Astonishing and Timeless Masterpiece
Rodion Shchedrin, a renowned Russian composer, passed away at the age of 92 on December 16, 2024. Born in Moscow in 1932, Shchedrin was the son of a music teacher. He studied composition and piano at the Moscow Conservatory, where he honed his skills and began to develop his unique musical voice.
Throughout his illustrious career, Shchedrin composed a wide range of works, including operas, ballets, and concertos. Many of his pieces were rooted in Russian folklore, folk music, and literature. Two of his most famous ballets, "The Seagull" and "The Lady with the Dog," were based on works by Anton Chekhov, while "The Humpbacked Horse" was inspired by Russian folklore.
Shchedrin's love for Russian literature extended beyond ballet, as seen in his opera "The Dead Souls," based on Nikolai Gogol's work. He also composed the opera "Lolita" and the ballet "Anna Karenina."
Shchedrin's "Carmen Suite" is perhaps his most famous work, serving as a musical love letter to his late wife, Maya Plisetskaya. This piece brought him international recognition and is considered one of his greatest masterpieces.
Dmitri Shostakovich was a great musical idol for Shchedrin, and their influence on each other is evident in Shchedrin's compositions. In fact, Shostakovich proposed Shchedrin for the position of chairman of the Soviet Composers' Union, which Shchedrin held from 1973 to 1989.
Shchedrin's contributions to music were recognised with numerous awards, including the Russian State Prize for his work "The Sealed Angel," which was awarded to him by President Boris Yeltsin in 1992. The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg opened their foyers for people to lay flowers at a portrait and say their final goodbyes to Shchedrin.
In addition to his work in Russia, Shchedrin was a member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts and the Berlin Academy of Arts. He spent part of the year at his second residence in Munich, married to the ballet star Maya Plisetskaya. The Munich Philharmonic honoured Shchedrin as a "virtuoso pianist" who often performed his own works.
The German premiere of Shchedrin's oboe concerto in 2010 was given by the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra. The Bolshoi Theater in Moscow paid tribute to Shchedrin, calling him a "world classic" and "the greatest genius of our time." A multi-day festival was held in Moscow to celebrate Shchedrin's 70th birthday.
Shchedrin's ashes, along with those of his late wife Maya Plisetskaya, will be scattered over Russia together. Shchedrin's legacy will continue to live on, as he succeeded in combining traditional and new forms in his compositions, leaving a lasting impact on the world of music.
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