Dmitri Kabalevsky
Russian composer who worked hard to realise the musical potential of Socialist-Realism during the Soviet era * Dmitry Kabalevsky's music for children has been loved and played by young musicians all over the world * Studied at Moscow Conservatoire under Goldenweiser for piano and Myaskovsky for composition * Became a Conservatoire professor in 1932 and a founder-member and official of the Union of Composers in 1938 * Through editorial work on magazine Sovietskaya Muzyka, and links with Soviet educational organisations, had a powerful influence on Soviet music education * Prolific repertoire of music for children to play and sing includes many piano works, and three concertos ‘dedicated to Soviet youth’: Violin Concerto (1948), Cello Concerto No.1 (1949) and Piano Concerto No.3 (1952) * His 24 Piano Preludes, based on Russian folksongs from the Rimsky-Korsakov collection, were frequently played by Vladimir Horowitz * His lively opera Colas Breugnon, set in 17th century France and based on a novel by Romain Rolland, uses French folk idioms in a fresh but traditional way, and a suite from the opera has reached a wide audience * His Requiem (1963) is a secular work to poems by Robert Rozhdestvensky ‘in memory of those who died in the fight against fascism’ and reflects the recent impact of Britten’s War Requiem * Died at an advanced age, not long before final collapse of Soviet regime whose ideals he had served so faithfully
Works by Dmitry Kabalevsky include:
Colas Breugnon: Suite from the opera (1938)
24 Preludes for piano (1924)
3 Piano Concertos (1929, 1936, 1952)
Works by Kabalevsky are represented by Boosey & Hawkes/Sikorski for the United Kingdom, the British Commonwealth (excluding Canada), the Republic of Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey
and Israel