Category Archive: Music and dance

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was a great Russian composer and conductor. You know, he was a member of the Russian Mighty Five. All his works are connected with the fairy-tale world, with the life of the people, with the nature of Russia.
The future composer was born on March 6, 1844 in Tikhvin. His father was a descendant of a noble family. Starting with the great-great-grandfather, who was the Rear Admiral of the fleet even under Elizaveta Petrovna, all his ancestors occupied important positions in the administration or in the army. The boy began to be taught music at the age of six. But boring teachers could not instill in their pupil the love of the subject.
At the age of twelve, his father brought Nikolai to the northern capital and gave him to the naval corps. In the same year, the cellist Ullich began to teach him how to play the piano. At the age of 16, Nikolai began to take lessons from Fyodor Canilla, the famous pianist. In addition, the young man joined the Balakirev circle in 1861. A year later, Rimsky-Korsakov set out on a voyage around the world. During the trip, he wrote only Andante for the symphony.
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Aram Khachaturyan was one of the greatest composers of the XX century. You know, he is the author of 3 ballets, 3 symphonies, 6 concerts, a huge number of vocal, choral, instrumental and program music, music for films and theater productions, as well as music of the Armenian National SSR Hymn (1944). Khachaturyan wanted to know the whole world. He was invited by the Queen of Belgium Elizabeth, was welcomed by the revolutionary Che Guevara, he was introduced to the idol of intellectuals Ernest Hemingway – and all this was due to his outstanding talent in music.
Aram Khachatryan was born in the village near Tiflis on May 24, 1903, and grew up in this noisy and cheerful city filled with folk music of Armenian, Georgian and Russian musicians. Since childhood he spoke three languages Armenian, Georgian and Russian. And it was quite natural. He listened to his mother’s Armenian songs, the Georgian polyphony sounded on the street, the sounds of Russian romances were heard from the parks. In this atmosphere, the child wanted to sing and play. Since childhood he was in love with music, played piano, bugle and tuba at school. However, his parents did not approve of his hobby.
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It is said that on the day when the future great dancer Vaslav Nijinsky was born, whether the Emperor himself, or someone from the Grand Dukes arranged a small feast for the ballet troupe at the Mariinsky Theater. An elegant silver cup was one of the prizes for the soloists. Vaslav’s father jumped up and caught the prize thrown by monarch. “It will become my son’s talisman!”, he cried. But he was wrong. Soon his father left the family. And a woman became his talisman…
Many things in the life of the remarkable ballet dancer were strange and mysterious. For example, his famous, truly fantastic jump on the stage. It seemed that Nijinsky freely floated in the air. Nobody else could do the same. People even looked for carefully hidden springs in his shoes. However, they did not find anything!
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Valery Leontiev is a Soviet and Russian singer, songwriter and actor. He is Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1987), People’s Artist of Russia (1996). By the way, Valery is the winner of World Music Awards, ZD Awards, Ovation, Golden Gramophone, Singer of the Year and Show of the Year awards. You know, in 1991, he was the first Soviet artist who won The World Music Awards in Monte Carlo, as the best performer, the leader in sales in the Soviet Union. He has recorded more than 30 albums. Journalists called Leontiev mega star and legend of Russian pop music.
Valery was born on March 19, 1949 in the village of Ust-Usa in the Komi Republic. His father and mother were veterinarians. The boy had elder sister Maya (1930-2005). He spent his childhood in the village in Arkhangelsk Oblast. And in 1961 the family moved to Yurievets, Ivanovo Oblast, where Leontiev graduated from school.
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Alexander Gradsky is a well-known personality with versatile talents for poetry, music and vocals. You know, he is one of the founders of Russian rock, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation and the owner of a number of state prizes.
Alexander Borisovich was born on November 3, 1949 in Kopeysk, Chelyabinsk region, into the family of engineer Boris Abramovich Fradkin and actress Tamara Pavlovna Gradskaya. In 1957 the family moved to Moscow, where the boy entered the music school at the age of 9.
Most of all, in his childhood, Alexander was interested in literature and wrote his first poem at the age of 14. Actually, his favorite musicians were The Beatles.
16-year-old Alexander firmly decided to become a singer and a musician. Then he took the surname of his mother and joined the Polish student group Cockroaches. The first song of Gradsky The Best City of the Earth was then performed at many concerts.
In 1969 Alexander entered the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music. Five years later, in 1974, he successfully graduated from the university. Besides, during the studies he received the first experience of solo performances.
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Alexander Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist. To tell the truth, he was a bright representative of the early modern school of Russian music. The uniqueness of the works of this composer is not only in the complicated harmony, but also in the introduction of color to music for the best expressiveness.
Alexander Nikolayevich was born on December 25, 1871 (according to other sources on January 6, 1872) in Moscow. The boy was born into the family of the Moscow University student Nikolai Scriabin, who later became a prominent diplomat and state councilor. His mother Lyubov Petrovna was a talented pianist, who graduated with honors from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. After an early death of the spouse Nikolai married Olga Fernandez. They had five children: Nicholai, Vladimir, Xenia, Andrei, Cyril.
Since childhood Alexander studied piano. Alexander Taneev was a teacher of the 14-year-old boy.
In 1888 Scriabin entered the Moscow Conservatory. You know, Sergei Rakhmaninov was his classmate. Alexander graduated from the conservatory with the Gold Medal in 1892.
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Lev Termen, Russian and Soviet inventor, invented musical instrument called the thereminovox and demonstrated it to the first ruler of the USSR. In 1947 he became a winner of the Stalin Prize for his outstanding invention.
Lev Termen (known as Leon Therimin in the West) was born on August 15, 1896 in St. Petersburg. The boy was born into a noble Orthodox family with French Huguenot roots (in French his name was written as Theremin). As a child Lev was very interested in physics and electricity. He studied piano and cello at the conservatory in Leningrad, but afterwards went to university to study physics and astronomy.
Inspired by the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, when everyone was interested in new things, Termen wanted to invent a musical instrument that would not use any mechanical energy, like the conductor of an orchestra, who only moves his hands.
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