Soviet composers

Three of the great 20th century composers were from the Soviet Union (now Russia).

Sergey Prokofiev

• He studied at St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1904.
• After the Revolution he was given permission to travel abroad.
• When he returned to Russia he found himself out of favour with the authorities and in 1948 the subject of particular and direct censure.
• He died in 1953, on the same day as Stalin, and so could not enjoy the subsequent relaxation in musical censorship.
• His most famous piece is probably 'Peter and the Wolf'.

Dmitry Shostakovich

• Like many Soviet composers of his generation, he tried to reconcile the musical revolutions of his time with the urge to give a voice to revolutionary socialism.
• His career varied with the political climate in Russia.
• His opera 'Lady Macbeth' was condemned by Stalin.
• His 'Ninth Symphony' brought criticism from officials who thought it too frivolous.
• After Stalin's death he had more freedom to compose.

Igor Stravinsky

• He studied music with Rimsky-Korsakov in Russia.
• After the Russian Revolution of 1917 he moved to Western Europe, and then to the USA in 1939.
• In the post-war years he turned from a style of eclectic neo-classicism to composing in the twelve-note technique invented by Schöenberg.
• His most famous work was probably 'The Rite of Spring', containing representations of prehistoric pagan Russian rituals and sacrifice.

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