Dmitri Kabalevsky was born in Saint Petersburg on December
30, 1904. His father, a mathematician, encouraged his son's studies in that
field, yet in vain and against the boy's natural inclination for the arts. He
became quite accomplished on the piano at a young age, and even experimented
with poetry and painting. When his family moved to Moscow in 1918, he studied
at the Scriabin Music School. He later began to take on piano students, and it
was at this time his compositional voice began to emerge, composing studies for
his students. Against his father's wishes, he entered the Moscow Conservatory
in 1925 where he studied piano with Alexander Goldenweiser and composition with
Nikolai Myaskovsky.
Kabalevsky quickly became among the foremost composers in
early Soviet Russia. His frame grew during the 1920s, and took a great leap
forward with the premiere of his First Piano Concerto in 1928. At the same
time, his C major Sonatina brought him attention on the international stage. In
the eyes of those who decided such things, he became the embodiment of the
Soviet ideal in music, preferring less adventurous tonal and formal structures
compared to his contemporaries. Indeed, his music was once described as being
"popular, bland, and successful." Over the next decade, his best known works appeared: his Second Piano Concerto in 1935; the overture to
his opera Colas Breugnon in 1936,
made popular by Arturo Toscanini's performances during the 1940s and 1950s; and
his suite The Comedians in 1940.
The same year that The
Comedians appeared, Kabalevsky officially joined the Communist Party, and
composed many patriotic songs during World War II. In 1948, he narrowly dodged
the harsh condemnation handed down by the Central Committee of the Communist
Party of his fellow composers, including Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian
and Miaskovsky, charging them with "decadent formalism."
Besides composition, Kabalevsky was particularly
active in music education. He composed three concertos, one each for violin,
cello, and piano, specifically for young players, and set up pilot programs for
music education in twenty-five Soviet schools. In addition, he served as the
head of the Commission of Musical Esthetic Education of Children, as president
of the Scientific Council of Education Esthetics in the Academy of Pedagogical
Sciences in USSR, and was awarded the honorary degree of president of the
International Society of Music Education. Kabalevsky died in Moscow on February
14, 1987.
Dmitri Kabalevsky
Biography
Dmitri Kabalevsky was born in Saint Petersburg on December 30, 1904. His father, a mathematician, encouraged his son's studies in that field, yet in vain and against the boy's natural inclination for the arts. He became quite accomplished on the piano at a young age, and even experimented with poetry and painting. When his family moved to Moscow in 1918, he studied at the Scriabin Music School. He later began to take on piano students, and it was at this time his compositional voice began to emerge, composing studies for his students. Against his father's wishes, he entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1925 where he studied piano with Alexander Goldenweiser and composition with Nikolai Myaskovsky.
Kabalevsky quickly became among the foremost composers in early Soviet Russia. His frame grew during the 1920s, and took a great leap forward with the premiere of his First Piano Concerto in 1928. At the same time, his C major Sonatina brought him attention on the international stage. In the eyes of those who decided such things, he became the embodiment of the Soviet ideal in music, preferring less adventurous tonal and formal structures compared to his contemporaries. Indeed, his music was once described as being "popular, bland, and successful." Over the next decade, his best known works appeared: his Second Piano Concerto in 1935; the overture to his opera Colas Breugnon in 1936, made popular by Arturo Toscanini's performances during the 1940s and 1950s; and his suite The Comedians in 1940.
The same year that The Comedians appeared, Kabalevsky officially joined the Communist Party, and composed many patriotic songs during World War II. In 1948, he narrowly dodged the harsh condemnation handed down by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of his fellow composers, including Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian and Miaskovsky, charging them with "decadent formalism."
Besides composition, Kabalevsky was particularly active in music education. He composed three concertos, one each for violin, cello, and piano, specifically for young players, and set up pilot programs for music education in twenty-five Soviet schools. In addition, he served as the head of the Commission of Musical Esthetic Education of Children, as president of the Scientific Council of Education Esthetics in the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences in USSR, and was awarded the honorary degree of president of the International Society of Music Education. Kabalevsky died in Moscow on February 14, 1987.