Dmitry Kabalevsky
The music of Russian composer and teacher Dmitri Kabalevsky was hailed by Communist authorities as the finest incarnation of their artistic vision. Born in St. Petersburg in 1904, he lived during a notoriously difficult time for composers in that country. In 1918, Kabalevsky moved with his family to Moscow, where he studied at the Scriabin Music School. At the age of 18, Kabalevsky began to compose, primarily for the piano. His early pieces were studies for his young students, a practical facet of his compositional output which would remain with him throughout his career. He entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1925, studying piano with Goldenweiser and composition with Miaskovsky, the latter being particularly influential on Kabalevsky's developing musical outlook. By the end of the 1920s Kabalevsky was gaining notoriety as a composer; in 1928 the premiere of his First Piano Concerto launched him into the forefront of Soviet composers, while at the same time, the charming C major Sonatina for piano brought him international acclaim.
From his appointment to the composition faculty of the Moscow Conservatory in 1932 to his death in 1987, Kabalevsky produced a steady stream of works which sought to embody Soviet musical ideals through the use of diatonic tonality and accessible structural contours. He is perhaps best known for the overture to his opera Colas Breugnon (1936) which Arturo Toscanini conducted worldwide in the 1940s and 1950s. His suite The Comedians (1940), is another well-known work, while the Piano Concerto No. 2 (1935) is likely his finest purely musical achievement. A series of concertos for young players (Violin 1948, Cello 1949, and the Third Piano Concerto of 1952) has greatly enriched the literature for student soloists. Kabalevsky's Requiem, Op. 72, completed in 1962, is a memorial to those who lost their lives during World War II. The text is based on a poem written by Robert Rozhdestvensky.
In addition to his compositional activities, Kabalevsky was a frequent contributor to pedagogical magazines and he held positions on various State educational bodies. Kabalevsky joined the Communist Party in 1940; by 1941 he received the Medal of Honour from the Soviet government for his musical prowess. During World War II, Kabalevsky wrote several inspirational songs and battle hymns. In 1942, his Great Homeland, and Avengers of the People were written to inspire heroism and patriotism. Kabalevsky's popular The Taras Family (1947) used music from the opera In the Fire. It became a success in spite of the 1948 party decree on music, probably because Kabalevsky's music had become more lyrical in nature. Kabalevsky was one of the few well-known Soviet composers who escaped the infamous 1948 condemnation of composers by the Central Committee of the Communist Party. (The scapegoats, including Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian, and Miaskovsky were censured for indulging in "decadent formalism.")
Later in life, Kabalevsky became more involved in choral music. Kabalevsky continued to be a force in musical education. He was elected the head of the Commission of Musical Esthetic Education of Children in 1962, as well as being elected president of the Scientific Council of Educational Esthetics in the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the U.S.S.R. in 1969. Kabalevsky also received the honorary degree of president of the International Society of Musical Education.
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Discography
14 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Russian Soul
Daniil Shafran, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Nina Musinyan, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Dmitry Kabalevsky
Classical - Released by Cello Classics on 8 May 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kabalevsky: Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 77 - Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 125
Daniil Shafran, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Dmitry Kabalevsky, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Classical - Released by Russian Compact Disc on 2 Jul 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Comedians
Philharmonic Wind Orchestra, Marc Reift
Classical - Released by Marcophon on 20 Aug 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dmitry Kabalevsky: Chamber & piano music
Marina Tarasova, Alexander Polezhaev, Murray McLachlan
Chamber Music - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Philippe Quint Plays Glazunov & Khachaturian Violin Concertos
Concertos - Released by Avanticlassic on 17 Jun 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Concerto pour piano No. 1, Op. 23 - Kabalevsky: Concerto pour piano No. 3, Op. 50 (Mono Version)
Emil Gilels, Dmitry Kabalevsky, Samuil Samosud
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Masterpieces: Emil Gilels Plays Saint-Saëns, Kabalevski & Mozart (Recorded 1954)
Emil Gilels, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, USSR State Radio Symphony Orchestra, André Cluytens, Dmitry Kabalevsky
Concertos - Released by Jube Classic on 4 Feb 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Khachaturian & Kabalevsky: Concertos pour violon (Mono Version)
David Oïstrakh, Aram Ilyitch Khatchaturian, Dmitry Kabalevsky
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dmitry Kabalevsky: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
Szeged Philharmonic Orchestra, Erwin Acél
Classical - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kabalevsky: Les comédiens, Op. 26 (Mono Version)
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry Kabalevsky
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kabalevsky: Symphony No. 4 - Prokofiev: The Meeting of the Volga and the Don
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry Kabalevsky, Samuel Samosud
Classical - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1 Aug 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dmitry Kabalevsky: 24 Preludes / Sonata No. 3
Classical - Released by Classical Records on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dmitry Kabalevsky: Piano Music, Vol. 1
Classical - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on 10 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo