Kabalevsky - symphony

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. 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.

In , against his father's wishes, he accepted a place at the Moscow Conservatory , studying composition under Nikolai Myaskovsky and piano with Alexander Goldenweiser. 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.

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 sonata 2

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.