Soviet composers besides Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Khachaturian?

Comments ( 7 )

1. Tomek says

   Tchaikovsky wasn't a Soviet composer – he died before October Revolution

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2. del_icious_manager says

   Here are a few of the more important ones and their key works:

   Arno Babadzhanyan (1921-83) – Armenian
   Symphony for Timpani and Strings; Piano Trio in F-sharp minor

   Edison Denisov (1929-96) – Russian
   Cello Concerto; 'Peinture'; 'Le soleil des Incas'; Symphony No 1

   Rheinhold Glière (1875-1956) – Russian of Belgian ancestry
   Concerto for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra; Harp Concerto; Ballet: 'The Red Poppy'; Symphony No 3 (Il'ya Muromets)(all but last one written in Soviet era)

   Sofia Gubaidulina (b 1931) – Tartar (Works written before dissolution of Soviet Union in 1990)
   Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings; 'In croce'; 'Offertorium' (violin concerto); 'Seven Words'; 'Stimmen … Verstummen …';

   Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-87) – Russian
   Cello Concerto No 2; 'The Comedians' (maybe not a masterpiece, but his best-known work); 'Romeo and Juliet'; Symphony No 3 (Requiem)

   Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881-1950) – Russian
   6th (written before formation of the Soviet Union) and 27th Symphonies; Cello Concerto

   Arvo Pärt (b 1935) – Estonian (Works written before his emigration from the Soviet Union in 1980)
   Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten; Credo; Nekrolog; Perpetuum mobile; Symphony No 3; Tabula rasa

   Nikolai Roslavets (1881-1944) (Works written between 1917 and his suspicious death in 1944)
   Chamber Symphony; 2 Viola Sonatas; 2 Violin Concertos

   Alfred Schnittke (1934-98) – Russian of German ancestry
   Cello Sonata; Concerto Grosso No 1; 'Moz-Art à la Haydn'; Passacaglia; 'Pianissimo'; Requiem; 4 String Quartets; Symphonies 1-5; Viola Concerto; 4 Violin Concertos

   Rodion Shchedrin (b 1932) – Russian (Works written before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990)
   24 Preludes and Fugues for Piano; Ballet: 'Anna Karenina'; Ballet: 'Carmen-Suite'; Concerto for Orchestra No 2 (Chimes); Concerto for Orchestra No 3 (Old Russian Circus Music); Opera: 'Not Love Alone'; Polyphonic Notebook

   Valentin Silvestrov (b 1937) – Ukrainian (Works written before dissolution of Soviet Union)
   'Mysterium'; 'Silent Songs'; Symphony No 5

   Lepo Sumera (1950-2000) – Estonian (Again, works written before dissolution of Soviet Union)
   Island Maiden's Song from the Sea; Mushroom Cantata; Symphony No 3

   Boris Tishchenko (b 1939) – Russian (Works written before dissolution of Soviet Union)
   String Quartet No 3; 'Suzdal'; Symphony No 3; Violin Concerto No 2

   Eduard Tubin (1905-1982) – Estonian (I have listed works written before his emigration to Sweden in 1944)
   Ballet: 'Kratt'; Symphony No 3 (Heroic); Violin Concerto No 1

   Galina Ustvolskaya (1919-2006) – Russian (Works written before dissolution of Soviet Union)
   Octet; 6 Piano Sonatas

   Pēteris Vasks (b 1946) – Latvian (Works written before dissolution of Soviet Union)
   Cantabile; Cor anglais concerto; Lauda

   Mieczysław Weinberg (also known in Russian form Moisei Vainberg) (1919-1996) – (Polish) (as a Polish Jew, fled Poland to Soviet Union in 1942 – all the remainder of his family perished in Trawniki concentration camp)
   Cello Sonata No 1; Sonata for Solo Viola; String Quartet No 7; Symphonies Nos 5-7, 12 ; Violin Concerto

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3. Matt Leonhardt says

   Can't believe no one's mentioned Tchaikovsky…

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4. pno4tay says

   The correction is correct. Reinhold Gliere wrote The Red Poppy. It contains the popular "Russian Sailors' Dance".

   Kabalevsky is best known for his piano music, especially that for students, but there are also three piano sonatas (no 3 the best known, played and recorded by Horowitz) four piano concertos (no. 3 is the popular "Youth Concerto") and the ballet "The Comedians" and it has some fine music.

   There is also Sofia Gubaidulina (sp?) and Tat'iana Salutrinskaya. Both of these are women. I can't think of anything by Gubaidulina off the top of my head other than a Chaconne for piano (I think she did some things for chorus and orchestra as well) but Salutrinskaya wrote some excellent pieces for young students along the lines of Kabalevsky.

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5. ThaSchwab says

   rdenig_male, The Red Poppy is by Reinhold Gliere.

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6. CoachT says

   No. In the 80+ years that the Soviet Union controlled that part of the world, they only produced three composers. [just kidding, lol]

   How about this list of about 130 of them to start with. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Soviet_comp…

   Remember that "soviet" isn't one country – it was a group of countries in a system. We think about Russia first but there were some really great musicians out of the rest of the Soviet Block.

   Remember that some, such as Václav Nelhýbel, are considered American composers but were born in the block and heavily influenced by that culture.

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7. Alberich says

   Help with your homework:

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_composers

   Alberich

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