945) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He was born in Saint Petersburg and studied under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He conducted for the first Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Life Nikolai Tcherepnin was born in 1873 to a well-known and wealthy physician of the same name. The elder Nikolai moved in elite circles of artists including Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Modest Mussorgsky. Young Nikolai’s mother died when he was a baby, and when his father remarried, was replaced by an ambivalent stepmother. As a child, Nikolai’s father beat him regularly and enforced a general code of strict discipline. At his father’s insistence, Nikolai earned a law degree, though during this time he composed steadily. In 1895 he graduated with his degree in law from the University of Saint Petersburg. In 1898, he earned a degree in composition under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and a degree in piano under Karel van Ark. His talents and high family status earned him a job as the orchestral teacher at the Court Chapel in 1899. For six years he taught there before returning to the S

Nikolai Titov

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Nikolai Alexeyevich Titov (; 10 May 1800 in St. Petersburg – 22 December 1875 in St. Petersburg) was a Russian composer, violinist, and Major General in various regiments during the 19th century. He is considered to be the “Grandfather of the Russian Romance.” His compositional style was considered to be in the pre-classical orientation, thus setting the groundwork for the developments by Glinka and his contemporaries. He is considered to be one of the most popular romance composers of the 19th century. His songs were praised for their homely sensibility and ruminative harmonic language, albeit encased in simple yet effect forms that appealed to the at-home Amateurs and seasons musicians alike. His repertoire can still be heard today. Family and children Nikolai Alexeyevich Titov was born on April 28, 1800, in St. Petersburg to a family of art song and small-form composers. Titov also had a younger brother named Mikhail Alekseyevich, who was likewise a notable and technically proficient composer of romances, salon plays, and other small genres during the 19th century. Nikolai Titov was married in 1893 to Sofia Alekseevna Smirnova, great grandmother of Russian Postwar painter Nataly

Nikolay Afanasyev (composer)

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Nikolay Yakovlevich Afanasyev (; 12 January 1821 3 June 1898) was an Imperial Russian violin virtuoso and composer. His memoirs ‘Vospominaniya’ (‘Reminiscences’) appeared in 1890, and recorded his experiences as a touring musician, as part of a panorama of Russian musical life during the mid 19th century. He became an honorary member of the Russian Musical Society in 1896. Biography Afanasyev was born in Tobolsk in 1821. He obtained his musical education from his father, the violinist Yakov Ivanovich Afanasyev, an illegitimate son of Prince Ivan Dolgorukov. In 1838, two years after his debut as a violinist in Moscow, he was appointed concertmaster of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. However, he resigned in 1841 to conduct the serf orchestra of a wealthy landowner at Vïksa, near Saint Petersburg. In 1846, Afanasyev left to embark on a concert tour of Russia, and eventually settled in Saint Petersburg in 1851, where he continued to perform as a soloist and as the concertmaster (sometimes conductor) of the Italian Opera. He quit orchestral work to begin teaching piano in 1853 at the Smolny Institute, before touring Western Europe with moderate success in 1857. After returning to Russia,

Nikolay Kedrov Sr.

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Nikolay Nikolayevich Kedrov Sr. (; 28 October 1871 – 2 February 1940) was a Russian composer of liturgical music. His setting of Otche Nash (The Lord’s Prayer) is one of the best-known in the repertoire. Family Kedrov was born in Saint Petersburg, in the Russian Empire, into the family of a Russian Orthodox archpriest. His wife was Sofia Gladkaya (Kedrova; ru: Софья Николаевна Гладкая; 1874–1965), a singer at the Mariinsky Theatre. His elder daughter was soprano Irina Kedrova and his younger daughter was Oscar and Tony Award-winning actress Lila Kedrova. His son was Nikolay Kedrov Jr. Career From 1894 to 1897, he studied singing at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, becoming an operatic baritone who performed at various theaters, including the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky Theatre. In 1897, he organized a men’s vocal quartet (Saint Petersburg Russian vocal quartet). Their first concert was held in 1898 at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The repertoire of the quartet included Russian folk songs, ballads, opera music, then gradually liturgical music appeared. The quartet each year successfully toured Europe, including participation in Diaghilev’s seasons. In 1913-14, Feodor Chaliapin and

Nikolay Sokolov (composer)

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Nikolay Alexandrovich Sokolov (; 26 March 185927 March 1922) was a Russian composer of classical music and a member of the circle that grew around the publisher Mitrofan Belyayev. Career Sokolov was born in Saint Petersburg in 1859. A student of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, he taught Alexander Tcherepnin, Dmitri Shostakovich and Yuri Shaporin at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the posthumous dedicatee of Shostakovich’s Theme and Variations in B-flat major for orchestra, Op. 3. Sokolov’s recorded works include his contributions to several collaborative projects of the “Belyayev circle”, including the set of character pieces for string quartet known as Les Vendredis as well as a set of variations for piano and orchestra on a Russian theme. Other works include a Quintet, Op. 3, also arranged for string orchestra as a serenade; final chorus from Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy’s Don Juan, Op. 5; choruses for women’s voices, Op. 12 (published 1892); piano variations, Op. 25; Variations on a popular Russian theme for string quartet (published 1899). There are also three string quartets, in F major, A major and D minor, and a string trio in D minor, his Op. 45 (published in 1916). A

Nina Makarova

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Nina Vladimirovna Makarova (; 12 August 1908, Yurino, Nizhny Novgorod Governorate – 15 January 1976, Moscow) was a Russian composer who had great interest in Russian and Mari folksongs. She studied under Nikolai Myaskovsky, like composer Aram Khachaturian, whom she married in 1933. Her nickname was “Gayane” (Гаянэ). She conducted her symphony in Moscow on 12 June 1947. She also co-composed several pieces with her husband, including the music to Margarita Aliger’s play “A Tale of Truth” (1947) and music to ’s play “Spring Stream” (1953). Nina and Aram’s son, Karen, became an art critic. Works *Two Melodies for oboe and piano *Piano Sonatina (1933) *Violin Sonata (1934) *Two Melodies for violin and piano *Symphony in D minor (1938) – revised in 1962. CD Russian Disc RDCD 11382: USSR SO, O. Koch (cond) *Six Etudes for piano (1938) *“Cantata for Molotov” for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1940) *Song Cycle after Pushkin *Song Cycle after Rustaveli *Children Song dedicated to Stalin *Music to the Play “A Tale of Truth” after M. Aliger – composed jointly with Aram Khachaturian. First Performance: 1947, Moscow, Central Theater of the Red Army. Producer: A. Okunchikov. Designer: N. Shifri

Oleg Gazmanov

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Oleg Mikhaylovich Gazmanov (; born 22 July 1951) is a Russian singer, composer and poet, specializing in patriotic and nationalist songs, as well as songs which cover more conventional pop themes. Gazmanov is the lead singer of the pop group Eskadron (, ). His songs have been covered by others in the Russian chanson style, such as Mikhail Shufutinsky. He is also a Candidate for Master of Sport of the USSR in gymnastics and is well known for his acrobatics performed during live shows, especially at the beginning of his musical career in the early 1990s. On 18 March 2022, Gazmanov sang at Vladimir Putin’s Moscow rally celebrating the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation from Ukraine and justifying the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In April and May 2022, Gazmanov participated in a series of concerts in support of the invasion. “Sdelan v SSSR” In the Soviet-nostalgic song "" (, ), which was originally released in 2005, Gazmanov glorified the past of the Soviet Union, presenting various personalities of the Tsarist and Soviet past as being parts of the nation. The New York Times claims he presented Lenin and Stalin as national heroes. In December 2013, Gazmanov was critici

Oscar Feltsman

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Oscar Borisovich Feltsman (Ukrainian & ; 18 February 1921 – 3 February 2013) was a Ukrainian-born composer. Biography Feltsman was born in Odesa, the son of Boris Osipovich Feltsman, a Jewish orthopedic surgeon who also played the piano professionally. He had musical training from the age of five; learning the violin as a pupil of Pyotr Stolyarsky and the piano with Bertha Reynbald, who also taught Emil Gilels and Tatiana Goldfarb. He produced his first musical composition for the piano “Autumn” when he was six years old. Feltsman graduated from the Pyotr Stolyarsky Music School in Odesa in 1939, where he studied composition with the composer Nikolai Vilinsky. Then Feltsman was admitted to the Moscow Conservatory, studying under Vissarion Shebalin who wrote a letter of thanks on behalf of the Moscow Conservatory to Vilinsky for teaching Feltsman composition. During the Second World War, Feltsman was evacuated to Novosibirsk, becoming at 20 the executive secretary of the Siberian Union of Composers, where he wrote music for the philharmonic, Leningrad Alexandrinsky Theater and the Jewish theater of Belarus. In the same period Feltsman wrote an operetta based on Valentin Kataev’s pla

Oskar Böhme

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Oskar Böhme (February 24, 1870 – October 3, 1938 ) was a German composer and trumpeter. Life Oskar Böhme, a son of Wilhelm Böhme, also a trumpeter, was born in Potschappel, a small town near Dresden, Germany, which is now part of Freital. For much of his early career, after studying trumpet and composition in the Leipzig Conservatory of Music until graduating in 1888, it is unknown what Böhme’s musical activities were, though it is probable he concertized, playing in smaller orchestras around Germany. From 1894-1896 he played in the Budapest Opera Orchestra and then moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1897. Böhme played cornet for 24 years in the Mariinsky Theatre, turned to teaching at a music school on Vasilievsky Island in St. Petersburg for nine further years, and at the Central Music College on Mokhovaya Street, from 1921-1930, and then returned to opera with the Leningrad Drama Theatre until 1934. All his life in St. Petersburg, he lived on Vasilievsky Island, 3rd line, 26 In 1934, however, the Great Terror began under Joseph Stalin and in 1936 a committee was established to oversee the arts in Soviet Russia. According to Russia’s anti-foreign policies, Böhme was exiled to Or

Ossip Gabrilowitsch

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Ossip Salomonovich Gabrilowitsch (also Gabrilowitsch; ; 7 February 187814 September 1936) was a Russian-American pianist, conductor and composer. Biography Ossip Gabrilowitsch was born into a Jewish family in Saint Petersburg. His parents were Salomon Gabrilowitsch and Rose Segall. Nina, the last known lineal descendant of Mark Twain, died on 16 January 1966 in a Los Angeles hotel. She had been a heavy drinker, and bottles of pills and alcohol were found in her room. Her death was ruled a suicide. From 1910 to 1914, he was conductor of the Munich Konzertverein (later known as the Munich Philharmonic). At the outbreak of World War I, he was arrested as an enemy national. Through the intervention of the nuncio to Bavaria, Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII), Gabrilowitsch was freed from jail, and then he headed to the United States via Zürich in August 1914. He settled in the US, and was offered the post of conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In declining, he recommended that the Boston board appoint the recently arrived Sergei Rachmaninoff. In 1918 he was appointed the founding director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, while still maintaining his life as a con

Pavel Chesnokov

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Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov (Russian: Пáвел Григóрьевич Чеснокóв) (24 October 1877, Voskresensk, Zvenigorodsky Uyezd, Moscow Governorate – 14 March 1944, Moscow, also transliterated Tschesnokoff, Tchesnokov, Tchesnokoff, and Chesnokoff) was an Imperial Russian and Soviet composer, choral conductor and teacher. He composed over five hundred choral works, over four hundred of which are sacred. Today, he is most known for his piece Salvation is Created as well as works such as Do Not Reject Me in Old Age (solo for basso profundo) and movements from various settings of the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. Life Chesnokov was born in Vladimir, near Moscow, on 24 October 1877. While attending the Moscow Conservatory, he received extensive training in both instrumental and vocal music including nine years of solfège, and seven years training for both the piano and violin. His studies in composition included four years of harmony, counterpoint, and form. During his years at the school, he had the opportunity to study with prominent Russian composers like Sergei Taneyev and Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, who greatly influenced his style of liturgy-driven choral composition. At an early age,

Pavel Karmanov

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Pavel Karmanov (; 12 February 1970 – 23 November 2024) was a Russian composer and rock musician. Early life and education Karmanov was introduced to music by his mother, a pianist. He composed his first pieces at the age of five in Novosibirsk. In the late 1970s, he moved to Moscow and was accepted into the Central School of Music for gifted young musicians, graduating in 1988. He later studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, graduating in 1995. Career In 1996, Karmanov became a member of the Moscow Composers Union. From 2000 to 2017, he was a member of the alternative rock group Vezhlivy Otkaz as a pianist and flautist. Death Karmanov died on 23 November 2024, at the age of 54. Festivals Karmanov participated in several music festivals, including: * Moscow Autumn (1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2006) * The Alternative (1990, 1996, 1997, 1998) – Moscow, Russia * SoundRoute 1999 – Tokyo-Moscow festival, Japan * Warsaw Autumn – Poland, 2005 * Shostakovich Festival – Seattle, United States, 2006. Performances Karmanov’s compositions were performed at venues including the Moscow Conservatory and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. His works were presented at various concerts and festivals inter

Pavel Pabst

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Paul or Pavel Avgustovich Pabst (; born Christian Georg Paul Pabst; 15 May 1854 – 9 June 1897) was a pianist, composer, and Professor of Piano at Moscow Conservatory. Life and career Pabst was born Christian Georg Paul Pabst (Христиан Георг Пауль Пабст) in 1854, into a family of musicians in the capital of East Prussia, Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). He studied piano with his father and then in Vienna with Anton Door and in Weimar with Franz Liszt. The young Pabst had a fortuitous meeting with Anton Rubinstein when he travelled to Königsberg as overseer of cultural programmes there. Pabst moved to Riga, then in the Russian Empire, as an accomplished pianist in 1875. has issued, as part of its CD set “The Dawn of Recording: The Julius Block Cylinders,” more than 26 minutes of recordings of Paul Pabst as a performer, both on solo piano and as part of a piano duet (with Sergei Taneyev). These are the only known recordings of Pabst as a performer, and were made in 1892 and 1895. They include music by Chopin and Schumann, parts of Arensky’s Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos, Op. 23, and Pabst’s arrangements of music by Chopin and Tchaikovsky, as well as a composition by Pabst. Original composit

Pavel Weymarn

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Pavel Platonovich Weymarn (; 1857 – ) was a Russian writer on music and composer. Weymarn was born in Saint Petersburg and studied at the First Saint Petersburg Gymnasium. He served in the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment and left the army in 1888. He studied piano with Karel van Ark and theory with Konstantin Galler and Andrey Kazbiryuk at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. From 1888 to 1890, Weymarn edited the music journal Bayan. He was a music critic for various publications.

Pylyp Kozytskiy

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Pylyp Omelyanovych Kozytskiy (; 23 October 1893 – 27 April 1960) was a Soviet and Ukrainian composer, musicologist, professor, head of the department of history of music at the Kyiv Conservatory, and Honored Art Worker of the Ukrainian SSR (1943). Between 1918 and 1924, he taught at the Lysenko Music and Drama Institute in Kyiv, the Kharkiv Music and Drama Institute from 1925 to 1935, and the Kyiv Conservatory. and president of the Choral Society of the Ukrainian SSR from 1959 up to his death in 1960. Kozytskiy died in Kyiv on 27 April 1960, and is buried in the Baikove Cemetery. Musical works Operas * Unknown Soldier (1934) * Jean Giradin (1937) * For the Fatherland (1943) - For symphony orchestra Cantatas * In memory of the Bolsheviks (1951) - For choir a cappella * Hello, Spring (1952) - For children’s choir Symphony orchestra * Kozak Holota (1925) - Suite * Partisan’s Daughter (1938) - Poem * Variations on a theme of the folk song Kupala (1925) - For String Quartet * Variations on a theme of the Bashkirs (1943) Piano * Pages of Childhood (1913) * 7 Preludes - For voice and piano, with words by P. Tychyna, and R. Tagore Choir * Spring Oratorio (1921) * Eight Preludes Songs (1924

Pyotr Bulakhov

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Pyotr Petrovich Bulakhov (Петр Петрович Булахов; 1822 in Moscow – 2 December 1885 in Kuskovo) was a Russian composer of mostly Russian chanson. He’s considered a notable composer due to the chanson he composed having reached critical popularity during his lifetime. Family Bulakhov came from a very musical family. His father, Pyotr Alexandrovich Bulakhov (1793?–1837), was a classical singer while his brother, Pavel Petrovich Bulakhov (1824–1875)., was a minor composer and operatic singer during his time who premiered the role of the Prince in Alexander Dargomyzhsky’s 1856 opera “Rusalka.” Career His compositions were widely sung during his lifetime, totaling up to 100 written. In the 1870s, a fire destroyed his apartment and in this fire, it is thought that many works were burned. His song “You Will Not Believe” (“Ты не поверишь”) was set as piano transcriptions by Franz Liszt (Chanson Bohemienne S.250/2), Adolf von Henselt (Fantaisie sur un Air Bohémien-Russe, Op 16) and Ferdinand Beyer (Hommage à la Russie, Op.100 No. 9). Songs * Shine, Shine, My Star * Do Not Awaken Memories * Don’t Wake Me Up * I Met You * In the Wide-Open Field * A dainty mouth pursed in anger * No, I Do Not Lo

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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Early life and education#

Tchaikovsky was born on 7 May 1840 in Votkinsk, a small town in Vyatka Governorate during the Russian Empire in present-day Udmurtia near the banks of the Kama River. His father, Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky, served as a lieutenant colonel and engineer in the Department of Mines and managed the Ironworks in Kamsko-Votkinsk. His grandfather, Pyotr Fedorovich Tchaikovsky, was born in the village of Nikolaevka, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire in present-day Mykolaivka, Ukraine, and served first as a physician’s assistant in the army and later as city governor of Glazov in Vyatka. His great-grandfather, a Zaporozhian Cossack named Fyodor Chaika, served in the Russian military at the Battle of Poltava in 1709. Tchaikovsky’s mother, Alexandra Andreyevna (née d’Assier), was the second of Ilya’s three wives; his first wife died several years before Pyotr’s birth. His mother was 18 years younger than her husband and was of French and German ethnicity through her paternal side. Both Ilya and Alexandra were trained in the arts, including music. Of his six siblings, Tchaikovsky was close to his sister Alexandra and twin brothers Anatoly and Modest. Alexandra’s marriage to Lev Davydov produced seven children and lent Tchaikovsky the only real family life he knew as an adult, One of those children, Vladimir Davydov, who went by the nickname “Bob”, became very close to him. In 1844, the family hired Fanny Dürbach, a 22-year-old French governess. Four-and-a-half-year-old Tchaikovsky was initially thought too young to study alongside his older brother Nikolai and a niece of the family. His insistence convinced Dürbach otherwise. By age six, he was fluent in French and German. though others assert that the mother doted on her son. Dürbach saved much of Tchaikovsky’s work from this period, including his earliest known compositions, and became a source of several childhood anecdotes. Tchaikovsky began piano lessons at the age of five with Maria Palchikova. Within three years he had become as adept at reading sheet music as his teacher. Tchaikovsky’s parents, initially supportive, hired a tutor, bought an orchestrion, a form of barrel organ that could imitate elaborate orchestral effects, and encouraged his piano study for both aesthetic and practical reasons. But in 1850 they sent Tchaikovsky to the Imperial School of Jurisprudence in Saint Petersburg. They had both graduated from institutes in Saint Petersburg and the School of Jurisprudence, which mainly served the lesser nobility, and thought that this education would prepare Tchaikovsky for a career as a civil servant. Regardless of talent, the only musical careers available in Russia at that time—except for the affluent aristocracy—were as a teacher in an academy or as an instrumentalist in one of the Imperial Theaters. Both were considered on the lowest rank of the social ladder, with individuals in them enjoying no more rights than peasants. Tchaikovsky’s father’s income was also growing increasingly uncertain, so both parents may have wanted Tchaikovsky to become independent as soon as possible. As the minimum age for acceptance was 12 and Tchaikovsky was only 10 at the time, he was required to spend two years boarding at the Imperial School of Jurisprudence’s preparatory school, 800 mi km from his family. Once those two years had passed, Tchaikovsky transferred to the Imperial School of Jurisprudence to begin a seven-year course of study. Tchaikovsky’s early separation from his mother, despite the aforementioned alleged distant relationship, caused emotional trauma that lasted the rest of his life and was intensified by her death from cholera in 1854, when he was 14. The loss of his mother also prompted Tchaikovsky to make his first serious attempt at composition, a waltz in her memory. Tchaikovsky’s father, who had also contracted cholera but recovered, sent him back to school immediately in the hope that classwork would occupy the boy’s mind. Isolated, Tchaikovsky compensated with friendships with fellow students that became lifelong; these included Aleksey Apukhtin and Vladimir Gerard. Music, while not an official priority at school, also bridged the gap between Tchaikovsky and his peers. They regularly attended the opera and Tchaikovsky improvised at the school’s harmonium on themes he and his friends had sung during choir practice. “We were amused”, Gerard later remembered, “but not imbued with any expectations of his future glory”. Tchaikovsky also continued his piano studies with Franz Becker, an instrument manufacturer who made occasional visits to the school, but the results, according to the musicologist David Brown, were “negligible”. In 1855, Tchaikovsky’s father funded private lessons with Rudolph Kündinger and questioned him about a musical career for his son. While impressed with the boy’s talent, Kündinger said he saw nothing to suggest a future composer or performer. He later admitted that his assessment was also based on his own bad experiences as a musician in Russia and his unwillingness for Tchaikovsky to be treated likewise. Tchaikovsky was told to finish his course and then try for a post in the Ministry of Justice.

Pyotr Shchurovsky

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Pyotr Andreyevich Shchurovsky (; 12/24 February 1850 – 14/27 September 1908) was a Russian conductor and composer known for composing the music of Sansoen Phra Barami. Life Shchurovsky was born on 12 February 1850, in Zolotonoshsky Uyezd, Poltava Governorate into a noble family. He spent his early life in Moscow and was interested in instruments and music when he was young. He studied piano and music theory at the Moscow Conservatory, whose director at the time was Nikolai Rubinstein. During that time he also befriended Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his teacher. After finishing, he began conducting at the Imperial Theatres in Moscow and organised concerts and musical lectures. He was the organizer of musical education in Poltava, where he also tutored Ukrainian composer . In 1870, he became an opera band leader in Kharkiv. Later, he became the head of the Bolshoi Theatre, one of the most famous music theatres in Russia but then resigned to continue giving lectures on music. He dedicated his romance “To You, My Friend” to his long-time friend, , a famous Bolshoi Theatre soloist and baritone in Russia. Shchurovsky, Khokhlov, and Tchaikovsky were, according to his wife’s memoirs, reported

Reinhold Glière

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Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (born Reinhold Ernest Glier; 23 June 1956) was a Russian and Soviet composer of German and Polish descent. He was awarded the titles of People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1935) and People’s Artist of the USSR (1938). Biography Glière was born in the city of Kiev. He was the second son of the wind instrument maker Ernst Moritz Glier (1834–1896) from Saxony (Klingenthal in the Vogtland region), who emigrated to the Russia and married Józefa (Josephine) Korczak (1849–1935), the daughter of his master, from Warsaw. His original name, as given in his baptism certificate, was Reinhold Ernest Glier. About 1900, he changed the spelling and pronunciation of his surname to Glière, which gave rise to the legend, stated by Leonid Sabaneyev for the first time (1927), of his French or Belgian descent. He entered the Kiev school of music in 1891, where he was taught violin by Otakar Ševčík, among others. In 1894, Glière entered the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with Sergei Taneyev (counterpoint), Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (composition), and Jan Hřímalý (violin; he dedicated his Octet for Strings, Op. 5, to Hřímalý), Anton Arensky and Georgi Conus (both harmony). He gr

Riccardo Drigo

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Riccardo Drigo (; 30 June 1846 – 1 October 1930) was an Italian composer of ballet music and Italian opera, a theatrical conductor, and a pianist. Drigo is noted for his long career as principal Chef d’orchestre/kapellmeister and Music Director of the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg, Russia, for which he composed music for the original works and revivals of the choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. During his career in Saint Petersburg, Drigo conducted the premieres and regular performances of nearly every ballet performed on the Tsarist stage. Drigo is equally noted for his original full-length compositions for the ballet as well as his large catalog of supplemental music written ad hoc for insertion into already-existing works. Drigo is also noted for his adaptations of already-existing scores, such as his 1895 edition of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s score for Swan Lake. Many pieces set to the music of Drigo are still performed today, and are considered cornerstones of the classical ballet repertory. Life Riccardo Giuseppe Drigo was born in Padua, Italy on 30 June 1846. His father Silvio Drigo was a barrister and his mother, a noble Lupati, was active in politics. None o

Röstäm Yaxin

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Röstäm Möxämmätxaci ulı Yaxin (16 August 1921 – 23 November 1993) was a Tatar composer and pianist, People’s Artist of the USSR (1986). Author of more than 300 songs and romances, including the State Anthem of the Republic of Tatarstan. Röstəm Yaxin was a laureate of the Ğabdulla Tuqay Tatar ASSR State Prize in 1959. Notable works His notable works besides the State Anthem of the Republic of Tatarstan include: Legacy In 2025, a children’s art school opened in the Vysokogorsky railway station settlement was named after him (named the Röstäm Yaxin Children’s Art School). In September 2025, the Röstäm Yaxin Art School was opened in the village of Usad, Vysokogorsky District. Awards *Order of the Red Banner of Labour *Order of the Badge of Honour *Medal “Veteran of Labour” *Medal “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945” *Medal “For the Defence of Moscow” *Jubilee Medal “In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il’ich Lenin” *Jubilee Medal “70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR” *People’s Artist of the USSR *People’s Artist of the RSFSR *Honoured Artist of the RSFSR Notes References

Rostislav Boyko

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Rostislav Grigoryevich Boyko (1 August 193118 November 2002) was a Russian composer and conductor. He was principally active in both occupations within the area of choral music. He produced more than 100 choral works; most of which have been published and recorded. He also composed three symphonies, four operas, many art songs for solo voice, and some works for solo piano. Education and career Boyko was born in Leningrad and educated at the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella (1939–1944) and the Moscow Choral School (1944–1950) before he pursued graduate studies at the Moscow Conservatory with Aram Khachaturian and . He graduated from the latter institution in 1957 with degrees in choral conducting and music composition. Boyko died in Moscow at the age of 71. Notes References

Rudolf Tobias

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Rudolf Tobias (29 May 1873 – 29 October 1918) was the first Estonian professional composer, as well as a professional organist. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. His compositions include among others piano works, string quartets and an oratorio, Des Jona Sendung (Jonah’s Mission) (1908, revised and premiered 1909, later reconstructed by Vardo Rumessen). Early life Rudolf Tobias was born in Selja, Käina Parish, on the island of Hiiumaa. He was the son of local parish clerk Johannes Tobias and his wife Emilie. Tobias received his first musical training from his father. Under his father’s tutelage, he began musical training at an early age and composing his first composition exercises from 1882 when he was 9 years old. In 1885 he entered the Haapsalu school and studied piano under Catharina von Gernet, a local pianist. After he graduated, Tobias moved with his parents to Kullamaa, where his father had become the parish clerk. In 1889 Tobias entered Tallinn Nicolai High School, where he passed the tutor’s exam and studied both organ and music theory with Ernst Reinicke, the Tallinn Cathedral organist. Gallery File:Tobias.IMG 0843.jpg Monument to Tobias in Haapsalu. File:

Samuel Maykapar

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Samuel Moiseyevich Maykapar () (18 December 18678 May 1938) was a Russian romantic composer, pianist, professor of music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and author of a number of piano practice pieces. Life Childhood Samuel Maykapar was born on 18 December 1867 in the city of Kherson, to Karaite parents. Maykapar spent his childhood in the city of Taganrog and in 1885 he graduated from the Boys Gymnasium where he studied with Anton Chekhov. He also took private music lessons from Gaetano Molla, director of the Italian Opera in Taganrog. Education In 1885, he enrolled into St. Petersburg Conservatory while also studying law at Saint Petersburg University, graduating in 1891. A pupil of Beniamino Cesi and Nicolai Soloviev, Maykapar received the St. Petersburg Conservatory’s diploma in 1893 and further improved his piano skills under the direction of Theodor Leschetizky until 1898. During this time he gave numerous concerts in Berlin, Leipzig, Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Taganrog and other cities. Career Between 1898 and 1901, he gave concerts with Leopold Auer in Saint Petersburg and Ivan Grzhimali in Moscow. In 1901, he founded his own music school in the city of Tver. From 1903-1

Samuel Pokrass

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Samuel Yakovlevich Pokrass (; 1893 in Kiev , Russian Empire (now Ukraine) – June 15, 1939, in New York City, US) was a Soviet and American composer of Russian-Jewish origin. Life and education Pokrass was born in Kiev in 1893. At the age of 10, he was accepted the Kiev college of music, and wrote his first composition, While in a club Pokrass was asked to play from Jake Shubert, a visiting American theatrical producer, who was overall not impressed by Pokrass’ original music but soon became more focused on him after hearing Pokrass play “All Alone” by Irving Berlin. This led Shubert to giving Pokrass a contract that lead to the creation of “Cyrano de Bergerac”. ** Stage Play: Ziegfeld Follies (1934) ** The Farmer in the Dell (1936) ** Tovarich (1937) ** A Gypsy Told Me (1938) ** Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938) ** The Little Princess (1939) ** The Three Musketeers (1939) One of his many songs, “My Best Wishes”, was used in the opening of the 2000 film The Legend of Bagger Vance. Family and legacy Pokrass had several brothers—Dmitry, Daniil, and Arkady—who were also composers and musicians, and remained in the Soviet Union. As a child, Pokrass’ father, Yakov Pokrass, smashed a viol

Sándor Kallós

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Sándor Kallós (born 23 October 1935) is a composer, a noted proponent of minimal music, an influential pioneer of the early music revival and electronic music in the USSR, lutenist, and a prolific author of incidental music for film, animation, theater, and ballet. Biography Sándor Kallós was born on 23 October 1935 in Chernivtsi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. He matriculated from the Lviv Conservatory in 1961, having studied composition under . His graduate studies were at Moscow Conservatory (class of Yuri Shaporin, 1962–1964). In 1954-1963, he worked as a violinist in various symphony orchestras. From 1971, he appeared as a lutenist (notably as the accompanist to Karina, Ruzanna and Pavel Lisitsian), and from 1975 as a conductor. Kallós is of Hungarian descent. List of works Sacred works * “5 Hymns & Halleluiah from Byzantine Hermologe” (in Classical Greek) for soloists, chorus a capella and tape. * “Credo” for viola d’amore and 6-channell electronics. * “Sacred Chamber Music on Catalan Themes from the 17th century”. * “David’s Psalms” (in Classical Greek) for voice and lute. Secular works Symphonic works * 1st Symphony (1957), * 2nd Symphony (1960), * 3rd Symphony (1961), * 4th

Sandra Droucker

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Sandra Droucker (Drouker or Droucher) (7 May 18751 April 1944) was a Russian concert pianist, composer and music pedagogue. Life and career Sandra Droucker was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, the daughter of a Jewish German father and a mother who was a member of the Russian nobility. She studied music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with Anton Rubinstein, and made her debut in 1894. She toured Europe and Russia, quickly developing her own style as a pianist. In 1896 Droucker made her debut in Berlin to positive reviews. During the 1880s she lived in Berlin, continuing her career as a concert pianist. Between 1904 and 1906 she taught in Berlin at Petersen’s Academy of Music and at the Stern Conservatory. Notable students included the Norwegian composer and pianist Anne-Marie Ørbeck (1911–1996), Hilde Lange, Leni Dilthey, Marie Silbermann, Delli Georges and Gerda Paucksch. In 1905 Droucker taught music to Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia. Droucker married the Austrian pianist Gottfried Galston in 1910 and changed her name to Droucker-Galston. The couple took up residence in Munich, and the marriage lasted until 1918. In 1926 Droucker returned to Berlin; however, after 1933, sh

Sasha Argov

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Alexander “Sasha” Argov (; born Alexander Abramovich; Moscow, 26 October 1914 – Tel Aviv, 27 September 1995) was a prominent Israeli composer. Life and career Argov was born Alexander Abramovich in Moscow, Russia in 1914. Later he changed his last name to its Hebrew version, Argov, in 1946. His father was a dentist and his mother a concert pianist. He never made a living with his music, working first as a bank clerk and later owning and operating a bookshop. Among them were “Hareut” and songs for the Israel Defense Forces, film, and theater. In 1948 he published Ha’Chizbatron, a collection of his songs written for the entertainment of Israeli troupes. He also composed several film scores and musicals for the stage; of which the most successful was Shlomo hamelech ve’Shalmai hansandlar (‘King Solomon and the Cobbler’), based on a comedy by Sammy Gronemann in Nathan Alterman’s translation, which premiered in 1964. Dramatic works *Rak lo be’Shabat (film score, 1964) In collaboration with singer Roni Ginosar, Gon Halevi produced an album featuring new interpretations of the works of Argov. The album presents a contemporary take on Argov’s music, with Halevi reimagining the original com

Semen Hulak-Artemovsky

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Semen Stepanovych Hulak-Artemovsky (, also referred to as Semyon Gulak-Artemovsky and Artemovs’kyj) (February 16 1813 – April 17 1873), was an opera composer, baritone, actor, dramatist and pioneer of Ukrainian theatre who worked in Imperial Russia. He is known mainly for his comic opera Zaporozhets za Dunayem (‘A Zaporozhian Beyond the Danube’), as well as for his dramatic talent and his powerful, rich baritone voice. He was the nephew of the poet and a close friend of the Ukrainian poet and artist Taras Shevchenko. Biography Semen Stepanovych Hulak-Artemovsky was born in Gorodishche, Kiev Governorate (today part of Ukraine), the son of a priest. He studied at the Kyiv Theological Seminary from 1835 to 1838. In 1838, at the age of 25, having gained the attention of the Russian composer Mikhail Glinka, Hulak-Artemovsky was brought to the capital St Petersburg. There he received vocal training from Glinka, and entry into the Imperial Chapel Choir. The following year, Hulak-Artemovsky left St Petersburg to continue his studies in Italy. In 1841, towards the end of his stay, he began performing opera in Florence. Upon his return to St. Petersburg the following year, Hulak-Artemovsky b

Sergei Bortkiewicz

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Sergei Eduardovich Bortkiewicz ( – 25 October 1952) was a Romantic composer and pianist. He moved to Vienna in 1922 and became a naturalized Austrian citizen in 1926. Life Early life and origins Sergei Eduardovich Bortkiewicz was born in Kharkov in the Russian Empire (present-day Kharkiv, Ukraine), on 28 February 1877 to parents Edward and Zofia () Bortkiewicz, who were Polish nobility. He spent most of his childhood on the family estate of Artiomovka, near Kharkov. Bortkiewicz received his musical training from Anatoly Lyadov and Karel van Ark at the Imperial Conservatory of Music in Saint Petersburg. In 1900, he left Saint Petersburg and travelled to Leipzig, where he became a student of Alfred Reisenauer and Salomon Jadassohn, both pupils of Franz Liszt. In July 1902, Bortkiewicz completed his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory and was awarded the Schumann Prize on graduation. On his return to the Russian Empire in 1904, he married Elisabeth Geraklitowa, a friend of his sister, and then returned to Germany, where he settled in Berlin. It was there that he started to compose seriously. From 1904 until 1914, Bortkiewicz continued to live in Berlin but spent his summers visiting h

Sergei Lyapunov

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Sergei Mikhailovich Lyapunov (or Liapunov; , ; 30 November 18598 November 1924) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor. Life Lyapunov was born in Yaroslavl in 1859. After the death of his father, Mikhail Lyapunov, when he was about eight, Sergei, his mother, and his two brothers (one of them was Aleksandr Lyapunov, later a notable mathematician) went to live in the larger town of Nizhny Novgorod. There he attended the grammar school along with classes of the newly formed local branch of the Russian Musical Society. On the recommendation of Nikolai Rubinstein, the Director of the Moscow Conservatory of Music, he enrolled in that institution in 1878. His main teachers were Karl Klindworth (piano; a former pupil of Franz Liszt), and Sergei Taneyev (composition; a former pupil of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and his successor at the Conservatory). He graduated in 1883, more attracted by the nationalist elements in music of the New Russian School than by the more cosmopolitan approach of Tchaikovsky and Taneyev. He went to St. Petersburg in 1885 to seek Mily Balakirev, becoming the most important member of Balakirev’s latter-day circle. Balakirev, who had himself been born and bred i

Sergei Prokofiev

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Childhood and first compositions#

Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was born on 27 April 1891 at a rural estate in Sontsovka, a village then in the Bakhmut uezd of the Yekaterinoslav Governorate of the Russian Empire and now in the Pokrovsk Raion of the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine. His father, Sergei Alekseyevich Prokofiev, was an agronomist from a mercantile family in Moscow. Prokofiev’s mother, Maria (), came from a Saint Petersburg family of former serfs who had been owned by the Sheremetev family, under whose patronage serf-children were taught theatre and arts from an early age. She was described by Reinhold Glière, Prokofiev’s first composition teacher, as “a tall woman with beautiful, clever eyes … who knew how to create an atmosphere of warmth and simplicity about her.” After their wedding in the summer of 1877, the Prokofievs moved to a small estate in the Smolensk governorate. Eventually, Sergei Alekseyevich found employment as a soil engineer, employed by one of his former fellow-students, Dmitri Sontsov, to whose estate in the Ukrainian steppes the Prokofievs moved. By the time of Prokofiev’s birth, Maria—having previously lost two daughters—had devoted her life to music; during her son’s early childhood, she spent two months a year in Moscow or St Petersburg taking piano lessons. Sergei Prokofiev was inspired by hearing his mother practicing the piano in the evenings, mostly works by Chopin and Beethoven, and wrote his first piano composition at the age of five, an “Indian Gallop”, which was written down by his mother: it was in the F Lydian mode (a major scale with a raised 4th scale degree), as the young Prokofiev felt “reluctance to tackle the black notes”. By seven, he had also learned to play chess. Chess remained a passion of his, and he became acquainted with world chess champions José Raúl Capablanca, whom he beat in a simultaneous exhibition match in 1914, and Mikhail Botvinnik, with whom he played several matches in the 1930s. At the age of nine, he composed his first opera, The Giant, as well as an overture and various other pieces. Opera remained thereafter as the genre Prokofiev was most fond of working in.

Sergei Rachmaninoff

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1873–1885: Ancestry and early years#

Rachmaninoff was born on 1 April 1873 into a family of Russian aristocracy. The family tradition claims descent from a legendary Vasily, nicknamed “Rachman”, a supposed grandson of Stephen III of Moldavia. Rachmaninoff’s family had strong musical and military leanings. His paternal grandfather, Arkady Alexandrovich, was a musician who had taken lessons from Irish composer John Field. His father, Vasily Arkadievich Rachmaninoff (1841–1916), was a retired army officer and amateur pianist who married Lyubov Petrovna Butakova (1853–1929), the daughter of a wealthy army general who gave him five estates as part of her dowry. The couple had three sons: Vladimir, Sergei and Arkady and three daughters; Yelena, Sofia and Barbara; Sergei being their third child. Rachmaninoff was born in the family estate in the village of Semyonovo, near Staraya Russa, Novgorod Governorate. His birth was registered in the Semyonovo church book. After Sergei turned four, the family moved to their estate in Oneg, about 110 mi km north of Semyonovo, where he was raised until the age of nine. He mistakenly cited it as his birthplace in his adult life. Rachmaninoff began piano and music lessons organized by his mother at age four. She noticed his ability to correctly reproduce passages from memory and upon hearing news of the boy’s gift, Arkady suggested she hire Anna Ornatskaya, a piano teacher and recent graduate of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, to live with the family and give the young Sergei formal piano lessons. Rachmaninoff dedicated his famous romance for voice and piano “Spring Waters” from 12 Romances, Op. 14, to Ornatskaya. Rachmaninoff’s father wanted him to be trained by the Page Corps and then join the military, but financial incompetence forced him to sell the family’s five estates to pay off debts and therefore could not afford his expensive military career. His older brother Vladimir was sent to an ordinary military college. The last estate in Oneg was auctioned off in 1882, and the family moved to a small flat in Saint Petersburg. In 1883, Ornatskaya arranged for Rachmaninoff, then 10, to study music at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under her former teacher, Gustav Kross. Later that year, his sister Sofia died at the age of 13 of diphtheria, and his father, described by Rachmaninoff as a “compulsive gambler, a pathological liar and a skirt chaser”, left the family for Moscow. His maternal grandmother, Sofia Litvikova Butakova, a widow of General Butakov, stepped in to help raise the children, covered household expenses, and, with particular focus on their religious life, regularly took Rachmaninoff to Russian Orthodox Church services, where he first encountered liturgical chants and church bells, two features he would incorporate in his compositions. In 1885, Rachmaninoff suffered a further loss when his sister Yelena died at age 18 of pernicious anaemia. She was an important musical influence on Rachmaninoff and had introduced him to the works of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. As a respite, his grandmother took him to a farm retreat by the Volkhov River. At the Conservatory, however, he had adopted a relaxed attitude, played truant, failed his general education classes and purposely altered his report cards. Rachmaninoff performed at events held at the Moscow Conservatory during this time, including those attended by the Grand Duke Konstantin and other notable figures. However, upon his failing his spring exams, Ornatskaya notified his mother that his admission to further education might be revoked. His mother then sought advice from Alexander Siloti, her nephew, who was an accomplished pianist and a former student of Franz Liszt. He recommended that Rachmaninoff transfer to the Moscow Conservatory to study under his former piano teacher, the stricter Nikolai Zverev, which lasted until 1888.

Sergei Slonimsky

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Sergei Mikhailovich Slonimsky (; 12 August 1932 – 9 February 2020) was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist and musicologist. Biography He was the son of the Soviet writer Mikhail Slonimsky and nephew of the Russian-American composer Nicolas Slonimsky. He studied at the Musical College in Moscow from 1943 until 1950. From 1950 Slonimsky was at the Leningrad Conservatory. He studied composition under Boris Arapov, Vissarion Shebalin and Orest Yevlakhov, polyphony under Nicolai Uspensky and piano under Anna Artobolevskaya, Samari Savshinsky and Vladimir Nielsen. Slonimsky was a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. While the majority of his students were Russian, Slonimsky taught a large percentage of the international composition students at the Conservatory from countries including: Colombia, Korea, China, Italy, Germany, Israel, Iran and the United States. Among Slonimsky’s notable students is Daniel Kidane. Slonimsky died in Saint Petersburg on 9 February 2020 after a long illness. Music and style Sergei Slonimsky composed more than a hundred pieces: 5 operas, 2 ballets, 34 symphonies and works in all genres of chamber, vocal, choral, theatre and cinema music, including

Sergei Taneyev

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Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (, ; 25 November 1856 – 19 June 1915) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, to a cultured and literary family of Russian nobility. A distant cousin, Alexander Taneyev, was also a composer, whose daughter, Anna Vyrubova, was highly influential at court. Alexander was drawn closely to the nationalist school of music exemplified by The Five, while Sergei would gravitate toward a more cosmopolitan outlook, as did Tchaikovsky. He began taking piano lessons at the age of five with a private teacher. His family moved to Moscow in 1865. The following year, the nine-year-old Taneyev entered the Moscow Conservatory. His first piano teacher at the Conservatory was Edward Langer. After a year’s interruption in his studies, Taneyev studied again with Langer. He also joined the theory class of Nikolai Hubert and, most importantly, the composition class of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Taneyev graduated in 1875, the first student in the history of the Conservatory to win the gold medal both for composition and for performing (piano). He was also the first person to be awarded the Conservatory’s G

Sergei Vasilenko

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Sergei Nikiforovich Vasilenko (; 30 March 1872 – 11 March 1956) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor and music teacher whose compositions showed a strong tendency towards mysticism. Vasilenko was born in Moscow and originally studied law at Moscow State University, but then changed direction and studied at the Moscow Conservatory from 1896 to 1901 as a pupil of Sergei Taneyev and Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov. From 1903 to 1904 he was the conductor of a private opera house in Moscow. For several years he was the organiser and conductor of the Historic Concerts of the Russian Musical Society. He then became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, where his students included Aram Khachaturian, Nikolai Roslavets, Nikolai Rakov and Aarre Merikanto. Vasilenko was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour as well as the title People’s Artist of the RSFSR. In 1947, he was awarded the Stalin Prize. He died in Moscow in 1956. Selected works Opera *Skazaniye o grade velikom Kitezhe i tikhom ozere Svetoyare (Tale of the Great City of Kitezh and the Quiet Lake Svetoyar) (1902; originally a cantata, Op. 5) *Sïn solntsa (The Son of the Sun), Op. 63 (1929) *Khristofor Kolumb (Christopher

Sergei Yuferov

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Sergei Vladimirovich Yuferov (; also Sergei Iuferov, Serge Youferoff, Sergej Wladimirowich Juferow; born 1865 in Odessa) was a Russian (Ukrainian) composer and pianist. Yuferov studied with Alexander Glazunov and Nikolai Klenovsky (Николай Семёнович Кленовский) (1857–1915) in Saint Petersburg, and with Nikolai Hubert (Николай Альбертович Губерт) (1840–1888) and Herman Laroche in Moscow. Yuferov was active in Switzerland in 1906. Yuferov died in 1927 at the age of 61 or 62. Selected works ;Opera * Myrrha (Мирра), Opera in 4 acts, Op. 21 (1891); libretto by the composer * Yolande (Иоланда), Opera in 2 acts, Op. 22 (1893); libretto by Prince Dm. Goletsin * Antoine et Cléopatre (Антоний и Клеопатра), Opera in 4 acts with prologue, Op. 24 (1899–1900); libretto by the composer after the play by William Shakespeare ;Orchestral * Marche funèbre, Op. 7 No. 4; original version for piano solo * Moussia s’amuse, Suite de scènes d’enfant, Op. 18; also for piano solo * Scènes et danses, Op. 27 * Rêverie orientale, Fantaisie, Op. 28 No. 1 (published 1901) * Barcarolle “Sur l’eau”, Op. 28 No. 2 * Symphoniette in C major, Op. 29 (published 1901) * Fantaisie algérienne (Алжирская фантазия), Op. 40;

Sergey Balasanian

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Sergey Artemyevich Balasanian (; 26 August 1902 3 June 1982) was a Soviet Armenian composer. Life and career Sergey Artemyevich Balasanian was born on 26 August 1902 in Ashgabat, Russian Empire. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory (MC) where he graduated with a degree in music history in 1935. One of his teachers at the MC was Dmitry Kabalevsky with whom he studied music composition. (first staged in 1939). It was debuted in Moscow in 1941 as part of a 10-day exhibition of Tajik art. Sergey Balasanian was awarded the Stalin Prize (1949) and five orders. In 1964 he was named an Honored Art Worker of the Russian SFSR, and in 1970 he was decorated as People’s Artist of the Tajik SSR. * The Uprising at Vosse (opera,1939) * Blacksmith Kova (opera, 1941) * Song of Anger (musical drama, 1942) * Armenian Rhapsody (orchestral suite, 1944) * Leyli and Majnun (ballet, 1947) * Bakhtior and Nisso (opera, 1954) * Afghan Pictures (symphonic cycle, 1959) * Four Folk Songs of Africa (song cycle, 1961) * Cello Sonata (1976) * Across Armenia (1978) References

Sergey Kuryokhin

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Sergey Anatolyevich Kuryokhin (16 June 19549 July 1996, nicknamed The Captain) was a Russian composer, pianist, music director, experimental artist, film actor and writer, based in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was an influential figure in the Saint Petersburg music scene of the 1980s and early 1990s. He was the former keyboardist for the rock band Aquarium. Biography Early life Sergey Kuryokhin was born in Murmansk into a military family. He began piano lessons at the age of 4. His school years were spent in Evpatoria, Crimea. His family moved to Leningrad in 1971 following his high-school graduation. He was admitted to the Mussorgsky Music School at the Leningrad Conservatory, but was expelled soon after for chronic absenteeism. Career Kuryokhin began his performing career as a piano and keyboard player with a school band in Leningrad. After playing with professional jazz bands, as well as popular rock musicians, Kuryokhin went through several stages in his career and eventually became one of the most recognisable names and faces in Russia during the 1980s and 1990s. By the end of his life, he had emerged as an avant-garde film composer, performance artist, and film actor. Outside R

Sergey Milnichenko

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Sergei Grigoryevich Milnichenko (; born on July 13, 1966, in Tomsk, Russian SFSR, USSR) is a Russian composer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. His career began in the Soviet era. Personal life At 15 years of age, Sergey became interested in playing the bass guitar in a band called “Paradox” with a guitarist “Igor Jirinov.” After several years of playing at different venues, his interests shifted into music arrangements. He studied in Tomsk’s music school and finished three courses in Kreml’s institute of art. He worked as an arranger and sound producer in the group “Na-Na”. He was the co-producer of Andrey Gubin, and took part in the recording of Jasmine “Rewrite Love” in 2001. He participated as the producer, lyricist and music arranger of the band “Fantasy”. Since 2005, he has been the producer of the group “Ranetki”, which he brought together by the means of issuing an internet ad that searched for young and talented boys and girls, aged 14–17. He worked with artists such as Vladimir Asmolov, Mihail Mihailov, Philip Kirkorov, Vladimir Kuzmin, Matalia Moskvina, as well as writing music for the television series “Kadetsvo.”, “Ranetki”, “I’m flying”, “The last chord,” an

Sholom Secunda

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Sholom Secunda (, 4 September 1894, Alexandria, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire13 June 1974, New York) was an American composer of Ukrainian-Jewish descent, best known for the tunes of “Bei Mir Bistu Shein” and “Donna Donna”. Biography He was born in 1894 as Shloyme Abramovich Sekunda () in Aleksandria city, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire (now in Ukraine) to the family of Abram Secunda and Anna Nedobeika. In 1897, the family moved to the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv, where they opened an iron bed factory. In 1919-1920, he earned his first solo composer’s credits with S. H. Kon’s The Rabbi’s Daughter and Free Slaves. He worked in Philadelphia’s Metropolitan Opera House with director Boris Thomashevsky; in 1921-22 he was director and composer at Clara Young’s Liberty Theater. He composed for the musical Di Yidishe Shikse by Anshel Schorr (1927) and A nakht fun libe (A Night of Love) by Israel Rosenberg. An exhaustive list of his many works can be found in the Leksikon fun Yidishn Teater. Together with Aaron Zeitlin, he wrote the famous Yiddish song “Dos kelbl (The Calf)” (also known as “Donna Donna”) which was covered by many musicians, including Donovan and Joan Baez. Al

Simeon G. Murafa

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Simeon Gheorghevici Murafa (also spelled Simion or Semion Murafa; May 24, 1887 – August 20, 1917) was a Bessarabian politician in the Russian Empire, also known as a publicist and composer. A trained classical singer and a graduate of Saint Vladimir (Shevchenko) University, he was one of the leading activists supporting ethnic Romanian emancipation in Bessarabia and beyond. By 1914, he associated with the revolutionary core of the Romanian nationalist movement, which he represented as director of Cuvânt Moldovenesc newspaper. An officer of the Imperial Russian Army during World War I, Murafa mainly used his position to advance Romanian nationalism. In early 1917, he helped establish the Moldavian National Party, helping to organize its cells in Bessarabia and Odessa. He was murdered while attending a friend’s party, after a group of revolutionary soldiers identified him as a political enemy. His legacy is honored in both Romania and Moldova. Biography Early activities A native of Cotiujenii Mari, at the time part of Russia’s Bessarabia Governorate, Simeon G. Murafa was from a family of Moldavian yeomen. He was the nephew of another nationalist activist, the Bessarabian Orthodox pri

Sofia Gubaidulina

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Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (24 October 1931 – 13 March 2025) was a Soviet and Russian composer of modernist sacred music. She was highly prolific, producing numerous chamber, orchestral and choral works. Her output has been described as exploring the tensions between Western and Eastern music, and has been characterised by “innovative use of microtonality and chromaticism, rhythm over form and use of contrasting tonalities. Her compositions have been praised for their “emotional intensity”, while she described her music as bringing legato, that is, a sense of “connected flow into the fragmented staccato of life.” Career Gubaidulina studied composition and piano at the Kazan Conservatory, graduating in 1954. During her early career, Western contemporary music was almost entirely banned from study, an exception being the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. Raids took place in the dormitory halls, where searches were conducted for banned scores, with those by Stravinsky being the most infamous and sought after. Gubaidulina and her peers procured and studied modern Western scores nonetheless, and she later said that “we knew Ives, Cage, we actually knew everything on the sly.” She later s

Sofia Levkovskaya

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Sofia Sergeevna Levkovskaya (, 25 November 1965 – 20 June 2011) was a Russian composer. She has worked with several conductors, including Alexander Titov, Fedor Lednev, Anatoly Rybalko, and ; violinists Matvey Lapin and Ilya Ioff, the singer Nadezhda Khadzheva, the flutist Georgy Dolgov, the clarinetist Ilya Gindin, the saxophonist Serafima Verholat, a violinist and composer Artur Zobnin and the pianist Nikolai Mazhara. Levkovskaya has used musical citations in her compositions. Musical critic Alexander Kharkovsky noted the highly theatrical form in her music, the use of catchy slogans as titles of her works, as well as the detailed thoughtfulness of the ideas. References Bibliography * Khazdan, E. V. “Instrumental Theater of Sofia Levkovskaya”, Opera Musicologica. 2012. No 4 (14). pp. 97–114. * Sofia Levkovskaya, KinoPoisk * Levkovskaya, S. S. “Instrumental Theater: visual and sound dictate of the scene”, Musicus. 2008. No. 1 (10). * Levkovskaya, S. S. “Words. Sounds. Movements”, Musicus. 2010. Nos. 1–2 (20–21). * Levkovskaya, S. S.; Kharkovsky A.Z. “Free Electron of Anatoly Korolev”, Musicus. 2009. No. 3 (16). * Levkovskaya, S. S.; Vladimir Martynov “Casus Vita Nova”, Opera Music

Sonya Belousova

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Sonya Belousova (born February 4, 1990) is a Russian-American composer, music producer, songwriter, and artist whose viral hit Toss A Coin To Your Witcher reached #1 on the Billboard charts. Based in Los Angeles, California, Belousova has composed music for some of the most commercially successful television franchises, including One Piece and The Witcher. Belousova composed the score and songs for Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece, which became a global hit. The soundtrack features the song My Sails Are Set, written and produced by Belousova and her scoring partner Giona Ostinelli, and performed by Aurora. The song has garnered over 20 million streams on Spotify, contributing to the album’s overall success with more than 300 million streams worldwide. Polygon praised the “devilish duo” for their “freewheeling” score, which “swings from symphonic blockbuster cues to hip-hop licks to virtuosic flamenco guitar, jazz funk, big-band brass, and head-spinning circus music.” ScreenRant lauded the soundtrack for its “next-level musical worldbuilding” and “unique character themes and instruments complementing each other perfectly.” Belousova gained widespread recognition for her

Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté

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Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté (; in Moscow, Russia – 2 December 1974 in Stuttgart, Germany) was a Russian-born Canadian composer, virtuoso pianist, and violinist. Biography Early life She was born as Sofia (Sonia) Fri e dman-Kochevskaya in Moscow, where her mother worked as a governess in the Tolstoy household. She began to learn piano in 1904 and wrote her first piano compositions in 1905. She studied at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1908 to 1913, where her teachers included Alfred Brun and Guillaume Rémy for violin, S. Chenée for piano, and Vincent d’Indy and Camille Chevillard for composition. She made her début in 1910, and her first composition, an Etude de Concert, was published in Paris that year. She moved to Berlin in 1914, where she studied violin with Bronisław Huberman; by 1919 she had undertaken several concert tours of Western Europe, on which she performed her own works. Career In 1920, she married the painter Walter Gramatté in Berlin, and from 1924 to 1926 lived in Spain, where Pablo Casals was her mentor. During this time she wrote her first piano concerto. She toured with Edwin Fischer in Germany in 1925. Following her husband’s death in 1929, she toured the

Stanisław Moniuszko

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Stanisław Moniuszko (; May 5 (17), 1819 – June 4, 1872) was a Polish composer, He is generally referred to as “the father of Polish national opera”. Since the 1990s, Stanisław Moniuszko has been recognized in Belarus as an important figure to Belarusian culture as well. Life Moniuszko was born into a noble landowning family in Ubiel, Minsk Governorate (Russian Empire, now Belarus). His father, Czesław, and his uncle, Ignacy, both served in Napoleon’s army. His first piano teacher was his mother, Elżbieta (Elizabeth) Madżarska of Armenian descent. He later continued his musical education in Warsaw and Minsk, and studied under Carl Friedrich Rungenhagen in Berlin. In 1840, he married Aleksandra Mueller, with whom he had ten children, and settled down in Vilnius, taking up the position of organist at the Church of St. John’s. Moniuszko also offered private music lessons, which turned out to be an important source of income for his family. His first operettas Loteria (Lottery) and Żółta szlafmyca (Yellow Nightcap) were not very successful. However, in 1847, the premiere staging of Halka (the two-act version), considered one of his most notable operas, was more successful. It took place

Stasys Šimkus

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Stasys Šimkus (23 January 1887, Motiškiai, now in Jurbarkas district municipality, Russian Empire – 15 October 1943, Kaunas, Reichskommissariat Ostland) was a Lithuanian composer. Šimkus studied in Vilnius and Warsaw and later became the pupil of Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov, Jāzeps Vītols, and Maximilian Steinberg. After visiting the United States, he went to Leipzig for further studies with Paul Graener and Sigfrid Karg-Elert. A national Romantic, Šimkus helped resurrect the Lithuanian cultural organization Daina in 1916. In 1923, he opened a private music school in Klaipėda, which was soon converted into the national Lithuanian Conservatory (now called the Klaipėda Stasys Šimkus Conservatoire). He was a professor of composition at the Conservatoire from 1931 to 1937 and also conducted the State Opera at Kaunas. Šimkus composed several operas, a cantata, a symphonic poem, a piano suite, a ballade, choral works, lieder, and church music. He composed the music for Lietuvininkai we are born by Georg Sauerwein. His son Algis Šimkus also became a renowned conductor but in Canada instead of Jamaica, pianist, and composer. A group of cultural operators in Klaipėda, led by Vytautas Blū

Stepan Davydov

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Stepan Ivanovich Davydov (, ; January 12 OS January 1 1777 – May 21 OS May 9 1825 in Moscow) was an Imperial Russian composer and singer. He was born in Chernihiv in the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine). Biography When the principal choirboy of the Imperial Court Capella, he drew the attention of the Empress Catherine II, who consigned him to the care of the Italian composer Giuseppe Sarti (1729–1802). Davydov wrote and published a complete four-part liturgy and 13 Spiritual Choral Concerti, three of which were written for a double chorus. In the field of secular music Davydov participated in the composing of opera tetralogy Mermaid (together with Ferdinand Kauer and Catterino Cavos, 1803–1807, providing the additional music for the 1st, 3rd and 4th parts). He also wrote 10 ballets, various divertissements, a series of choruses to the tragedy Amboar and Aurungzeb (1814), a concert overture and numerous other works. He held the post of the Kapellmeister of the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg (1806–1810). From 1810 he taught at the Theatrical School in Moscow. Operas *Dneprovskaja rusalka (Днепровская русалка – A Mermaid of the Dnepr, Russian libretto by Nikolai Krasnopolsky a

Svetlana Nesterova

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Svetlana Nesterova is a Russian composer and violinist. Since 2002 she has served on the musical instrument faculty at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Biography Born in Yekaterinburg, Nesterova studied music composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under Boris Tishchenko from 1995 to 2000. She continued on at the Conservatory to pursue further post-graduate studies which she completed in 2002. During this time she performed as part of a student delegation in concerts in Moscow and Boston, Massachusetts. She also served as the concertmaster at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts. In 1999 Nesterova was awarded the grant Muses of Petersburg in the music category. In 2005 she was a prize-winner of the Mariinsky Theatre’s Russian opera composition competition with her one act opera The Lawsuit. The work was one of three new operas selected by the Mariinsky Theatre for performance in the summer 2009 festival, receiving its premiere at the opera house on 21 June of that year. She was awarded first prize at the All-Russian Andrei Petrov Competition for her violin fantasy In the World of High Technology in 2007. Her children’s opera, Semyon. Version 1.0 (composed with Vyacheslav

Tamara Vakhvakhishvili

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Composer Tamara Nikolayevna Vakhvakhishvili (23 December 1893 – 10 October 1976) was born in Warsaw, but lived much of her life in Georgia, where she was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. Vakhvakhishvili studied piano and composition at the music school in Tbilisi, Georgia (today the Tbilisi State Conservatoire). From 1921 to 1923, she served as the director of the school. From 1922 to 1926, she headed the music department of the Rustaveli Theatre in Tbilisi. In 1927, Vakhvakhishvili studied composition with Paul Vidal at the Paris Conservatoire. She met artist and set designer David Kakabadze while she was in Paris, and later worked with him at the Kutaisi-Batumi State Drama Theater. She worked at the Marjanishvili Theatre from 1928 to 1933, then moved to Moscow. In 1940, she was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. included: Ballet *Bacchus’ Holiday *Herb of Love Theatre *Don Khil (musical comedy) Vocal *Cantata (solo voice, choir and orchestra; text by B. Bronevsky and Nikolai Tikhonov) *Citation (solo voice and orchestra; text by Shota Rustaveli; Russian translation by Konstantin Balmont) *Ge

Tatyana Chudova

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Tatyana Alexeyevna Chudova (; 16 June 1944 – 23 November 2021) was a Russian composer. Life and career She was born in Moscow and studied at the Central Music School in Moscow and then at the Moscow Conservatory. After completing her studies, she took a teaching position at the Conservatory. On 21 June 2007, she was awarded the title of Honored Master of Arts of the Russian Federation. Works Selected works include: *Symphony Ab. 1, ‘Timur and his team *O myorvoy tsaverne i semi bojatiryakh, opera, 1966-7 *Na derevnyu dedushke, opera, 1978 *Bible Suite for organ *Last lullaby with oboe solo *Three Circles for solo cello *Trombone sonata *From Russian Fairytales Suite for orchestra *Concerto for piano and orchestra No.1 *Concerto for piano and orchestra No.2 *Concerto for Orchestra *Violin sonata *Suite for organ *The Warriors Cantata *Cantata about Moscow *The Architects for chorus and orchestra *Concert Toccata for piano *Symphony No.1 *Symphony No.2 *Symphony No.3 Her music has been recorded and issued on CD, including: *Organ Music by Moscow Composers - Pedagogues of Moscow Conservatory - From the Sources to the Present - Anthology Vol. 1 References External links *

Theodor Leschetizky

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Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky; ; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915) was a Polish pianist, professor, and composer active in Austria-Hungary. He was born in Łańcut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land of the Habsburg domain. A well-regarded teacher, his many students included Ignaz Friedman, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, and Artur Schnabel. Life Theodor Leschetizky was born on 22 June 1830 at the estate of the family of Count Potocki in Łańcut, in what was then Austrian Galicia and is now southeastern Poland. Joseph Leschetizky, his father, was a gifted pianist and music teacher of Viennese birth and Czech origin. His mother Teresa Ullmann was a Polish gifted singer of German origin. His father gave him his first piano lessons and then took him to Vienna to study with Carl Czerny. At age eleven, he performed a Czerny piano concerto in Landshut, with Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, the son of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, conducting. At the age of fifteen he started to tutor his first students. By the age of eighteen he was a well-known virtuoso in Vienna and beyond. His composition teacher was Simon Sechter, an eminent professor who was the teacher of many

Thomas de Hartmann

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Thomas Alexandrovich de Hartmann (; October 3 O.S.: September 21 , 1884 March 28, 1956) was a Ukrainian-born composer, pianist and professor of composition. Life De Hartmann was born on his father’s estate in Khoruzhivka, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine), to Alexander Fomich de Hartmann and Olga Alexandrovna de Hartmann, née de Kross, both of German descent. On his father’s death, when he was nine years old, he was sent by his mother to the First Cadet Corps, the same military school his father had attended, and later the Page Corps. Upon graduation from the Page Corps, de Hartmann entered into the Russian Imperial Guard. In the fall of 1896, at the age of 11, de Hartmann began individual lessons with Anton Arensky, and continued them until Arensky’s death in 1906. At that time, de Hartmann chose Sergei Taneyev as his new musical mentor. He took lessons on counterpoint from Taneyev, and they remained friends till Taneyev’s death. De Hartmann graduated from the Imperial Conservatory of Music, where he studied musical composition with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. His piano teacher was Anna Yesipova (the second wife and former student of Theodor Leschetizky). In 1906, de

Tikhon Khrennikov

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Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov (; 10 June 1913 – 14 August 2007) was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist, and General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers (1948–1991), who was also known for his political activities. He wrote three symphonies, four piano concertos, two violin concertos, two cello concertos, operas, operettas, ballets, chamber music, incidental music and film music. During the 1930s, Khrennikov was already being hailed as a leading Soviet composer. In 1948, Andrei Zhdanov, the leader of the anti-formalism campaign, nominated Khrennikov as Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers. He held this influential post until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Biography Early years Tikhon Khrennikov was the youngest of ten children, born into a family of horse traders in the town of Yelets, Oryol Governorate, Russian Empire (now in Lipetsk Oblast in central Russia). He learned guitar and mandolin from members of his family and sang in a local choir in Yelets. There he also played in a local orchestra and learned the piano. As a teenager he moved to Moscow. From 1929 to 1932, he studied composition at the Gnessin State Musical College under Mikhail Gnessin and

Timofiy Bilohradsky

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Timofiy Bilohradsky (), also given as Belogradsky, or Pelogradsky (c. 1710c. 1782) was a lutenist, composer and kobzar-bandurist of Ukrainian ethnicity. He was active in St. Petersburg and Königsberg. Life Little is known about Bilohradsky’s childhood. He is thought to have been born in or near the city of Cherkasy (now in Ukraine) and that he learned to play the kobza and the lute at the Hlukhiv Music Academy. He is said to have had an excellent singing voice and great musical aptitude. In 1725 he was invited to St Petersburg to sing in the Imperial Church Capella. In 1733 Tsarina Anna sent Bilohradsky to Dresden in the retinue of the ambassador, Hermann Karl von Keyserling. In Dresden, Bilohradsky was able to perfect his lute playing under the tutelage of Silvius Leopold Weiss - the most important lutenist-composer of the 18th century. He also studied voice with Faustina Bordoni-Hasse, and castrato Domenico Annibali. Bilohradsky became one of the highest trained musicians in the Russian Court Capella. In 1739, Bilohradsky returned to St Petersburg, where he continued to work as a court musician. In 1741 he returned to Germany where he became known as a virtuoso lutenist and singe

Tymko Padura

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Tymko Padura (21 December 180120 September 1871, born Tomasz) was a Romantic poet Notes References

Václav Suk

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Václav Suk (16 November 186112 January 1933) was an Austrian-born violinist, conductor and composer who operated in the Russian Empire. He was also known as Váša Suk, Vyacheslav Suk, Vyacheslav Ivanovich (Вячеслав Иванович Сук) and Vjačeslav Ivanovič Suk. Biography Suk was born in Kladno, Bohemia, Austrian Empire. He is said to have been related to the composer Joseph Suk. From 1873 to 1879 Suk studied violin at the Prague Conservatory as a pupil of Antonín Bennewitz. Concurrently he studied also counterpoint with Josef Krejčí, and, privately, composition with Zdeněk Fibich. In 1880 he went to Warsaw as a violinist in the Warsaw Philharmonic, but a short while later he was already engaged as a concert master in the Imperial Orchestra of Kiev (from 1880 to 1882). In 1885 his career as an opera conductor began with the Philharmonic Society in Moscow, where from 1882 he had served as a violinist with the Bolshoi orchestra, but he proved his abilities as kapellmeister of the opera in Kharkiv (1885–1886). Tchaikovsky recommended him to Saint Petersburg, but Suk went to Taganrog instead, where he began to also conduct symphonic works. His later employment with a private opera orchestra i

Vadim Baykov

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Vadim Gennadiyevich Baykov (Baikov; ; born 18 March 1965 in Volgograd, RSFSR, USSR) is a Soviet and Russian composer, singer, songwriter and producer. Biography In 1970, Vadim Baykov and his mother moved from Volgograd to Klimovsk, Moscow Oblast. In 1972, he entered to the Moscow State Choir Specialized School. Since 1978, Vadim Baykov participated in various VIA bands such as “Rhythm”, “Impulse” etc., where he played on keyboards. In 1985, Vadim Baykov finished 2nd Moscow Regional School of Music in piano and jazz. Has a second specialty – choir conductor. From 1982 to 1984, Vadim Baykov participated as a pianist in various jazz festivals. From 1985 to 1987, Vadim Baykov worked in VIA bands such as “Marie”, “August”, “Leysya, Pesnya”. In 1987, he became the lead singer of the band “Spectr” under the guidance of Lev Leshchenko. In 1990, when Lev Leshchenko created the theater “Music Agency”, Vadim Baykov became a soloist of the theater. In 1993, he left the theater and began a solo career. From 1993 to 2000, Vadim Baykov released four solo albums: “Russian Roulette” (; 1993), “Arithmetic of Love” (; 1995), “Queen of My Dreams” (; 1997), songs which were written specifically for Vad

Vadim Salmanov

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Vadim Nikolayevich Salmanov (4 November 1912, in Saint Petersburg – 27 February 1978, in Leningrad) was a Soviet composer and pedagogue. Salmanov learned to play the piano as a child from his father who was a professional metallurgical engineer. Exposed to composers from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, Salmanov quickly grew fond of music and was quickly enrolled in music theory courses at the age of six. However, following the passing Salmanov’s father, he went to work at a factory and soon became interested in the topic of hydrogeology. At 18, he was about to attend the Leningrad Conservatory when he decided to study hydrogeology instead, eventually working as a geologist until 1935 when he finally decided to attend the Conservatory where he studied composition with Mikhail Gnesin following his attendance at a piano concert by Soviet pianist Emil Gilels. After the war, he returned to his pedagogical work, teaching at the Leningrad Conservatory from 1946 to 1951, as well as creative work and began to set poems by Blok and Yesenin relating to the war. Later on in his life, Salmanov set poems by Federico García Lorca and Pablo Neruda as well as by Soviet poets. Salmanov

Valentina Ramm

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Valentina Yosifovna Mandelstam Ramm (22 October 1888 - 3 July 1968) was a Ukrainian author, composer, coloratura soprano, translator and violinist. She composed over 100 songs and several string quartets. Life and work Ramm was born in Kharkov, Ukraine. She graduated from the Leipzig Conservatory (today the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig) in 1908. Her teachers included B. Heidiger, S. Krell, K. Zitt (possibly Hans Sitt, who taught at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1884 to 1921), as well as Mikhail Gnessin in Moscow. Ramm wrote articles on the history of song and song in civil strife. She composed over 100 songs on texts by Soviet poets such as Aleksandr Aleksandrov, Alexander Blok, Mikhail Lermontov, Alexander Pushkin, Ovady Savich and Fyodor Tyutchev. Works Ramm’s works were published by Universal (Leipzig). Printed works *International Collection of Revolutionary Songs (editor) *Schubert v Massovoi Auditorii 1928 *Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights Orchestral works *Five Nights and Days: Funeral Stanzas, opus 7 (orchestra and baritone; text by Vera Inber) *Nike (voice and orchestra; text by Vladislav Bronevsky) *Santa Ursula Cantata *Slavyanski Marsh (wind or

Valentina Serova (composer)

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Valentina Semyonova Serova (maiden name Bergman) (1846 – June 26, 1924) was a Russian composer of Jewish descent. Her family had converted to Reformed Protestantism before she was born. Early life Serova’s father Simon Bergman was a German-Jewish merchant who lived in Warsaw and operated a jewelry shop; her mother Augusta Hudschon (Augustina Hudson) was a German-Jew as well born in Amsterdam. They moved to Saint-Petersburg from Warsaw in the late 1830-s. She studied briefly at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with Anton Rubinstein but left to study with the composer and critic Alexander Serov, known both for his writings and his successful first opera Judith. Introduced through a shared friend, she married Serov in 1863 and in January 1865 their son Valentin Serov was born. Valentin would grow up to become a famous painter, renowned for his portraits. The Power of the Fiend Alexander Serov died of a heart attack in January 1871, and Valentina completed the last act of his third and final opera, The Power of the Fiend. She used his sketches and her memory of what Alexander had played to her to finish the work. The composer N.F. Solovyov helped her with some of the instrumentation and

Valery Zhelobinsky

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Valery Viktorovich Zhelobinsky (; November 9, 1913, Tambov – August 13, 1946, Leningrad) was a Soviet and Russian composer, pianist and pedagogue. Life and works Zhelobinsky studied music firstly at Tambov and then from 1928 to 1932 at the Leningrad Conservatory with Vladimir Shcherbachov. He performed across the Soviet Union as a soloist. He returned to Tambov in 1942 where he taught at the College of Music and was Chairman of the Composers’ Union. For his short career, Zhelobinsky’s output was large. His four operas, which include The Peasant of Komarino (Комаринский мужик), produced in Leningrad in 1933, and Mother (Мать, 1939, based on the novel by Maxim Gorky), were well received. He also wrote orchestral music including six symphonies, and three piano concertos. His Romantic Poem for violin and orchestra was premiered in Leningrad together with the first performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony in November 1939. From his numerous piano works, the ‘Six short études’ were introduced to the United States by Vladimir Horowitz and were published there in 1946. Two of these études were recorded by Oscar Levant. In addition, a selection from his opera Mother (“Hobo Song”

Vano Muradeli

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Vano Muradeli (; ; 6 April 1908 – 14 August 1970), was a Soviet Georgian composer. Biography He was born in Gori, Georgia (then part of Imperial Russia) to Georgian -Armenian parents. He graduated from Tbilisi State Conservatoire in 1931; then studied with Nikolai Myaskovsky at the Moscow Conservatory. From 1934 to 1938, he worked there. From 1942 to 1944, he served as a principal and artistic director of the Central Ensemble of the Soviet Navy. In 1946, he was awarded the Stalin Prize. In 1948, his opera The Great Friendship was censured by the resolution of the Communist Party Central Committee. After Joseph Stalin’s death, he was restored to favor and granted the title of the People’s Artist of the USSR in 1968. Works Opera: *“The Great Friendship” (1947; premiere, Moscow, 7 November 1947) *“October” (1950; revised 1962; premiere, Moscow, 22 April 1964) Operetta: *“Moscow-Paris-Moscow” (1968) Orchestra: *Symphony No. 1 “To the Memory of Kirov” (1938; premiere Moscow, 28 November 1938) *Symphony No. 2 (1945; received Stalin Prize) *Georgian Dance Suite for symphony orchestra (1939) *Festive Overture for symphony orchestra (1940) *Symphonic poem, “The Path of Victory” for chorus a

Varvara Adrianovna Gaigerova

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Varvara Adrianovna Gaigerova (; 17 October 1903 in Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Russian Empire – 6 April 1944 in Moscow) was a Soviet composer and pianist. Life Gaigerova studied composition under Georgy Catoire and Nikolai Myaskovsky and piano under Heinrich Neuhaus at Moscow Conservatory, where she graduated in 1927. At the Bolshoi Theatre she worked as “concertmistress” from 1936 to 1944. Gaigerova was interested in the musical folklore of the southeastern people of Soviet Russia. In her compositions she uses folk music of various regions like Kalmykia, Buryatia, Kazakhstan, Turkestan, and Uzbekistan. Selected works * Fortress near Kamenny Brod Крепость у Каменного Брода , Op.30 (opera based on Lermontov and some Caucasian poets; 1937–40); Pechorin’s Aria “И скучно, и грустно”; Тучки небесные * Symphony No. 1 (1928) * Symphony No. 2 on Kalmyk Themes (1934) * Symphony No. 3 (1936) * Symphonic Suite on Caucasian Themes * Suite on Udmurt Themes Сюита на темы удмуртских (вотских) народных песен , for domra orchestra (pub. 1933) * Two Suites on Kazakh Themes (domra orch) * String Quartet No. 1 (1925-26) * String Quartet No. 2 in G Major on Yakuts Themes, Op. 17 (pub. 1947) * Sonata for viola and

Vasily Kalinnikov

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov (; 13 January 1866 – 11 January 1901 ) was a Russian composer. His body of work consists of two symphonies, several additional orchestral works, and numerous songs, all of them imbued with characteristics of folksong. His symphonies, particularly the First, were frequently performed in the early 20th century. Kalinnikov’s musical style was inspired by composers like Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, and is notable for its expressive melodies and lush orchestration. His younger brother Viktor Kalinnikov (1870–1927) was also a composer, mainly of choral music. Biography Kalinnikov was a police official’s son. He studied at the seminary at Oryol, becoming director of the choir there at fourteen. Later he went to the Moscow Conservatory but could not afford the tuition fees. On a scholarship, he went to the Moscow Philharmonic Society School, where he received bassoon and composition lessons from Alexander Ilyinsky. He played bassoon, timpani and violin in theater orchestras and supplemented his income working as a music copyist. In 1892, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky recommended Kalinnikov for the position of main conductor of the Maly Theatre, and later that s

Vasily Lobanov

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Vasily Pavlovich Lobanov (Васи́лий Па́влович Лоба́нов, born 2 January 1947) is a Russian composer and pianist. He has been a Duo-Partner of Sviatoslav Richter. Biography Vasily Pavlovich Lobanov was born in Moscow. He studied piano with Heinrich Neuhaus and Lev Naumov and composition with Sergey Balasanian and Alfred Schnittke. Selected works Operas *Antigone, opera after Sophocles, Op. 51 (1985–1987) *Father Sergius (Отец Сергий – Otets Sergiy), opera in one act after the story by Leo Tolstoy (1990–1995) Oratories and cantatas *Lieutenant Schmidt, oratorio, Op. 31 (1979) *God-Nightingale, cantata after Osip Mandelstam for baritone and chamber ensemble, Op. 61 (1991) Orchestral music *Aria for violin and string orchestra (1986) *Chamber Symphony, Op. 92 (“Painters”), (2018) *Concerto for cello and orchestra, Op. 42 (1984–1985) *Concerto No.1 for piano and chamber orchestra, Op. 35 (1981) *Concerto for trumpet, percussion and string orchestra, Op. 70 (1997) *Concerto No.1 for viola and string orchestra, Op. 53 (1989) *Concerto No.2 for viola and string orchestra, Op. 71 (1998) *Double Concerto for clarinet, violin and chamber orchestra, Op. 65 (1995) *Sinfonietta for chamber orchest

Vasily Pashkevich

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Vasily Alexeyevich Pashkevich, also Paskevich (; c. 1742, probably Ukraine – March 20, 1797 in St. Petersburg) was a Russian composer, singer, violinist and teacher of Ukrainian origin and according to some sources was born in Ukraine. Vasily Pashkevich entered court service in 1756 becoming a court composer to Tsar Peter III of Russia and later to his widow, Catherine the Great. He also played violin, and taught singing in the Academy of Arts 1773-1774 and later in the court capella. Between 1780 and 1783 he managed the Karl Kniper Theatre and in 1789 he became the first violin of the court orchestra, remaining in charge of imperial ballroom music until his death. Pashkevich wrote important comic operas, often re-working them at length, like Saint-Petersburg’s Trade Stalls, begun in 1782 and revised in 1792, and also As you live you will be judged. The comic opera The Miser a work of 17 scenes brought him most success. Its roles are: Scriagin, Liubima’s guardian; Liubima, his niece; Milovid, her beloved; Marfa, the servant girl that Scriagin is in love with; Prolaz, Milovid’s manservant who is in Scriagin’s service. Accordingly the speech and the names of the characters of Molière

Vasily Zolotarev

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Vasily Andreyevich Zolotarev, also romanized as Zolotaryov (; February 24, 1872 in Taganrog – May 25, 1964 in Moscow), was a Russian (Soviet) composer and music teacher of Greek ancestry. Biography Vasily Zolotarev was born to a Greek family named Kuyumzhi (Куюмжи) or Kouyoumtzis in the city of Taganrog in 1872. The family name was later changed to the more Russian Zolotarev. He studied music at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under direction of Mily Balakirev (1893–1898) in the class of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1898–1900), graduating in 1900. Zolotarev lectured at Moscow Conservatory (1909–1918), at the Belarus State Academy of Music (Белорусская государственная консерватория им. А. В. Луначарского) in 1933–1941, and other conservatories. Among his students in Minsk was Mieczysław Weinberg. Zolotaryov was a prolific composer and left behind a large body of works: three operas, ballets, seven symphonies (1902-1962), three concerti, cantatas, romances, six string quartets, and other works. Among his stage works are: The Decembrists, revised as Kondraty Ryleyev, libretto by Yasinovsky,1957 (presented in a concert performance on 29.08.1857, Moscow), Khvestko Andyber, 1928 (written d

Vassily Brandt

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Karl Wilhelm (Vasily Georgievich) Brandt (Willy Brandt) (1869 – 2 February 1923) was a German-Russian trumpeter, pedagogue, and composer. He is the founder of the Russian trumpet school. Life Karl Wilhelm Brandt was born and educated in Coburg, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now part of Germany. Between 1887 and 1890, he worked alternatively in the spa orchestra in Bad Oeynhausen and in Helsinki. He was active in the Helsinki Philharmonic Society, now the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, under Robert Kajanus. In 1890, he changed his name to Vassily Georgyevich and moved to Moscow, Russia. The opening of the Saratov Conservatory in September 1912 drew Vassily Brandt to Saratov for the remainder of his life. He spoke Russian quite poorly, often relying on demonstration for musical instruction. He died on 2 February 1923, purportedly as the result of a vaccination. Career Vassily Brandt became principal trumpet of the Bolshoi Theatre in 1890 and became first cornet in 1903. He succeeded Theodor Richter (1826–1901) as the second ever trumpet professor of the Moscow Conservatory in 1900, and also taught band orchestration there. In Moscow, he was part of the Russian Musical Society and toured a

Veniamin Basner

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Veniamin Efimovich Basner (, 1 January 1925 in Yaroslavl – 3 September 1996 in St Petersburg) was a Russian composer. He was recognized by the Soviet Union as a People’s Artist of Russia and a State prize-winner. An asteroid called 4267 Basner, discovered in 1971, was named in his honour. He was a member of the St Petersburg Union of Composers. Early life and initial success Veniamin Basner had been playing the violin from the age of six and graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory in 1949 with the violin as his principal instrument. Basner made his first experiments in composition at the age of fifteen. In 1955 he was a prize-winner, for his Second String Quartet, at the International Composers’ Competition in Warsaw. Basner and Shostakovich Veniamin Basner, while still a student, met Dmitri Shostakovich, under whose advice his formation as a professional composer was furthered. They became personal friends. Much later, Basner and Weinberg were amongst the six friends of Shostakovich (the others being Kara Karayev, Yury Levitin, Karen Khachaturian, and Boris Tishchenko) who rejected the controversial Testimony (Свидетельство), said to be the “authenticated memoirs of Dmitri Shost

Victor Dolidze (composer)

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Victor Isidores dze Dolidze (Georgian: ვიქტორ ისიდორეს ძე დოლიძე, 30 July 1890 – 24 May 1933) was a Georgian classical composer. Practically unknown in the West, in his home country Dolidze is best remembered for his opera Keto and Kote, which premiered in 1919 during the First Republic. The composition, which remains popular to this day, follows the story of forbidden love between an impoverished prince and a wealthy commoner’s daughter. Biography Victor Dolidze was born on 30 July 1890 in the city of Ozurgeti, Kutais Governorate, in what is now Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire. He came from a poor peasant family. In 1902 Dolidze’s family moved to Tiflis, where entered a commercial school. In 1910, he won his first prize at a local mandolin contest. Victor Dolidze died on 24 May 1933 in Tiflis and is buried at the Didube Pantheon. See also *Heraclius Djabadary *Zacharia Paliashvili *Dimitri Arakishvili References

Viktor Chaika

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Viktor Chaika (); real name Viktor Grigorievich Sigal (); (born December 11, 1958, Odessa, USSR) is a Soviet and Russian pop composer, songwriter, singer and musician. Known for dozens of songs for Aleksey Glyzin (Winter Garden, You’re Not an Angel), Tatyana Ovsiyenko (Captain, Beautiful Girl), Irina Allegrova (Transit Passenger, Drafts, Imagined) and many other pop stars. Some time singing solo (Mona Lisa, Where Are You Going Anywhere). He worked as a music producer on the show Boris Moiseev, and the manager of tours of foreign performers. Pesnya Goda Multiple nominee and winner of the festival. He wrote the music for several films. Family The first wife was Irina Borisova. The son is Alexey. The second wife was Tatyana Agurbash (2003-2009). in 2016, his chosen one became Polina Solovyova. In 2023, the second child was born. * 1991 — The Mannequin in Love (composer) * 2010 — Wirth: The Game is Not Childish (composer) * 2010 — The Last Secret of the Master (composer, actor) * 2016 — Svetoforov’s Family (composer, actor) * 2017 — The Tale of Peter and Fevronia (composer) * 2020 — She Abandoned the Bunny… (composer) References External links * Виктор Чайка на сайте Blatata.com * Ви

Viktor Kalinnikov

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Viktor Sergeevich Kalinnikov, also Victor (; 2 March 1870 – 23 February 1927), was a Soviet choral composer, conductor and pedagogue. He was the younger brother of the better-known symphonic composer Vasily Kalinnikov (1866–1901). He studied at the seminary in Oryol, then at the Moscow Philharmonic School, taking oboe and music theory. He played in various theatre orchestras, and taught singing at schools in Moscow. From 1899 to 1901 he headed the orchestra of the Moscow Art Theatre. Victor attended then taught at the Moscow Synodal School of Russian Orthodox Church music, where he composed 24 sacred choral settings for the Russian Orthodox All-Night Vigil and Divine Liturgy. From 1922 to 1926 he taught at the Moscow Conservatory. His compositions were popular and well received by critics. He died in Saltykovka, a suburb of Balashikha near Moscow. Selected works References External links *

Viktor Kosenko

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Viktor Stepanovych Kosenko (; 23 November 1896 – 3 October 1938) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, and educator. He was regarded by his contemporaries as a master of lyricism. Kosenko’s life is conclusively divided into three distinct phases, in Warsaw, where he studied with renowned teacher Aleksander Michałowski, in Zhytomyr, where he began teaching piano and music theory at the Music Technicum, later becoming director of the Zhytomyr Music School, and finally in Kyiv, where he devoted more time to symphonic compositions such as his Heroic Overture, which brought him due recognition in the world of Soviet music. Kosenko’s music combines a post-romantic idiom with intonations of Slavic folk songs and Western-European influences. His vocal, chamber and symphonic works are among the most important pieces of that time in USSR. Life and career Early life and education Viktor Stepanovych Kosenko was born on 23 November 1896 in Saint Petersburg, into the large family of a major general, Stepan Kosenko. Viktor’s family moved from Saint Petersburg to Warsaw in 1898, From 1908, he studied under Aleksander Michałowski, a professor at the Warsaw Conservatory. Kosenko continued studying comp

Viktor Pleshak

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Viktor Vasilyevich Pleshak (; born 13 November 1946) is a Soviet and Russian composer. He is known for his work in academic and popular music, including symphonic compositions, songs, and musical works for theatre. Pleshak was awarded the title of in 2004 and has received the Prize of the Government of Saint Petersburg. Biography Pleshak was born in Leningrad on 13 November 1946. He graduated from the in 1964 and later from the Leningrad Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in 1970, where he studied choral conducting under E. P. Kudryavtseva. He completed further studies in composition in 1981 under professors V. V. Pushkov, A. D. Mnatsakanyan, and Boris Tishchenko. Pleshak has also written numerous popular songs performed by artists. He lives and works in Saint Petersburg. Personal life Pleshak is married to Irina Anatolyevna Pleshak, a concertmaster at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. They have two sons, both of whom are composers. Selected works Oratorio * Leningradki (2020), an oratorio for reader, mezzo-soprano, baritone, children’s and women’s choirs, and piano. Honours and awards * (20 May 2004), for services in the field of the arts. * Medal of the Order “For Merit to the F

Vissarion Shebalin

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Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin (; 11 June 190229 May 1963) was a Soviet composer and music pedagogue. He was Rector of the Moscow Conservatory (1942-1948) and People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1947). Biography Shebalin was born in Omsk, where his parents were school teachers. He studied in the musical college in Omsk, and was also enrolled in the Institute of Agriculture. He was 20 years old when, following the advice of his professor, he went to Moscow to show his first compositions to Reinhold Glière and Nikolai Myaskovsky. Both composers thought very highly of his compositions. Shebalin graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1928. His diploma work was the 1st Symphony, which the author dedicated to his professor Nikolai Myaskovsky. Many years later his fifth and last symphony was dedicated to Myaskovsky’s memory. In the 1920s Shebalin was a member of the Association for Contemporary Music (ACM); he was a participant of the informal circle of Moscow musicians known as “Lamm’s group”, which gathered in the apartment of Pavel Lamm, a professor from the Moscow Conservatory. After graduating from Moscow Conservatory, he worked there as a professor, and in 1935 became also a head of th

Vladimir Dashkevich

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Vladimir Sergeevich Dashkevich () (born 20 January 1934) is a Russian composer, known mainly for his film music. Originally, he studied chemical technology at Moscow State University of Fine Chemical Technologies, but he later studied music under Aram Khachaturian. He achieved prominence in Russia for his music for the series of films The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, as well as numerous other films. His longtime collaboration with famous singer Elena Kamburova has resulted in a number of vocal cycles based on the lyrics by the Russian Silver Age poets, including Requiem of Anna Akhmatova. Biography His works include symphonies, operas and musicals, as well as chamber and vocal music. Thus, in 1996, the musical Bumbarash, to which Dashkevich wrote the music, was shown in three performances at the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg as a guest performance of Oleg Tabakov’s Studio Theatre. Main works * Symphony No. 1 (1964) * Faustus, oratorio (1964) * Concerto for cello and orchestra (1973) * Bumbarash, musical (1974) * Classified city (1974) * The Bedbug, opera (1980) * Pippi Longstocking, musical (1980) * Along Unknown Paths (1982) * How to Become Happy (1986) * Symphony

Vladimir Fere

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Vladimir Georgievich Fere (; 20 May 1902 in Kamyshin – 2 September 1971 in Moscow) was a Russian composer. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory in 1925 and later taught there. He was a member of a Kirghiz Republic collective assigned by the Soviet government under a plan to integrate national cultures into the arts. Kyrgyz composer Abdylas Maldybaev provided folk melodies and composed music which was organized and prepared by Fere and Russian composer Vladimir Vlasov into six Soviet state opera and other works. Their first full opera was Ai-churek. The collective is usually hypenated as Vlasov-Fere-Maldi’bayev and also composed the Kirghiz national anthem. Works Works include: *Sonata, for violin and piano, op. 4 (1924–25) *Suite, for piano, op. 6 (1927) *Poems (2) by S. Yesenin, for voice and piano, op. 7 (1928) *Sonata, for piano (1928) *Sonatina Alla barbara, for piano (1928) *Our Children, piano pieces (6) for children, op. 12 (1933) *Ai-Churek, opera in four acts after an episode of the “Manas Epos” (1938–1939) Libretto: D. Tursubekov, D. Bokonbaev and K. Malikov. First performance in 1939 in Frunse. *String Quartet on Kirghiz Themes, op. 27 (1946) *Manas, opera (1947, 2nd ve

Vladimir Genin

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Vladimir Mikhailovich Genin (born 31 March 1958 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian-German composer, pianist and piano teacher. He has lived in Munich since 1997. Life, career, compositions Vladimir Genin is the son of the writer and musician Mikhail Genin and Elena Spinel. His grandfather Jossif (Joseph) Spinel was a painter and stage designer, who contributed to Sergei Eisenstein’s films Ivan the Terrible and Alexander Nevsky. After graduating in 1977 from the Tchaikovsky Academic Music College at the Moscow State Conservatory, he studied piano at the State Pedagogical University with Alisa Kezheradze and then continued composition with Prof. Roman Ledenev and piano with Prof. Ilya Klyachko at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. His compositional development was strongly influenced by his long friendship with Shostakovich’s pupil Georgy Sviridov. His music has been performed across Europe, Russia, South Korea and the United States by leading orchestras and ensembles, including the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, the Graz Philharmonic and the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna under Oksana Lyniv, as well as

Vladimir Kashperov

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Vladimir Nikitich Kashperov (, 25 August 1826 – 26 June 1894) was an Imperial Russian composer, theorist and professor. Kashperov was born on 25 August 1826 in Chufarovo within the Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk) province in the Russian empire. He died on 26 June 1894 in the village of Romantsevo, located in the Mozhaysky district, Moscow. Family Kashperov was married to Adel Nikolaevna Kashperova (maidan name: Beketova), a soprano operatic singer. Glinka’s book “The School of Singing” is dedicated to her. He had one daughter named E. V. Kashperova. Life In 1844, he graduated from the School of Guards Ensigns in St. Petersburg, and served in the Life Guards Cuirassier Regiment. Upon leaving military service, he began to devote himself to music. He studied piano with German composers Adolf von Henselt and Hans Vogt. Having been recommended by Mikhail Glinka, in the 1850s he began to take lessons in composition from German musicologist and composer Sieghfried W. Dehn in Berlin. Kashperov then travelled to Italy and lived there for eight years (1857-1865), whereupon he learned the basics of Italian vocal singing. In 1865, he returned to Moscow upon an invitation from Anton Rubenstein Pavel B

Vladimir Martynov

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Vladimir Ivanovich Martynov (Russian: Владимир Иванович Мартынов) (Moscow, 20 February 1946) is a Russian composer, known for his compositions in the concerto, orchestral music, chamber music, and choral music genres. Life Vladimir Martynov studied piano as a child. Gaining an interest in composition, he enrolled in the Moscow Conservatory where he studied piano under Mikhail Mezhlumov and composition under Nikolai Sidelnikov, graduating in 1971. In his early works, such as the String Quartet (1966), the Concerto for Oboe and Flute (1968), Hexagramme for Piano (1971), and Violin Sonata (1973), Vladimir Martynov used serial music (or twelve-tone) technique. In 1973 he got a job at the studio for electronic music of the Alexander Scriabin Museum. For Soviet composers of this era, this studio had much the same meaning as the RAI Electronic Music Studio in Milan, the West German Radio studio, and the ORTF Studio in Paris, providing a meeting ground for the avant-garde musicians. Sofia Gubaidulina, Sergei Nemtin, Alfred Schnittke, and Edison Denisov were among the composers regularly working and meeting there. Martynov helped to form a rock group called Boomerang at the Scriabin Studio.

Vladimir Matetsky

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Vladimir Leonardovich Matetsky (; born 14 May 1952 in Moscow ) is a Russian and Soviet composer, producer, and radio presenter. Personal Life and Career Matetsky is a member of the Russian Authors’ Society. He is married and has one daughter, Maria (born 1987) and son, Leonid (born 2001). Matetsky started to take music classes under the direction of Sofija Moisseevna Karpilovskaya, a student of Elena Fabianovna Gnesina. Vladimir learned to play guitar just as piano. He was particularly influenced by The Beatles. At the end of the 1960s, Matetsky started to play in various rock bands, piano, guitar, bass-guitar. Around the same time he first started writing songs–unusually, in English rather than Russian. His major success is considered to be his song Lavanda, which was written for Sofia Rotaru. It was awarded a golden disc by Melodiya. Currently he lives and works in Moscow. Popular Songs * “Lavanda” (“Лаванда”) by Sofia Rotaru and Jaak Joala * “Hutoryanka” (“Хуторянка”) by Sofia Rotaru * “Luna, luna” (“Луна, луна”) by Sofia Rotaru * “Bilo, No proshlo’” (“Было, но прошло”) by Sofia Rotaru * “Tolko etogo malo’” (“Только этого мало”) by Sofia Rotaru * “Lunnaya raduga’” (“Лунная радуг

Vladimir Migulya

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Vladimir Georgievich Migulya (; August 18, 1945 – February 16, 1996) was a Soviet and Russian musician, singer and composer. He authored many popular songs in the 1970s and the 1990s. He collaborated with the group Zemlyane. In 1988 he was named Migulya wrote the music of the first Hymn of Cosmonautics of Russia Grass by the Home. He was a 14-times laureate of the festival Pesnya Goda. Biography Vladimir Migulya was born on August 18, 1945, in Stalingrad (today’s Volgograd). His father Georgy Fyodorovich Migulya was a military pilot, while his mother Lyudmila Aleksandrovna was a medical statistician and lieutenant of medical service during the World War II. He graduated from a music school in Volgograd. From 1965 to 1968, Migulya studied at the Volgograd School of Arts at the Department of Music Theory. In 1963 he entered the Volgograd State Medical University. In 1968 he graduated from both educational institutions and entered the Leningrad State Conservatory (composition class of Sergei Slonimsky). After graduating from the conservatoire, in 1974 he moved to Moscow. Migulya collaborated with Simon Osiashvili and Larisa Rubalskaya. Vladimir Migulya’s songs are included in the repe

Vladimir Nazarov (composer)

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Vladimir Vasilievich Nazarov (; born February 24, 1952) is a Russian composer, singer, actor, film director, artistic director of the Music Theatre of National Arts, Professor Gnessin State Musical College and R. Glier Kyiv Institute of Music. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1987). People’s Artist of Russia (2004). Member of the Union of Theatre Workers of the Russian Federation and Union of Cinematographers the Russian Federation. Biography Vladimir Nazarov was born February 24, 1952, in the town of Novomoskovsk Dnipropetrovsk region in the family chauffeur. His mother worked in a hospital. The future composer was the middle of three brothers. He graduated with honors from high school and music class school bayan (pedagogue Pyotr Martynovich Kostev) Then he entered the Dnipropetrovsk cultural-educational school specialty Manager of the orchestra of folk instruments. He graduated from the Moscow State Art and Cultural University After serving in the Army, he moved to Moscow. Career Founder and director of the ensemble of Russian folk wind instruments Zhaleika (1975–1982), Ensemble of Folk Music (1982–2002) and the State Music Theater of National Art (2002). Since 1984, Vladimir Nazaro

Vladimir Rebikov

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Vladimir Ivanovich Rebikov (, ); born May 31 OS May 19 1866 - Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia — died October 1, 1920 - Yalta, Crimea) was a late romantic 20th-century Russian composer and pianist. Biography Born into a family of distant Tatar ancestry, Rebikov began studying the piano with his mother. His sisters also were pianists. He graduated from the Moscow University faculty of philology. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Nikolai Klenovsky, a pupil of Tchaikovsky, and then for three years in Berlin and Vienna with K. Mayrberger (music theory), O. Jasch (instrumentation), and T. Müller (piano). Rebikov taught and also held successful concerts in various parts of the Russian Empire: Moscow, Odessa, Kishinev, Yalta, as well as in Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Leipzig, Florence and Paris, where he met Claude Debussy, Oskar Nedbal, Zdeněk Nejedlý, and others. Rebikov settled in Yalta in 1909. Works and style Early works suggest the influence of Peter Tchaikovsky and Grieg. and Divine Art Recordings, and are widely accessible on Spotify, bringing his music to new audiences. In academic circles, Dr. Ivan Hurd’s 2023 presentation at the MTNA National Conference examined Rebikov’s evol

Vladimir Shainsky

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Vladimir Yakovlevich Shainsky (, ; 12 December 1925 – 25 December 2017) was a Soviet and Russian composer. He was a recipient of the People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1986). Biography Shainsky was born in Kiev to a Jewish family. He first studied violin at the music school in Kiev. His studies there were interrupted in 1941 by World War II, when his family was evacuated to Tashkent in the Uzbek SSR. He continued his musical education at the , until he was enlisted in the Red Army. After the war he entered Moscow Conservatory, where he graduated as a violinist. In the 1950s, Shainsky played in Leonid Utyosov’s orchestra, taught students, and worked as a music manager at various dance orchestras. He later studied composition at the Baku Conservatory. His first compositional works were a string quartet, created in 1963 during his studies at the Baku Conservatory, and a symphony, written in 1965. During his career as a composer, Shainsky wrote a large number of works for children. He created music and songs for cartoons such as Cheburashka, Katerok, Mamontenok and Kroshka Enot; also for films including Breakfast on the Grass, Aniskin and Fantomas, Aniskin Again, School Waltz, Finist, the B

Vladimir Shcherbachov

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Vladimir Vladimirovich Shcherbachov (Shcherbachyov, Shcherbachev) (; 25 January 1889, in Warsaw – 5 March 1952, in Leningrad) was a Soviet composer. He studied with Maximilian Steinberg, Anatoly Lyadov, and Jāzeps Vītols (Joseph Wihtol) at the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1908 to 1914. While there he also worked as a pianist for Sergey Diaghilev and taught theory. He served in World War I and then worked in Soviet government music positions. In 1918-1923 he worked as a lecturer and ran the musical department of the Narkompros. He later became a professor at the Leningrad Conservatory (1923-1931 and 1944-1948) and the Tbilisi Conservatory. He counted Boris Arapov, Vasily Velikanov, Evgeny Mravinsky, Valery Zhelobinsky, Gavriil Popov, Valerian Bogdanov-Berezovsky, Pyotr Ryazanov, and Mikhail Chulaki among his pupils, as well as various others. Works *Anna Kolossova, opera (1939, unfinished); *Tabachny Kapitan, operetta (1943); * Five symphonies: **No. 1 (1914); **No. 2 (“Blokovskaya” or “Blok”, with soloists and chorus, 1925); **No. 3 (Symphony-Suite, 1931); **No. 4 (“Izhorskaya”, with soloists and chorus, 1935); **No. 5 (“Russkaya”, 1948, 2nd version in 1950); *Nonet for 7 instr

Vladimir Sokalsky

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Vladimir Ivanovich Sokalsky (; , 1863 - 1919) was a composer, musical critic, and lawyer. Biography Vladimir Ivanovich Sokalsky was born in the family of Ivan Petrovich Sokalsky, a Russian writer. He was born on 24 April 1863 at Heidelberg, in the Grand Duchy of Baden. He graduated from Kharkiv musical school, a branch of the Imperial Russian Musical Community, where studied music from Peter Petrovich Sokalsky, and compositions from Iwan Knorr. He also graduated from Kharkiv University (the faculty of law). He was a conductor of an orchestra in opera-enterprise of Vasily Nikolaevich Andreev-Burlak. Since 1882 contributed as a musical reviewer of the “South country” newspaper, under a pseudonym Don-Diez. At meetings of the Kharkov branch of Russian musical society its products were executed, and the opera “Repka” was performed in Poltave, Smolensk, Tiflis and Kharkov. In 1902 he was a prosecutor at the Ust-Medveditsa district court. In the autumn of 1911, he became the Chairman of the Vologda district Court. In 1918 in Vologda, he performed several lectures and concerts devoted to creativity of Beethoven and Grieg with his daughter Lydia, and son-in-law Ilya Ginetsinsky. In 1919, he

Vladimir Sverdlov-Ashkenazy

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Vladimir Leonidovich Sverdlov-Ashkenazy (; born on July 21, 1976, Moscow) is a Russian pianist and composer. Family Vladimir Sverdlov comes from a family of musicians. His grandfather David Ashkenazy was a pianist, accompanist and composer, People’s Artist of the USSR. His mother, Elena Ashkenazy, is a pianist and teaches piano at Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo. His uncle, Vladimir Ashkenazy, is a famous pianist and conductor. Education Vladimir Sverdlov studied at the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory under Professor Vladimir Krainev. At the age of 14, in 1990, became the winner of the Moscow City Piano Competition. He continued his education at the Hannover Higher School of Music under Professor Arie Vardi. Career At the age of 16, in 1992, Vladimir embarked on his first tour through Germany, accompanied by the Radio Frankfurt Orchestra conducted by Dmitry Kitayenko. In 1993 Vladimir Sverdlov won the Grand Prix at the Citta di Senigallia International Competition in Italy. His performance has garnered him a great acclaim among the public and led to many professional engagements. After this the rapid rise of the pianist began. In 2000 Vladimir Sverdlov made his

Vladimir Ussachevsky

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Vladimir Alexeevich Ussachevsky (November 3, 1911 in Hailar, China – January 2, 1990 in New York City) was a Russian-American composer, particularly known for his work in electronic music. Biography Vladimir Ussachevsky was born in the Hailar District of China, in modern-day Inner Mongolia to an Imperial Russian Army officer assigned to protect Trans-Siberian Railway interests. He emigrated to the United States in 1930 and studied music at Pomona College in Claremont, California (B.A., 1935), as well as at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York (M.M., 1936, Ph.D., 1939). Ussachevsky’s early, neo-Romantic works were composed for traditional instruments, but in 1951 he began composing electronic music. He served as president of the American Composers Alliance from 1968 to 1970 and was an advisory member of the Composers Recordings, Inc. record label, which released recordings of a number of his compositions. Recordings of his music have also been released on the Capstone, d’Note, and New World labels. Teaching career In 1947, following a stint with the U.S. Army Intelligence division in World War II, Ussachevsky joined the faculty of Columbia University, teaching there un

Vladimir Vlasov

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Vladimir Aleksandrovich Vlasov (; 7 January 1903, Moscow – 7 September 1986, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian composer and conductor. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory from 1924 to 1931 under such teachers as Georgy Catoire, Abram Yampolsky, and Nikolai Zhilyayev. In 1936 he founded the Music and Drama Theatre in Frunze, working as the company’s artistic director until 1942. He worked as the artistic director of the Moscow PO from 1942 to 1949. He was made a People’s Artist of the RSFSR and of the Kirghiz SSR. As a composer, Vlasov is known for his numerous operas, six of which were written in a Soviet government assigned collaboration with Vladimir Fere and Abdylas Maldybaev. The collective is usually hyphenated as Vlasov-Fere-Maldybaev, which also composed the Kirghiz national anthem. Discography His work has been recorded and issued on media including: * Ai-Churek (1938) LP Melodiya D 07269-74: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Khirgiz State Theatre Opera & Ballet, DZhumakhmatov (conductor) * Five Pieces for violin and piano 1. Romance; 2. Waltz; 3. Folk Dance; 4. Nocturne; 5. Scherzo CD Russia Revelation RV 10071: Leonid Kogan (violin), Alexander Marakov (piano) (Rec: 1

Vladislav Kazenin

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Vladislav Igorevich Kazenin (; May 21, 1937, Kirov – February 17, 2014, Moscow) was Soviet and Russian composer and musician. Chairman of the Union of Russian Composers (since 1990), Deputy Minister of Culture of the USSR (1987–1990), member of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation on State Prizes of the Russian Federation in Literature and Art, member of the Board of the Ministry of Culture of Russia and the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Culture and Art (1996–2001). People’s Artist of the Russian Federation (1996), laureate of the State Prize of Russia (2003), Honorary Citizen of the city of Kirov (2009). Biography He was born on May 21, 1937 in Kirov in the family of musician Igor Vikentyevich Kazenin. His father worked as the director of the Kirov Children’s Music School and the Kirov College of Music. He gave his son his first piano lessons. His mother, Valentina Nikolaevna, worked as a track service engineer on the railroad. During the Great Patriotic War, creative evenings were often held in the Kazenin house with the participation of cultural and art figures evacuated to Kirov. Among them were Emil Gilels, Lev Oborin, David

Vladyslav Zaremba

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Vladyslav Ivanovych Zaremba (27 June 1833 – 24 October 1902) was a Ukrainian composer and pianist of Polish origin. He was the brother of Nikolai Zaremba and the father of Sigizmund Zaremba. Zaremba was born in Dunaivtsi. His family moved to Kamianets-Podilskyi in 1846, where he studied music with Józef and Antoni Kocipiński. After completing his studies, he lived outside of Kamianets-Podilskyi. Zaremba returned in 1854 and worked as an organist in a church. For unknown reasons, Zaremba was under polish surveillance at this time. In 1856 he moved to Zhytomyr, where he began to teach, perform, and compose music. His son Sigizmund was born there. From 1862 he lived in Kyiv, giving piano and choral singing lessons at various institutions. He was also a music critic and an active member of the Russian Musical Society. Zaremba was a conductor of some amateur choirs. He died in Kyiv, aged 69, and was buried in the Baikove Cemetery. The Zaremba street in Kyiv was named in honor of Vladyslav Zaremba. The Khmelnytskyi Music College is also named after him. The composer wrote plays and arranged Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian folk music for piano. He also composed over thirty songs and romanc

Vsevolod Zaderatsky

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Vsevolod Petrovich Zaderatsky (; 21 December 1891, Rivne, Ukraine 1 February 1953, Lviv, USSR) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist and teacher. His life was marked by continuous persecution by the Soviet government. Despite his talents as a composer and pianist, his early service as a piano teacher to the Tsar’s heir and his enlistment in the White Army made him a political target. Arrested multiple times, he faced execution, imprisonment, and exile, with his compositions repeatedly destroyed. Even as he attempted to integrate into Soviet musical institutions, he was denounced and sent to a labor camp in 1937. Though later released, he remained under state suspicion, forced to spend his final years away from major cultural centers. Despite repression by Soviet authorities, Zaderatsky created a diverse body of musical work, especially for piano. Today, he is recognized as a pioneering figure in the Russian and Ukrainian musical avant-garde. Life In 1891, Zaderatsky was born in Rivne (Volhynian Governorate, Ukraine) into the family of a railway official. His family relocated several times during his early years, however, he spent most of his childhood and youth in Kursk. Zaderatsky con

Vyacheslav Artyomov

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Vyacheslav Petrovich Artyomov (; born 29 June 1940) is a Russian composer. Early life and education Vyacheslav Artyomov was born on 29 June 1940 in Moscow, Soviet Union. He initially pursued studies in physics while also receiving formal musical training. He attended the musical college affiliated with the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied composition with Nikolai Sidelnikov and piano with Tovi Logovinsky. Artyomov became a member of the Union of Soviet Composers and the Association for Contemporary Music (ACM). He also worked as an editor at the Moscow publishing house Musyka and graduated in 1968. Career In 1975, he joined the improvisation group “Astreya” alongside the composers Sofia Gubaidulina and Viktor Suslin. In 1979, he was blacklisted as one of Khrennikov’s Seven at the Sixth Congress for unapproved participation in several Soviet music festivals in the Western world. His music has been performed by conductors and musicians including Rostropovich, Rozhdestvensky, Fedoseyev, Spivakov, Pletnyov, Currentzis, Virko Baley, Bunin, Kopachevsky, Isakadze, Grindenko, Yo-Yo Ma, Rudin, Yanchenko, and Ashkenazy. He has participated in European musical performances since the 1970

Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov

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Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Ovchinnikov (; 29 May 1936 in Voronezh, Soviet Union – 4 February 2019 in Moscow, Russia) was a Soviet and Russian composer. Biography He began composing at age 9 and entered the Moscow Conservatory at 15. Later he studied with Tikhon Khrennikov and Leo Ginzburg. He composed symphonies, symphonic poems, as well as works for chamber orchestra, small ensembles and solo instruments. Outside his native country he is best known as a composer of music for such films as War and Peace, the 1966–67 film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, Ivan’s Childhood and Andrei Rublev for Andrei Tarkovsky. He has composed for some 40 films in total. Tarkovsky is said to have been so impressed by Ovchinnikov that he stated: “I cannot imagine a better composer for myself than Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov.” Ovchinnikov also had a successful career as a touring conductor from the 1970s. He has recorded for Melodiya, the Russian record company. His Symphony No. 2 was released on the Melodiya label. Ovchinnikov was named a People’s Artist of the RSFSR in 1986. For the 60th birthday (1992) of Queen Sirikit of Thailand, he was commissioned to compose The Bouquet for the Queen. For that work he w

Vyacheslav Tyurin

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Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Tyurin (; born 16 May 1967, in Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk Oblast) is a Russian composer, producer, music video maker, director. President of Reflexmusic и VIVITI. He is the author of songs by Irene Nelson and the musical groups REFLEX, Litsey, Non Stop, Electroversia, by singers Natalia Gulkina, Shura, Irina Saltykova, Sasha Project, Slava, Kristina Orbakaitė, Elvira T, and Alyona Sviridova. Biography Electroversia In 1989, in Novosibirsk, he formed the group Electroversia, the keyboardist of which was Pavel Yesenin, the future composer and producer of the Hi-Fi group. At the same time, Tyurin met the soloist of the jazz big band Irina Tereshina (better known under the pseudonym Irina Nelson) and began to collaborate with her. Diana In 1992, he moved to Moscow, where he became a producer of the TV-show Autograph on Saturdays on Channel One, and also worked in the TV-show Up to 16 and older. In 1993 he created the project Diana, positioning Irina as a solo performer. The name was chosen in tribute to the singer Diana Ross. Over the years of the project’s existence, six records, a remix album and a compilation album The Best of Diana were released In 2002, Vyac

Weli Muhadow

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Velimuhammet Muhadov or Welimuhammet Muhadow (Turkmen Cyrillic: Велимухаммет Мухадов; ; 5 May 1916 – 6 January 2005), also known as Veli Muhadov or Weli Muhadow (Turkmen Cyrillic: Вели Мухадов; ), was a Turkmen composer. He composed numerous works, including several film scores, the regional anthem of the Turkmen SSR (which was used in the 1990s as the Turkmen national anthem), and the current national anthem of Turkmenistan. He was awarded the title of People’s Artist of the USSR in 1965, the Stalin Prize in 1951 and 1952, and the Order of Lenin twice. He was also twice a member of the Supreme Soviet. Biography Muhadow studied music from 1929 to 1933 at a boarding school in Ashgabat. Beginning in 1936 he began studies in the Turkmen Department of the Moscow Conservatory. Muhadow’s studies were interrupted in 1941 by the outbreak of World War II in the Soviet Union. Muhadow returned to Ashgabat and joined the Red Army, assigned to the 99th Rifle Division, which saw combat in the Don River basin. He was demobilized in 1943 and returned to Ashgabat to the position of choir director of the Opera and Ballet Theater. This period was marked by composition of a series of patriotic songs.

Wladimir Vogel

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Wladimir Rudolfowitsch Vogel (17 February 1896 – 19 June 1984) was a Swiss composer of German and Russian descent. Life Born in Moscow, Vogel first studied composition in Moscow with Alexander Scriabin, then between 1918 and 1924 with Heinz Tiessen and Ferruccio Busoni in Berlin, where he subsequently taught (1930–33) at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory. He was close to the expressionist circle around Herwarth Walden and was active in the music section of the November Group of Max Butting and Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt. In 1933, he left Germany as he was branded a “degenerate artist” and hunted by the Nazi regime due to his Jewish heritage and his involvement with the avantgardist Neue Musik scene. From 1939 he lived in Switzerland, at first in Ascona and from 1964 in Zürich. Although Vogel was not permitted to work in Switzerland prior to his naturalisation in 1954, he taught composition privately and was active in various musical organisations, such as the ISCM. He also attended Hermann Scherchen’s ‘Sessions d’études musicales et dramatiques’ and organized the International Twelve-Tone Music pre-conference in Osilina in 1949. During this time, he was financially dependent on

Władysław Szpilman

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Władysław Szpilman (; 5 December 1911 – 6 July 2000) was a Polish Jewish pianist, classical composer and Holocaust survivor. Szpilman is widely known as the central figure in the Roman Polanski film The Pianist, which was based on his autobiographical account of how he survived the German occupation of Warsaw and the Warsaw Uprising. Szpilman studied piano at music academies in Berlin and Warsaw. He became a popular performer on Polish Radio and in concert. Confined within the Warsaw Ghetto after the German invasion of Poland, Szpilman spent two years in hiding. Following the Warsaw Uprising and the subsequent destruction of the city, he was helped by Wilm Hosenfeld, a German officer who detested Nazi policies. After World War II, Szpilman resumed his career on Polish Radio. Szpilman was also a prolific composer; his output included hundreds of songs and many orchestral pieces. Szpilman was also recognized as the most famous of the “Robinson Crusoes”, a term referring to Poles who survived in the ruins of Warsaw after the Warsaw Uprising. Career as a pianist Szpilman began his study of the piano at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland, where he studied piano with Aleksande

Wojciech Grzymała

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Wojciech Grzymała (23 April 1793 – 16 December 1871), also known as Albert Grzymala or Albert Grzymała, was a Polish soldier, politician, and banker who was a close associate in Paris of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. Grzymała was born in Dunajowce (now Dunaivtsi, Ukraine). He began attending military school in 1807, and took part in the Battle of Borodino (1812), for which he received the medal Virtuti Militari. A freemason, and active in Polish politics during the 1820s, he was a principal orator at the funeral of Stanisław Staszic (1826). In 1828-1829, he was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg for his association with the . As a director of the Bank Polski, he negotiated in London and Paris for financial and other support for Poland after the 1830 November Uprising. Grzymała remained in Paris and became a society figure. He often acted as Chopin’s adviser and “gradually began to fill the role of elder brother in his life.” He was a frequent correspondent of both Chopin and of George Sand; Sand, in a letter to Grzymała of June 1838, admitted her strong feelings for the composer and debated whether to abandon a current affair in order to begin a relation

Yakiv Stepovy

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Yakiv Stepanovych Stepovy (; ; 20 October 18834 November 1921) was a Ukrainian composer, music teacher, and music critic. Biography Early life and education Stepovy was born on 20 October 1883 as Yakiv Yakymenko (Akimenko) in Kharkiv, in the Russian Empire (in present-day Ukraine). His older brother was also a composer. From 1895 to 1898, Yakiv sang as a boy chorister in the Imperial Court Chapel in Saint Petersburg. From 1898 to 1902, he attended chapel classes, learning to play the piano, and studying music theory and conducting. Stepovy attended the Saint Petersburg Conservatory from 1902 to 1909, where he studied with the Russian composers Anatoly Lyadov, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Career Stepovy was a representative of the Ukrainian musical intelligentsia of the 20th century. He was one of the founders of the national school of composition and composed in the tradition of the Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko. During World War I, Stepovy was recruited to the military, where he worked as a secretary on a hospital train. and the biography of Stepovy by V.L. Goshovsky in Musical Encyclopedia. Stepovy developed the traditions established by previous Ukrainian and Russian classical c

Yaya Sherfedinov

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Yaya Sherfedinov (, ; 16 March 1894 — 29 January 1975) was a Soviet-Crimean Tatar composer, musician, and poet. Born to a poor family in Feodosia, he began playing the violin at a young age. He was a graduate of the prestigious Moscow Conservatory. Before exile from Crimea, he worked in Crimea for the Crimean Radio Committee, the Crimean Tatar State Drama Theater, and the State Song and Dance Ensemble of the Crimean Tatars. When he was not composing new music, he wrote down compilations of many Crimean Tatar folksongs. In exile in Uzbekistan, he continued his musical work, and expanded to writing music for an Uzbek play, working with Uzbek composer Toʻxtasin Jalilov; however, most of his work centered around Crimean Tatar folksongs. His works spanned many themes. See also * Enver Sherfedinov References Literature * * External links * Biography at gasprinskylibrary.ru

Yekaterina Chemberdzhi

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Yekaterina Chemberdzhi (), also Katia Tchemberdji (nickname) or Jekaterina Wladimirowna Tschemberdschi (German form) (born 6 May 1960), is a Russian pianist and composer. Life and career The daughter of Vladimir Posner and Valentina Chemberdzhi and granddaughter of the composers Zara Levina and Nikolai Chemberdzhi, Katia Chemberdzhi was born in Moscow and began her study of music at age 7. In 1978 she studied composition and piano at the Moscow Conservatory with Nikolai Korndorf and Yuri Kholopov. After ending her studies, Chemberdzhi took a position from 1984 to 1990 teaching at the Moscow Gnessin State Musical College. In 1990 she moved to West Berlin. She has been active in international festivals as a pianist and as a composer. Her compositions were commissioned by such festivals as Berliner Festspiele, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Tage Neuer Musik Zürich, and performed and commissioned by such soloists and ensembles as The Hilliard Ensamble, Charoun Ensemble, Sibelius Quartet, Staats- und Domchor Berlin, Singakademie zu Berlin, Münchner Kammerorchester, Boris Pergamenschikow, Natalia Gutman, Eduard Brunner, Charles Neidich etc. She has composed film music for several Russian

Yevgeny Brusilovsky

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Yevgeny Grigoryevich Brusilovsky (; 12 November 1905 – 9 May 1981) was a Soviet and Russian composer who settled in Kazakhstan. He wrote the first Kazakh opera, co-wrote the music for the anthem of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, and was a People’s Artist of the Kazakh SSR. Early life and education Brusilovsky was born in Rostov-on-Don in 1905. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory and later at the Leningrad Conservatory, under Maximilian Steinberg. Career In 1933, he was sent to Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan (then the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic) to study the folk music of the region, and stayed there for the rest of his life. From 1934 to 1936 he was the music director of the Kazakh National Theatre, and from 1949 to 1951 the artistic director of the Philharmonic. Brusilovsky taught at the Alma-Ata Conservatory (now the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory) from 1944, becoming Professor of Composition in 1955. His students included A. Zatsepin, B. Baikadamov, M. Tulebaev, B. Yerzakovich, K. Kuzhamyarov, E. Rakhmadiyev and S. Mukhamedzhanov. Death He died in Moscow in 1981, aged 75. He was buried at the Kuntsevo Cemetery. Works Yevgeny Brusilovsky frequently used the music an

Yevgeny Krylatov

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Yevgeny Pavlovich Krylatov (; 23 February 1934 – 8 May 2019) was a Soviet and Russian composer who wrote songs for over 120 Soviet and Russian movies and animated films. Biography Krylatov was born on 23 February 1934 in Lysva in the working class family of Pavel Krylatov and his wife Zoya. After graduating he found himself impoverished, lacking work or a permit to reside in Moscow. He would go on to compose music for more than 150 feature and animated films. He died in Moscow on May 8, 2019, survived by his daughter Maria. Filmography (selection) #1961: Absolutely Seriously (Совершенно серьезно) with Anatoly Lepin and Nikita Bogoslovsky #1968: Film, Film, Film (Фильм, фильм, фильм) with Aleksandr Zatsepin #1969: Umka (Умка) #1970: Umka is Looking for a Friend (Умка ищет друга) #1970: About Love (О любви) #1971: Oh, That Nastya! (Ох уж эта Настя!) #1972: Property of the Republic (Достояние республики) #1973: Looking for a Man (Ищу человека) #1974: Woodpeckers Don’t Get Headaches (Не болит голова у дятла) #1976: The Little Mermaid (Русалочка) #1978: Three from Prostokvashino (Трое из Простоквашино) #1979: The Adventures of the Elektronic (Приключения Электроника) #1979: Aquanauts (А

Yevstigney Fomin

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Yevstigney Ipat’yevich Fomin () (born St. Petersburg 16 August 1761 – died St. Petersburg c 27 April 1800) was a Russian opera composer of the 18th century. Biography Fomin was born in St. Petersburg into the family of a cannoneer, an artillery soldier of the Tobolsk infantry regiment. His father died when he was 6, and he passed into the care of his stepfather, I. Fedotov, a soldier. Fedotov took him to the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg on 21 April 1767, where Fomin studied architecture. As a full student there, he began learning the harpsichord in 1776 with Matteo Buini. From 1777 he studied theory and composition with Hermann Raupach, and from 1779 with Blasius Sartori. In 1782 he went to Bologna to study with Padre Martini and Stanislao Mattei; three years later he was accepted into the Accademia filarmonica. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1785, he taught at the theatrical school and composed operas. From 1797 he was répétiteur for the imperial theater under Paul I. He composed about 30 operas including Yamshchiki na podstave The Coachmen at the Relay Station (1787); Vecherinki Soirées (1788); Orfey i Evridika (1792), Amerikantsy The Americans (a comic opera) (1800), a

Yuliya Veysberg

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Yuliya Lazarevna Veysberg (Yuliya Rimskaya-Korsakova) (Julia Weissberg) (b. 6 January 1880 , d. March 1, 1942) was a music critic and composer. Life and career Yuliya Veysberg was born in Orenburg, Russian Empire. She studied at the Women’s University, and in 1912 graduated from St. Petersburg Conservatory where she studied composition under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. From 1912 to 1914 she continued her studies in Berlin with Engelbert Humperdinck and Max Reger. She returned to St. Petersburg and subsequently married Andrey Rimsky-Korsakov, musicologist and son of Rimsky-Korsakov, and from 1915 to 1917 served on the editorial board of, and contributed reviews to, the first Russian music magazine, Muzïkal’nïy sovremennik, which the couple founded. She and her son, Vsevolod Rimsky-Korsakov, died in World War II during the Siege of Leningrad conducted by Nazi German troops. Works Veysberg’s compositions included vocal works, a symphony, a scherzo, and a fantasia. Selected works include: *At Night (symphonic poem for orchestra) *Chinese songs *Chanson d’automne: Les sanglots longs, op. 2 (Zwei Lieder) no. 1 (Text: Paul Verlaine) *Le ciel est, par-dessus le toit, op. 2 (Zwei Lieder) no. 1

Yuri Arnold

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Yuri Karlovich Arnold, also Jury, Georgy, Yourij, and Arnol’t, Arnol’d (; November 13, 1811 – July 20, 1898), was a Russian composer, musicologist, music critic, choral conductor, theorist and music educator. There is some speculation that he was employed by the tsarist police and that some of the writings attributed to him were actually written by Peshenin, who was paid to keep it a secret. Also that some of his theories on the history of Russian church music are now seen as false. Among his students were Allemanov and Yu Mel’gunov. He studied political economy at the German University in Dorpat, Estonia, and served in the army from 1831–38 during the Polish campaign. After this, he decided to focus on a career in music and went to study harmony with Johann Leopold Fuchs and counterpoint with Joseph Hunke. In 1839, he won a Philharmonic Society award for his cantata Svetlana. Starting in 1841, he contributed to numerous journals including the S.-Peterburgskiye vedomosti, Biblioteka dlya chteniya, Literaturnaya gazeta, Severnaya Pchela (Northern Bee), and Panteon under a variety of pseudonyms, including Meloman, Karl Karlovich, A. Yu., Harmonin, and Karl Smelïy. He moved to Leipzig

Yuri Falik

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Yuri (Yury ) Alexandrovich Falik (; July 30, 1936, Odessa, USSR – January 23. 2009, Saint-Petersburg, Russia) was a Russian composer, orchestral conductor, cellist, a board member of the Leningrad (Saint-Petersburg) branch of the Composers’ Union, and People’s Artist of Russia. Biography Childhood and youth Yuri Falik was born into a family of orchestral musicians. His father Alexander Efimovich Falik played percussion in the Odessa Opera’s orchestra and his mother Yevgenia Mikhailovna worked at the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theatre. During his early childhood, Falik was often present at orchestra rehearsals and opera productions, easily memorising and humming the music he heard. He and his mother were evacuated to Kyrgyzstan during World War II, while his father volunteered on the front lines of the war until he was killed in 1942. The family tragedy and traumatic experiences of his early childhood strongly influenced not only Falik’s personality but also his art. After returning to Odessa in 1944, he started his cello studies under the guidance of David Abramovich Mevzhinsky, his late father’s friend from the Odessa Opera House symphony orchestra. The following year, Falik entered h

Yuri Kasparov

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Yuri Sergeyevich Kasparov (born 8 June 1955, in Moscow, —his name is variously transliterated) is a Russian composer, music teacher and a professor at the Moscow Conservatory where he had studied for his doctorate under Edison Denisov. Under the patronage of Denisov, he founded the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble in 1990 and is its artistic director. He is the chairman of the Russian section of the International Society for Contemporary Music. Life In 1978, Kasparov graduated from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute with a degree in engineering. He graduated with a second degree in music from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory (usually called simply the Moscow Conservatory) in 1984 and went on to complete his post-graduate studies there in 1991. Between 1985 and 1989, he worked for the Russian State Central Studio of Documentary Films as editor-in-chief for music. His music has been recorded by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the National Radio Orchestra of Romania, and Ensemble Contrechamps of Switzerland, and has featured on CDs released on the Olympia and Harmonia Mundi labels. In 2007, Kasparov was awarded Honored Art Worker of Russia by order of the Russian Preside

Yuri Khanon

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Yuri Khanon is a pen name of Yuri Feliksovich Soloviev-Savoyarov (), a Russian composer. Prior to 1993, he wrote under a pen name Yuri Khanin, but later transformed it into Yuri Khanon, spelling it in a pre-1918 Russian style as ХанонЪ. Khanon was born on June 16, 1965, in Leningrad. In 1988, he became a laureate of the European Film Awards (Felix Award), and in 1989, he won the Nika Award, a Russian cinematographic award. Due to his numerous concerts throughout Russia, as well as to TV and cinema appearances, Khanon reached the peak of his popularity in 1988–1992, but in 1993, decided to stop performing in public. Yuri Khanon is not just a composer; he is also a writer, a philosopher, a painter, a studio pianist, and a botanist-selectionist. Khanon is author of libretto and texts of almost all his works. His grandfather was Mikhail Savoyarov, a comic actor and composer, who was very famous in St.Petersburg (Petrograd) on the eve of the Revolution of 1917. Khanon became famous in 1988–1991. During this period he composed soundtracks to three films, gave numerous concerts, had several appearances on TV and published a series of articles and interviews. Many of his performances yield

Yuri Shaporin

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Yuri Alexandrovich Shaporin () (8 November 1887 – 9 December 1966), PAU, was a Soviet composer. Two Stalin Prizes first degree (1941, 1946). Stalin Prize second degree (1952). Biography Shaporin was born in Glukhov in the Russian Empire (now in Ukraine). His father was a painter and his mother a pianist. He received his secondary education in Saint Petersburg. He first studied philology at Kiev University and went on to study law at Saint Petersburg University. He then turned to music, starting his studies at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1913. His teachers there included Nikolay Sokolov (composition), Maximilian Steinberg (orchestration), and Nikolai Tcherepnin (conducting). He graduated as a composer and conductor in 1918. After the Bolshoi Drama Theater was established in 1919, he served as its musical director until 1928. He then worked with the Russian State Pushkin Academy Drama Theater — also known as the Alexandrinsky Theater — until 1934. During this period he composed a significant amount of theater music. He was a founding member of the Association for Contemporary Music in 1923. During the 1930s Shaporin turned his attention to large scale works. His opera Dekabr

Zacharia Paliashvili

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Zacharia Petres dze Paliashvili (), also known by his Russian name Zachary Petrovich Paliashvili (; 3 August 1871 – 6 October 1933), was a Georgian composer. Regarded as one of the founders of Georgian classical music, his work is known for its eclectic fusion of folk songs and stories with 19th-century Romantic classical themes. He was the founder of the Georgian Philharmonic Society and later, the head of the Tbilisi State Conservatoire. The Georgian National Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi was named in his honor in 1937. Notably, Paliashvili’s music serves as the basis of the National Anthem of Georgia. Although Paliashvili has composed works for symphony orchestra (e.g., Georgian Suite on Folk Themes), he is probably best known for his vocal music, which includes operas Abesalom da Eteri (based on a folk tale “Eteriani”), Daisi (Twilight), and Latavra. Biography Family and youth Paliashvili was born on 16 August 1871 in Kutaisi in the family of Petre Ivanes dze Paliashvili (1838–1913), an elder at the Kutaisi Georgian Catholic Church, who was said to be a model father and husband. Zacharia’s mother was Maria Pavles asuli Mesarkishvili (1851–1916). Zacharia was the third chi

Zagir Ismagilov

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Zagir Gharif uly Ismagilov (January 8, 1917 – May 30, 2003) was a Soviet Bashkir composer and pedagogue. He was granted the title People’s Artist of the USSR in 1982, and was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union since 1943. The performing arts center in Ufa, Russia is named after him. The first rector and founder of the Ufa Institute of arts (1968–1988) (associate professor since 1973, professor since 1977). Biography The son of a woodcutter, the composer was born January 8, 1917, in the village of Sermenevo. In 1932 he went to study at the Inzer wood-chemical school. He graduated early and began working in Beloretsk lespromhoz appraiser. In 1935, Arslan Mubaryakov invited him to take part in the Bashkir Academic Drama Theatre, Ufa, where he played in the evenings as a quray player (musician). During the days he studied at the music studio, which opened in Ufa (1936). In 1937, Ismagilov went to study at the Bashkir studio of the Moscow Conservatory. After the war, he finished training in the studio in 1948, then became part of the music composition faculty at the Moscow Conservatory. Ismagilov became chairman of the Union of Composers of the Bashkir Republic in 1958. An

Zakir Baghirov (composer)

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Zakir Javad oghlu Baghirov (, March 16, 1916–January 8, 1996) was an Azerbaijani composer, professor, and Honored Art Worker of the Azerbaijan SSR. Biography Zakir Baghirov was born on March 16, 1916, in Shusha. After graduating from the Moscow State Conservatory in 1949, he worked as a teacher at the Hajibeyov Azerbaijan State Conservatoire. From 1970 he was the head of the department of music theory. He has been a member of the Composers Union of Azerbaijan since 1950, as well as a member of the Board of this union. In different years, he worked as the art director of the Muslim Magomayev Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall, the art director of the Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of the Republic, the chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Music Foundation. For the first time in 1935, Zakir Bagirov, together with composer Tofig Guliyev, wrote and published mughams “Rast”, “Dugah” and “Zabul” performed by tar player Mirza Mansur Mansurov. He is also one of the authors of the collection “Azerbaijani folk dances” (1951). Z. Baghirov died on January 8, 1996, in Baku. Awards and honorary titles * Honored Art Worker of the Azerbaijan SSR — May 24, 1960 * Order of the Bad

Zhanna Pliyeva

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Zhanna Vasil’yevna Pliyeva (; 10 February 1949 – 22 January 2023) was a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist. Life Zhanna Pliyeva was born in Tskhinvali, Southern Ossetia. She studied music at the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory, Leningrad, with Dmitry Svetozarov for piano and with Orest Yevlakhov and Alexander Mnatsakanian for composition. In 1979 she worked as an assistant to Sergey Slonimsky, and later as an orchestra musician, researcher, and teacher, and from 1979 to 1985 as director of the Tskhinvali School of Music. After 1990 she became a full-time composer. Honors and awards *Prize-winner in the All-Union Composers ‘Competition in 1977 *Prize-winner in the Tokyo International Composers’ Competition, 1993 *Honoured Artist of Republic of Northern Ossetia-Alania, 1993 *President of the Presidium of the Georgian Music Society, 1989-90 Works Pliyeva’s works are often based on the folklore of the Mountain People of the northern Caucasus. She has composed for stage, orchestra, and choral, instrumental and vocal solo performance. Selected works include: *Children of the Sun (children’s opera, 2, Georgy Dzugayev), 1981 *Fatima (ballet), 1982-84 *The Passion of Adam (passion p

Zinovy Feldman

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

:To be distinguished from the Russian film director (Zinovy Levovich Feldman ru) (1919—1989) Zinovii Petrovich Feldman also Zinovy, and in German sources Sinowi (Фельдман Зиновий Петрович. 1893, Berdychiv – 1942) was a Soviet composer. He was a member of the Moscow Society for Jewish Music and composed various pieces of chamber music. He was a friend of, and influenced by Alexander Krein. Prokofiev regarded Feldman highly, and entrusted him with the orchestration of some of his works. Feldman died during the Second World War at the age of 49. References

Zulya Kamalova

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Zulya Nazipovna Kamalova (; ; 8 August 1969 – 18 September 2024) was a Russian-born Australian singer. She resided in Australia though toured Europe frequently. Life and career Zulfia (Zulya) Kamalova was born in Sarapul but grew up in Tatarstan and began performing and writing music at age of 9. She was of Volga Tatar background. She left home at the age of 17 and eventually moved to the City of Perm to work in a factory and study English and French at the Perm Pedagogical Institute. Zulya and Andrew settled in Coburg in 2005, where their daughter, Zifa was born in 2006. two days before her sister Alfia arrived from Russia to see her. Instrumentation typically includes accordion, double bass, percussion, guitar, brass and string arrangements and occasionally jaw harp. She often combined Tatar with jazz or other folk music, which was novel for Tatar performers, and, at the same time, made the music easily accessible for international audience. Discography Albums Awards and nominations Kamalova is an Honored Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan. ARIA Music Awards The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genr