Rodion Shchedrin

Rodion Shchedrin

Birth : 1932-12-16, Moscow, USSR

History

Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin (Russian: Родион Константинович Щедрин, IPA: [rədʲɪˈon kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ɕːɪˈdrʲin]; born 16 December 1932) is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR State Prize (1972), the Lenin Prize (1984), and the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1992), and is a former member of the Inter-regional Deputies Group (1989–1991). He is also a citizen of Lithuania and Spain. Shchedrin was born in Moscow into a musical family—his father was a composer and teacher of music theory. He studied at the Moscow Choral School and Moscow Conservatory (graduating in 1955) under Yuri Shaporin (composition) and Yakov Flier (piano). He was married to ballerina Maya Plisetskaya from 1958 until her death in 2015. Shchedrin's early music is tonal and colourfully orchestrated and often includes snatches of folk music, while some later pieces use aleatoric and serial techniques. In the West the music of Shchedrin has won popularity mainly through the work of Mstislav Rostropovich who has made several successful recordings. Among his works are the ballets The Little Humpbacked Horse (1955), Carmen Suite (1973), Anna Karenina (1971, based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy), and Lady with a Lapdog (1985); the operas Not Only Love (1961), and Dead Souls (1976, after Nikolai Gogol's novel); piano concertos, symphonies, chamber and piano music and other works. He composed 24 Preludes and Fugues after he heard those of Shostakovich. Also notable is his Polyphonic Notebook. He has written five concertos for orchestra: the first, variously translated as Naughty Limericks or Mischievous Folk Ditties (neither of which completely get the gist of the Russian which refers to a chastushka, an irreverent, satirical kind of folk song) is by far the best known, and was the work which first established him on the international stage. The second of the Concertos for Orchestra was subtitled Zvony (The Chimes), and was premiered by the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein as one of the many commissions in honor of the orchestra's 125th anniversary. The third Concerto for Orchestra is based on old music of Russian provincial circuses. Concerto 4, Khorovody (round dances), was written in 1989, and Concerto 5, Four Russian Songs, was written in 1998. Shchedrin is also a virtuoso pianist and organist, playing solo piano in the premieres of the first three of his six piano concertos. On 5 May 1974, Shchedrin performed as soloist in all three of his then-completed piano concertos, and the concert, with the USSR Symphony Orchestra under Yevgeny Svetlanov, was recorded and released on LP, then CD. He was made a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts in 1989 and received the Russian State Prize from President Boris Yeltsin in 1992. Since the collapse of the Soviet regime, Shchedrin has taken advantage of the new opportunities for international travel and musical collaboration, and now largely divides his time between Munich and Moscow. ... Source: Article "Rodion Shchedrin" from Wikipedia in english, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Profile

Rodion Shchedrin

Movies

Bolshoi Ballet: Carmen Suite / Petrushka
Music
Carmen: Impetuous Carmen seduces Don José in order to convince him to let her out of jail. Once outside, she thinks she’s finally free before realizing that she’s in fact prisoner of a love triangle: she wants to be with the famous Torero Escamillo, but she can’t make Don José go away. Petruska: At Saint-Petersburg’s carnival, three puppets are playing the same role over and over: the unhappy lover Petrushka, the coquette and a Moor. Fed up with this endless part that never goes well for him, Petrushka attacks his rival and flees from the puppets theater. Carmen Suite, staged by Alberto Alonso, is a one act ballet about a passionate, free-spirited woman caught in a love triangle. Stanislavsky’s Petrushka, choreographed by Edward Clug, encapsulates the story of a puppet that came to life, burdened by the human emotions of love, jealousy, and rage. Both stories envelop the characters which refuse to abide by the rules, to whom even the thought of submission is repulsive.
Mariinsky Theatre
Self
A look at the rich history of the Mariinsky Theatre in the birth and growth of the Russian tradition in opera, music and ballet.
The Car Man
Music
A mysterious stranger arrives in a small town community, leading the locals into greed, sex and murder.
Anna Karenina
Original Music Composer
The film is a Bolshoi Ballet version of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina with choreography by Maya Plisetskaya who also took on the titular role. Anna Karenina is a young wife of an older husband. She has an affair with the handsome Count Vronsky. By following her desires Anna complicates her life.
Subject for a Short Story
Original Music Composer
The film tells about Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. October 17, 1896. On the facade of the Alexandrinsky Theater — a poster about the premiere of "The Seagull". A few hours are left before the performance. Chekhov and his sister Masha are expecting Lika Mizinova from Moscow station to arrive from Moscow. Chekhov is alarmed by the upcoming premiere, excited by the meeting with love, which never took place. Memories of acquaintance with Lika, of the experiences caused by the rude scolding of newspaper men who predicted the young writer the inglorious "death under the fence", about the unexpected decision for everyone to go to Sakhalin...
Anna Karenina
Original Music Composer
The plot of the film is the love of a married woman, Anna Karenina, and a young officer, Aleksei Vronsky. Anna leaves the family in search of happiness to her beloved person. She has to take a very serious step in her life - to part with her son. The attitude of the high society towards her is changing. All this brings a lot of pain and humiliation to the main character. The tragic story of love and betrayal, the fate of a woman, for the sake of passion who decided to change her life irrevocably.
The Bath House
Music
Soviet animated feature film
Normandy - Neman
Music
A certain number of French fighter pilots who will not accept the Second Armistice at Compiègne nor Vichy's orders decide to join the USSR. Once they have reached Moscow they resume training and form a squadron they call "Normandie". Reinforced in 1944, the squadron wins many victories. Following the acts of valor displayed by its pilots during the Battle of the Nieman River, it becomes the "Normandie-Niemen" squadron for the rest of times...
The Communist
Original Music Composer
A young ordinary communist, Vasiliy Gubanov, was among many who took part in the construction of the most important facility for the young republic, the power plant. He did his job in a way that was beyond human ability. He could love, too, with a passion and a passion for self, but his life was cut short very early.
Height
Music
For the construction of the plant comes a team of ironworkers, they will carry out the installation of the blast furnace according to the new method. A film about the difficult characters of ordinary Soviet people who know how to work, dream, love - to build a great human happiness.
Cockerel - The Golden Scallop
Music