Creativity and biography of Kabalevsky

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One of the brightest composers of the Soviet period is Dmitry Kabalevsky. The biography of this person, significant for the cultural heritage of our country, is presented in detail in this article.

Briefly about D. B. Kabalevsky

Dmitry Borisovich wrote seven instrumental concertos, five operas, four symphonies, many vocal and chamber works, as well as music for theater and cinema. Composer, pianist, professor, conductor, doctor of art history, teacher - all this is Dmitry Kabalevsky. A brief biography of him, perhaps, should begin with the following facts:

• date of birth - December 30, 1904;
• birthplace - St. Petersburg.

The most basic facts from the life of an exceptionally talented person are connected with Moscow. Biography of Kabalevsky, a photo of the composer and interesting facts about him are presented in this article.

Childhood and youth

As mentioned above, the composer was born in St. Petersburg, where he began to study at the city three-year school at the 1st classical gymnasium (in our time, such educational institutions replace the primary classes of a comprehensive school). Further biographyKabalevsky D. B. connected with Moscow. Together with his parents, the future composer moved to live in the capital. There he continued his education and graduated from school No. 35. Year of graduation - 1922. Dmitry Borisovich studied music at music school No. 3. Then he graduated from the A. N. Scriabin. D. Kabalevsky received his higher education at the Moscow State Conservatory named after Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. His teachers were A. B. Goldenweiser on piano and N. Ya. Myaskovsky - composition.

Professional activities

In 1930, the composer Kabalevsky graduated from the conservatory. His biography, which tells about the period of life after receiving an education, gives an idea of how talented and multifaceted the personality of Dmitry Borisovich was. He was a conductor, accompanist, performed with his works. Two years after graduating from the conservatory, the composer was already a teacher at his alma mater. And in 1939 he already became a professor. But even before that, he already had experience in teaching, as he combined higher education with teaching at the A. N. Scriabin, who also graduated earlier. For most of his life, the composer held leading positions in the Union of Composers and the Ministry of Culture of our country. For 21 years he was a deputy. He represented the Soviet Union in international cultural organizations. D. B. Kabalevsky was a member of the World Council and vice-president of the working choral society in England, was an honorary professor at the conservatory in Mexico City,headed the musical sector of the Institute of Art History of the Soviet Union. He chaired the commission for musical and aesthetic education, took an active part in the creation of the music school No. 65 in the city of Magnitogorsk. Also, Kabalevsky was the organizer and head of the Music Education Laboratory and was the editor-in-chief of several Soviet magazines, one of which he founded.

Composer's works

Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky, whose biography and work are studied in all primary, secondary and higher musical educational institutions of our country, wrote music mainly on patriotic themes. He gave the world 5 operas: On Fire, Cola Breugnon, Nikita Vershinin, The Taras Family, Sisters; ballet "Golden Ears"; operetta "Spring sings"; the cantata Song of Morning, Spring and Peace, as well as Requiem on poems by Robert Rozhdestvensky, dedicated to those who died in the fight against fascism; symphonic dedication "To the memory of the heroes of Horlivka"; musical sketches for W. Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet". D. Kabalevsky is also the author of a large number of works for the symphony orchestra, including: concertos, 4 symphonies, a pathetic overture, pieces for piano, as well as for cello, violin. He wrote symphonic poems "To the Eternal Flame in Bryansk", "Spring"; cantatas “Leninists”, “Great Motherland”, “Song of the Morning, Spring and Peace”, “On the Native Land”; suites "People's Avengers", "Comedians", music for the play "Inventor and Comedian", as well as 10 sonnets by W. Shakespeare, a cycle of romances based on poems by Rasul Gamzatov, songs for children. B

during the war years, he wrote many military songs: “On the harsh seas”, “The enemy attacked our native land”, “Son of a hero”, “Four friendly guys”, “Hitler Ribbentrop calls”, “New school year” and others. D. Kabalevsky is the author of music for the performances and films "Petersburg Night", "Dawns of Paris", "Mussorgsky", "Shchors", "Hostile Whirlwinds", "The Eighteenth Year", "Romeo and Juliet", "Devil's Bridge", " Freemen”, “Dombey and Son”, “Academician Ivan Pavlov”, “Merry Little Tailor”, “Death of the Squadron”, “Sisters”, “Glory”, “First Grader”, “Jokers”, “School of Scandal”, “Mstislav Udaloy” and many more.

Music by D. B. Kabalevsky is distinguished by good taste, professionalism, national color, in his works the composer mainly refers to the means of expression traditional for the 19th century.

Awards and titles

D. B. Kabalevsky, whose biography is significant for our country, was awarded a large number of awards. In 1954 he received the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR, and in 1963 - the USSR. He was awarded the Order of Lenin four times (in 1964, 1971, 1974 and 1984). He earned the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1966. For his works he received in 1972 the Lenin Prize, several prizes for the best music for films. In 1946, 1949 and 1951 he was awarded the Stalin Prize for his works. He was a Hero of Labor. For merits in raising children, he was awarded the Lenin Komsomol Prize in 1984.

D. Kabalevsky - for children

Big contribution tothe musical education of the younger generation was introduced by Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky. A biography for children who get acquainted with his works, as well as for adults, is really important and interesting, because its facts help to better know the personality of the famous composer. D. B. Kabalevsky believed in a bright future: that children would forget how to cry and would only laugh loudly. He composed many plays for children. Most of them are performed by students of music schools around the world to this day. He wrote a lot of songs for children. All of them are about friendship, about pioneers, about school, about kindness, about mutual assistance, about the Motherland. We all know such songs as "School Years" to the words of E. Dolmatovsky, "Our Land" to the words of A. Alien. They have already become classics. The cycle of songs was created by the composer about the Artek camp in Crimea. Dmitry Borisovich has written many books on music for children: “The beautiful awakens the good”, “About three whales and much more. A book about music”, “Education of mind and heart. A book for teachers”, “How to tell children about music?” and many others. They are still relevant today. In 1973, the composer taught music lessons to first-graders at the Moscow comprehensive school number 209, although at that time he was already a professor at the conservatory. Dmitry Borisovich led the competition for young talents in the Volga region, supported the creation of a choral studio in the city of Zheleznodorozhny, and actively participated in organizing art festivals in the Orlyonok pioneer camp.

Second half life

Biography of Kabalevsky D. B., describing himmature and advanced years will also be covered in our article. The most important brainchild of the composer at that time was the Laboratory of Music Education, which he created and headed. Kabalevsky compiled an educational program for the study of music in schools. Teachers-musicians have been testing it for 7 years. Gradually, it proved its effectiveness and became popular. In the last year of the composer's life, according to his program, children were taught music in thousands of schools in the Soviet Union. And to this day it is used in our country. The composer gave lectures on art and music at the Tretyakov Gallery. Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky died on February 14, 1987. He was buried in Moscow, at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Genius' parents

The biography of D. B. Kabalevsky is inseparable from the story of his parents. The composer's mother is Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Novitskaya. She graduated from the women's gymnasium in Tsarskoye Selo (now the city of Pushkin) and received a diploma as a home teacher. This education helped her in raising her own children. The composer's father, Boris Klavdievich, was a mathematician and founded the Soviet insurance system. Grandfather - Claudius Yegorovich - a military engineer, the first head of the cartridge factory in Lugansk, for his services he received the nobility. Music has always sounded in the Kabalevsky family. She accompanied the future composer from birth. Dmitry Borisovich's father sang folk songs and played the guitar. Mother was passionate about theater and played the piano. V. I. Belsky - librettist of the great composer N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, wasa colleague of Father D. Kabalevsky and was a frequent visitor to their house.

Wives

The composer D. Kabalevsky was married twice. The biography of the first wife, Edwarda Iosifovna Bluman, whose marriage did not last long, is also connected with art. She was born in 1911, and died a few years later than D. Kabalevsky. He married Edward Iosifovna at a very young age. The composer's first wife graduated from the Institute of Foreign Languages and was an English teacher. She also translated fiction. In total, there are about forty of her works. The most famous example is Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. The second wife of D. B. Kabalevsky, with whom he lived all his later life - Larisa Pavlovna Chegodaeva. She was not just the composer's wife, but his assistant and most faithful friend.

Children

Composer Dmitry Kabalevsky, whose biography is presented in this article, was the father of two children. He had a son from his first marriage - Yuri Dmitrievich. And in marriage with his second wife, his daughter Maria was born. She became the director of the Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky Musical Cultural and Educational Center.

Interesting facts from the composer's life

The biography of D. B. Kabalevsky would be incomplete if there was no story about what this brilliant composer and teacher was fond of. Music was, of course, his greatest passion. In addition to her, he was very fond of playing chess, and alsocollected postage stamps. There was also such a period in his life when he was a member of the editorial board of the journal "Philately of the USSR". Among Dmitry Borisovich's friends there were many prominent figures of art, including the great composers Aram Khachaturian and Dmitry Shostakovich. It is noteworthy that D. B. Kabalevsky began to seriously engage in music only at the age of 15. But despite this, he very quickly achieved success - he graduated from the technical school and the conservatory with excellent marks.