Suite in minor mode kabalevsky biography

Dmitri Kabalevsky

Dmitry Kabalevsky

Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky (Russian: &#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#; &#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#; &#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;; 30 December [O.S. 17 December] &#;– 18 February ) was a RussianSovietcomposer.

He helped to set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures. He was a prolific composer of piano music and chamber music; many of his piano works have been performed by the likes of Vladimir Horowitz.

Life

Kabalevsky was born in Saint Petersburg. His father was a mathematician and encouraged him to study mathematics; however, in early life he maintained a fascination with the arts, and became an accomplished young pianist, including a three year stint as a pianist in silent theaters.[1] He also dabbled in poetry and painting. In , against his father's wishes, he accepted a place at the Moscow Conservatory, studying composition under Nikolai Myaskovsky and piano with Alexander Goldenweiser. In the same year he joined PROKULL (Production Collective of Student Composers), a student group affiliated with Moscow Conservatory aimed at bridging the gap between the modernism of the ACM and the utilitarian "agitprop" music of the RAPM. He became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory in

During World War II, he wrote many patriotic songs, having joined the Communist Party in , and was the editor of Sovetskaya Muzyka for its special six-volume publishing run during the war. He also composed and performed many pieces for silent movies and some theatre music.

In , when Andrei Zhdanov declared his resolution on the directions that Soviet music should take, Kabalevsky was originally on the list of named composers who were the most guilty of formalism; however, due to his connections with official circles, his name was removed.[2] Another theory states that Kabalevsky's name was only on the list because of his position in the leadership of the Union of Soviet Composers.[3]

In general, Kabalevsky was not as adventurous as his contemporaries in terms of harmony and preferred a more conventional diatonicism, interlaced with chromaticism and major-minor interplay. Unlike fellow composer Sergei Prokofiev, he embraced the ideas of socialist realism, and his post-war works have been characterized "popular, bland, and successful," [4] though this judgement is attributed to many other composers of the time,[5] and some of Kabalevsky's best-known "youth works" date from this era (the Violin Concerto, the first Cello Concerto).

Perhaps Kabalevsky's most important contribution to the world of music-making is his consistent efforts to connect children to music. Not only did he write music specifically directed at bridging the gap between children's technical skills and adult aesthetics, but during his lifetime he set up a pilot program of music education in twenty-five Soviet schools. Kabalevsky himself taught a class of seven-year-olds for a time, teaching them how to listen attentively and put their impressions into words. His writings on this subject were published in the United States in as Music and education: a composer writes about musical education.

He was awarded a number of state honors for his musical works (including three Stalin Prizes). Kabalevsky had become quite a force in musical education. He was elected the head of the Commission of Musical Esthetic Education of Children in as well as being elected president of the Scientific Council of Educational Esthetics in the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR in Kabalevsky also received the honorary degree of president of the International Society of Musical Education. Kabalevsky wrote for all musical genres; his pieces were all faithful to the ideals of Soviet realism as well. In Russia, Kabalevsky is most noted for his vocal songs, cantatas, and operas while overseas he is known for his orchestral music. Kabalevsky frequently travelled overseas; he was a member of the Soviet Committee for the Defense of Peace as well as a representative for the Promotion of Friendship between the Soviet Union and foreign countries.

His notable students included Leo Smit.

He died in Moscow on 18 February

Works

Stage

  • Opus Colas Breugnon, opera in 3 acts ()
  • Opus Music to the play Two Songs, after N. Shestakov ()
  • Opus Golden Ears, ballet in 3 acts ()
  • Opus In the Fire, opera in 4 acts ()
  • Opus The Taras Family, opera in 4 acts ()
  • Opus Nikita Vershinin, opera in 4 acts ()
  • Opus Song of Spring, operetta in 3 acts ()
  • Opus The Sisters, opera in 3 acts ()
  • Opus Colas Breugnon, opera in 3 acts (second version) ()

Orchestral

  • Symphonies
    • Opus Symphony No. 1 in C sharp minor ()
    • Opus Symphony No. 2 in C minor ()
    • Opus Symphony No. 3 Requiem, on texts of N. Assayev, for chorus and orchestra ()
    • Opus Symphony No. 4 in C minor ()
  • Opus 24A: Suite from Colas Breugnon ()
  • Opus The Comedians, suite for small orchestra ()
  • Opus 28A: Suite from Golden Ears ()
  • Opus Suite for Jazz Orchestra ()
  • Opus Romeo and Julia, musical sketches for large symphony orchestra ()
  • Opus Pathetic Overture ()
  • Opus Spring, symphonic poem ()
  • Opus To the Memory of the Heroes of Gorlovka, symphonic picture ()
  • Opus The Eternal Flame in Bryansk, symphonic poem
  • Opus The Heroes of the Revolution of , for wind orchestra ()
  • Opus ISME-Fanfares ()

Concerti

  • Piano
  • Violin
    • Opus Violin Concerto in C major ()
  • Cello
    • Opus Cello Concerto No. 1 in G minor ()
    • Opus Cello Concerto No. 2 in C minor ()

Vocal Orchestral

  • Opus Poem of Struggle, after A. Sharov, for chorus and orchestra ()
  • Opus Music to the Radiocomposition Galitsiskaya Zacheria, after B. Yansens, for soloists, chorus and orchestra ()
  • Opus Parade of the Youth, for children's chorus and orchestra ()
  • Opus Three Vocal-Monologues, for voice and orchestra ()
  • Opus Vast Motherland, cantata for mezzo-soprano, bass, chorus and orchestra ()
  • Opus Revenger of the People, suite on text by Y. Dolmatovski for mixed chorus and orchestra ()
  • Opus Song of Tomorrow, Spring and Peace, cantata for children's chorus and orchestra ()
  • Opus The Leninists, cantata after Y. Dolmatovski for three choruses and large symphony orchestra ()
  • Opus Requiem, for soloists, mixed chorus, children's chorus and orchestra ()
  • Opus On the Motherland, cantata after Z. Solodar, for children's chorus and orchestra ()
  • Opus A Letter to the 30th Century, oratorio ()

Chamber/Instrumental

  • String Quartets
    • Opus 8: String Quartet No. 1 in A minor ()
    • Opus String Quartet No. 2 in G minor ()
  • Violin
    • Opus Improvisation for Violin and Piano (from the music of the film Night of St. Petersburg) ()
    • Opus Rondo for Violin and Piano ()
    • Opus Pieces for Violin and Piano ()
  • Cello
    • Opus 2: Two Pieces for Cello and Piano ()
    • Opus Etudes in Major and Minor for Cello Solo ()
    • Opus Sonata for Cello and Piano, in B-flat major ()
    • Opus To the Memory of Sergei Prokofiev, rondo for cello and piano ()

Piano

  • Opus 1: Three Preludes ()
  • Opus 3: Album of Children's Pieces ()
  • Opus 5: Four Preludes ()
  • Opus 6: Piano Sonata No. 1 in F major ()
  • Opus 13 No. 1: Piano Sonatina No. 1 in C major ()
  • Opus 13 No. 2: Piano Sonatina No. 2 in G minor ()
  • Opus From the Life of a Pioneer, pieces for piano ()
  • Opus Four Preludes ()
  • Opus Thirty Children's Pieces ()
  • Opus Three Pieces ()
  • Opus Twenty-Four Preludes (dedicated to N. Miaskovsky) ()
  • Opus Twenty-Four Easy Pieces ()
  • Opus Easy Variations in D major (Toccata) and in A minor ()
  • Opus Piano Sonata No. 2 in E flat major ()
  • Opus Piano Sonata No. 3 in F major ()
  • Opus Easy Variations, volume 2: Five Variations on Folk-Themes ()
  • Opus Rondo in A minor ()
  • Opus Four Easy Rondos ()
  • Opus Preludes and Fugues ()
  • Opus Spring-Dances ()
  • Opus Recitative and Rondo ()
  • Opus In The Camp of the Pathfinders, six pieces ()
  • Opus Variations on Folk-Themes ()
  • Opus Six Pieces ()
  • Opus Thirty-Five Easy Pieces ()
  • Opus 93A: Lyric Melodies ()

Vocal/Choral

  • Opus 4:Tanets (song in 4th grade piano exam)
  • Opus 7: Two Songs after M. Artamonov and V. Shukovski, for high voice and piano ()
  • Opus Three Songs after M. Gerassimov, M. Artamonov and N. Kliuyev, for voice and piano ()
  • Opus Eight Merry Songs after V. Kataev, for voice and piano ()
  • Opus Three Songs after E. Musam, A. Sharov and A. Surkov, for low voice and piano ()
  • Opus Eight Songs after O. Vissotskaya, A. Prishelts and A. Barto, for children's chorus and piano ()
  • Opus Two Songs after A. Bezemenski and N. Vladimirski, for voice and piano ()
  • Opus Three Songs after S. Marshak, for voice and piano ()
  • Opus Seven Merry Songs after S. Marshak, for voice and piano ()
  • Opus Four Funny Songs after S. Marshak and S. Michalkov, for voice and piano ()
  • Opus Two Russian Folk-Songs, for bass or tenor and piano ()
  • Opus 43A: Two Russian Folk-Songs, version for mezzo-soprano and piano ()
  • Opus Ten Shakespeare Sonnets, for voice and piano ()
  • Opus Two Romances after A. Kovalenkov, for tenor and piano ()
  • Opus In Fairy Tail's Forrest, musical pictures for narrator, voice and piano ()
  • Opus The Camp of Friendship, songs of the pathfinders of Artek, for voice or children's chorus and piano ()
  • Opus A Kitchen-Garden on View, round dances for children's chorus and piano ()
  • Opus Three Dance-Songs, for voice and piano ()
  • Opus Three Songs of Revolutionary Cuba, for voice and piano ()
  • Opus Three Eightlines of R. Gamsatov, for mezzo-soprano and piano ()
  • Opus Five Romances after R. Gamsatov, for mezzo-soprano and piano ()
  • Opus Conversation with a Cactus, eight children's songs after V. Viktorov for voice and piano ()
  • Opus Three songs about Lenin, for children's chorus and piano ()
  • Opus Three Songs-Plays after I. Rachillo, for children's chorus and piano ()
  • Opus Songs of Friendship, for female chorus, children's chorus and soprano or tenor ()
  • Opus Two Youth-Songs after V. Viktorov, for voice and piano ()
  • Opus Time, six romances after S. Marshak for baritone and piano ()
  • Opus Cry of the Song", cycle of romances after O. Tumanian for voice and piano ()
  • Opus " Tanets" song in grade 4 piano exam

Sources

  • Anon. "Obituary: Dmitry Kabalevsky". The Musical Times , no. (May ):
  • Daragan, Dina Grigor'yevna. "Kabalevsky, Dmitry Borisovich", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians edited by S. Sadie and J. Tyrrell. London: Macmillan. Also in Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 23 October ) (Subscription Access)
  • Schwarz, Boris. Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia, enlarged edition Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN
  • Maes, Francis. A History of Russian Music: From Kamarinskaya to Babi Yar. Translated by Arnold J. Pomerans and Erica Pomerans. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN

External links