Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko

Boris Tishchenko was a Russian composer and pianist of the late 20th century. He is one of most significant Russian symphonists since Shostakovich. Tishchenko was born in Leningrad in 1939, and he had a very early interest in music. His childhood was shadowed by World War II, which had a lasting impression. By the age of 15, he was accepted at the Leningrad Music College, where he studied composition with Galina Ustvolskaya, and piano with Vera Mikhelis. From 1957 to 1962, he studied with Vadim Salmanov, Viktor Voloshinov, and Orest Yevlakhov at the Leningrad Conservatory. After he finished his schooling, he sought further refinement and became a student of Shostakovich until 1965. It was also around this time that he began teaching at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Tishchenko completed his Cello Concerto No. 1 in 1966 for the famous cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. The concerto was a favorite of Shostakovich, and it won first place in a composition competition in Prague. Stylistically, Tishchenko's teachers Ustvolskaya and Shostakovich were highly impactful in his development as a composer, and he also found inspiration from other sources, such as Tibetan music, Japanese gagaku, and Russian folk music. By 1970, Tishchenko had composed works in virtually every secular genre including his Rekviyem, which was a setting of Anna Akhmatova's narrative poem of the same title that was forbidden by Soviet authorities. This courageous composition criticized the harsh realities of Stalinism, which led to a ban of Tishchenko's works at the Leningrad State Philharmonia for seven years following the premiere. He was drawn to ethical and philosophical dilemmas, and stubbornly remained true to his own ideals regardless of any popular or political trends. In 1986 he became a full professor at the conservatory, and in the following year he was honored with the People's Artist of Russia award. He remained active as a composer until around 2005. One of his last compositions was an ambitious five-part symphonic cycle for chorus and orchestra inspired by Dante's Inferno. Tishchenko died from cancer in 2010, and was survived by his wife, Irina Donskaya, and three sons, Dmitry, Vsevolod, and Andrei.
© RJ Lambert /TiVo