The musical art of the USSR was closely connected with the traditions of the past. The music of this period continues and develops the progressive features of the artistic heritage: citizenship, attention and respect for cultures, democracy, fidelity to life's truth, humanism. At the same time, art is inspired by new ideas of partisanship, the building of a communist society, and the conscious revolutionary transformation of the world. Music and composers actively participated in the spiritual life of society.
Academic music
The opera, classical and symphonic music of the Soviet Union has gone from revolutionary experiments of the 20s to the academic style of the Stalin period. The list of USSR composers who worked in the classical genre includes Sergei Prokofiev, Georgy Sviridov, Aram Khachaturian, Dmitry Kabalevsky, Dmitry Shostakovich Karu Karaev and other figures.
The system of publicly accessible music education made possible the appearance of other talented figures. For example, in the 60s, composers associated with avant-garde movements began to appear. Among them, we can distinguish Alfred Schnittke, Galina Ustvolskaya, Nikolai Karetnikov.
Soviet cinema music
Often melodies and songs gained popularity through compositions for popular films. Composition of such compositions was also done by “serious” composers of the USSR, for example, S. Prokofiev wrote music for the historical epics of Eisenstein. The music for G. Aleksandov’s films was written by Isaac Dunaevsky, who worked in various genres - from “official” marches to fashionable jazz.
The "era of stagnation" was marked by the emergence of a new generation of composers in the USSR. The names of Alexander Zatsepin (“The Caucasian Captive”, “Ivan Vasilievich Changes the Profession”, “The Diamond Hand”), Macael Tariverdiev (“Seventeen Moments of Spring”, “The Irony of Fate ...”), Vladimir Dashkevich (“Sherlock Holmes”) became known. , Maxim Dunaevsky ("Mary Poppins, goodbye!", "Midshipmen, go!") And others.
Since the 70s, electronic music has gained popularity. The pioneer of Soviet electronics was the film composer Eduard Artemyev, who is best known for his science fiction films by Andrei Tarkovsky. Interestingly, his compositions in the ambient genre (a style based on modulations of the sound timbre) appeared before this term was coined in 1978.
A separate category is songs from cartoons and films for children, which were written to easy catchy tunes. Famous composers of the USSR who wrote for children became: Alexei Rybnikov (“About Little Red Riding Hood”, “The Adventures of Pinocchio”), Grigory Gladkov (“Plasticine Crow”), Gennady Gladkov (“How the Lion Cub and the Turtle sang a song”, “Bremen Town Musicians” ") other.
Sergey Prokofiev
The symphonic tale “Peter and the Wolf”, the melancholy symphony No. 7 and the ballet “Romeo and Juliet” by Sergei Prokofiev are on the list of world masterpieces. The future Soviet composer first sat down at the piano at the age of five. His mother was engaged in his upbringing, who knew how to play the piano well, so that she began to accustom the child to the instrument. It was she who recorded the children's works of Sergei Prokofiev. By the age of ten, an impressive list of author’s compositions had been obtained, including two operas.
As a teenager, a talented young man went to St. Petersburg and entered the conservatory, which he graduated as a pianist, composer and organist. After the revolution, he went to Japan to get permission to move to the United States from there. In America and Europe, he began touring, performing his own works. Everywhere Sergey Prokofiev was a great success.
Since 1936, the composer lived in Moscow with his wife, daughter of Russian emigrants, whom he met on tour in Spain, and two children. After the outbreak of the war, Sergei Prokofiev sent his relatives to evacuate, and he lived separately. He did not meet with his wife anymore, because he met the young Mira Mendelssohn (the girl was 24 years younger than Prokofiev).
The composer's health was already greatly weakened by the age of 40. He practically did not go beyond the boundaries of a dacha near Moscow, where he observed a strict regime, but continued to work. Sergei Prokofiev simultaneously wrote a symphony, ballet and sonata. The famous USSR composer spent the winter in a communal apartment in the capital. It was there that he died as a result of another crisis on March 5, 1953.
Sergey Rachmaninov
The hereditary nobleman became a real symbol of Russian music all over the world. S. Rachmaninov was born into a musical family: his grandfather studied with John Field, a well-known composer and teacher in Russia, his father was fond of music, but did not play professionally. The first music teacher for Sergei Rachmaninov was his mother, daughter of the director of the Arakcheevsky cadet corps Pyotr Butakov.
The young man studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the class of V. Demyansky, in Moscow with Nikolai Zverev, a famous teacher, and in the class of A. Ziloti, his cousin, who became a famous Moscow pianist. For his thesis (opera Aleko) Sergey Rachmaninov received the Big Gold Medal and the mark “five with three pluses” from Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky recommended opera to be staged at the Bolshoi Theater.
The Moscow public knew young Rachmaninov as a talented conductor, pianist and composer. He traveled to Canada and America, Europe with concerts, held the position of conductor at the Bolshoi Theater, and headed the artistic council of a music publishing house.
After the revolution in Russia, Rachmaninoff emigrated. He was intolerant of power by the Council, but did not remain indifferent to his compatriots, so he transferred the money collected at concerts to the USSR Defense Fund and the Red Army Fund. With these funds, a military aircraft was built in the USSR. The composer died in 1943. He was so devoted to his calling that he continued to speak until the last. Rachmaninoff gave his last concert a month and a half before his death.
Alexander Zatsepin
An outstanding composer of the USSR and Russia, the author of the most popular songs and music for films, as a child was talented in many ways. Only at a student age did a young man pay more attention to music. He learned to play the accordion, clarinet and balalaika, during his military service he performed in the Song and Dance Ensemble.
After the demobilization, Alexander Zatsepin was invited to the Novosibirsk Philharmonic. During the year he toured Siberia, but realized that he lacked musical education for further development. Then Alexander Zatsepin tried to submit papers to a music school, but he was advised to go immediately to the conservatory. Zatsepin was accepted, Professor Brusilovsky became his teacher.
Isaac Dunaevsky
Composer of the USSR (photo below) Isaac Dunaevsky lived a relatively short life. In certain circles they called Dunya, shortening a beautiful, but long surname. Over his 55 years, he left a significant creative legacy: ballets, operettas, music for films and performances, many songs. Composer of the USSR debuted in 1920 as a theater composer, he wrote the music for the play “The Marriage of Figaro”.
The real fame came to Isaac Dunaevsky after a meeting with the director G. Alexandrov. These two talented people became the founders of musical cinema - a new genre in Soviet cinema. The music of the famous composer of the USSR Isaac Dunaevsky sounds in the films “Kuban Cossacks”, “My Love”, “Rich Bride”, “In Search of Captain Grant” (1986, S. Govorukhin), “Children of Captain Grant” and others.
Vladimir Vysotsky
He was a poet, performer and composer, and also the most passionate of the Hamlets. He played in theater and cinema, wrote piercing author's texts. Vysotsky wrote so that the whole country understood and loved his work. Poems of the author are translated into 200 world languages. As a composer, he first played the piano, then on the accordion. The guitar did not appear immediately. Vysotsky himself said that at first he simply pounded the rhythm on the guitar and sang his own or others' poems.