Great composers, whose names are widely known throughout the world, have created a huge number of valuable works. Their creations are truly unique. Each of them has an individual and unique style.

Great composers of the world (foreign). List

Below are foreign composers from different centuries, whose names are known throughout the world. It:

• A. Vivaldi.
• J.S.Bach.
• W.A. Mozart.
• I. Brahms.
• J. Haydn.
• R. Schumann.
• F. Schubert.
• L. Beethoven.
• I. Strauss.
• R. Wagner.
• J. Verdi.
• A. Berg.
• A. Schoenberg.
• J. Gershwin.
• O. Messiaen.
• C. Ives.
• B. Britten.

Great composers of the world (Russians). List

He created a large number of operettas, worked with light musical forms of a dance character, in which he was very successful. Thanks to Strauss, the waltz became an extremely popular dance in Vienna. By the way, balls are still held there. The composer's legacy includes polkas, ballets and quadrills.

And G. Verdi - the greats who created a huge number of operas that won the sincere love of the audience.

The German Richard Wagner was the most prominent representative of modernism in the music of this century. His operatic heritage is rich. Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, The Flying Dutchman and other operas are still relevant, popular and performed on stage.

The Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi is a very majestic figure. He gave Italian opera a new lease of life, while remaining faithful to operatic traditions.

Russian composers of the 19th century

MI Glinka, AP Borodin, MP Mussorgsky, PI Tchaikovsky are the great composers of classical music of the 19th century who lived and created their works in Russia.

The works of Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka have determined national and world significance in the history of Russian music. His work, which grew up on Russian folk songs, is deeply national. He is rightfully considered an innovator, the ancestor of Russian musical classics. Glinka worked fruitfully in all of his operas "Ivan Susanin" ("Life for the Tsar") and "Ruslan and Lyudmila" opened the way to two leading directions. His symphonic works were also of great importance in the development of musical art: "Kamarinskaya", "Waltz-fantasy" and many others.

Alexander Porfirevich Borodin is a great Russian composer. His work is small in volume, but significant in content. The central place is occupied by heroic historical images. He has deep lyricism closely intertwined with epic breadth. The opera "Prince Igor" combines the features of a folk musical drama and an epic opera. His first and second symphonies mark a new direction in Russian symphony - heroic and epic. In the field of chamber vocal lyrics, he became a real innovator. His romances: "The Sea", "For the Shores of the Distant Fatherland", "Song of the Dark Forest" and many others. Borodin had a significant impact on his followers.

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky is another great Russian composer of the 19th century. He was a member of the Balakirevsky circle, which was called the "Mighty Handful". He has worked fruitfully in a variety of genres. His operas are wonderful: Khovanshchina, Boris Godunov, Sorochinskaya Fair. In his works, the traits of a creative individual were manifested. He owns a number of romances: "Kalistrat", "Seminarist", "Lullaby to Eremushka", "Orphan", "Svetik Savishna". They capture the unique national characters.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - composer, conductor, teacher.

In his work were the leading opera and symphonic genres. The content of his music is universal. His operas The Queen of Spades and Eugene Onegin are masterpieces of Russian classical music. The symphony also occupies a central place in his work. His works became known to the whole world during his lifetime.

Representatives of the new Viennese school

A. Berg, A. Webern, A. Schoenberg are great composers who lived and created their works throughout the 20th century.

Alban Berg became world famous for his amazing opera "Wozzeck", which made a strong impression on the audience. He wrote it over the course of several years. Its premiere took place on December 14, 1925. Today Wozzeck is a classic example of 20th century opera.

Anton Webern is an Austrian composer, one of the brightest representatives of the new Viennese school. In his works, he used serial and dodecaphonic techniques. Concise and laconic thought, concentration of musical and expressive means are inherent in it. His work had a strong impact on Stravinsky, Boulez, Gubaidulina and many other Russian and foreign composers.

Arnold Schoenberg is a prominent representative of such a musical style as expressionism. Author of serial and dodecaphonic techniques. His compositions include the Second String Quartet (F-sharp minor), Drama with Music for Choir and Orchestra, the opera Moses and Aaron and many others.

J. Gershwin, O. Messiaen, C. Ives

These are the great composers of the 20th century who are famous all over the world.

George Gershwin is an American composer and pianist. He became extremely popular thanks to his large-scale work "Porgy and Bess". This is a "folk" opera. It is based on the novel by Dubos Hayward. No less famous are his instrumental works: "Rhapsody in the blues style for piano and orchestra", "An American in Paris", "Second Rhapsody" and many others.

Olivier Messiaen is a French composer, organist, teacher, and music theorist. In his remarkable theoretical works, he outlined new and rather complex principles of musical composition. Theological ideas are reflected in his works. He was very much attracted by the voices of birds. Therefore, he created the "Catalog of Birds" for piano.

Charles Ives is an American composer. His work was influenced by folk music. Therefore, his style is extremely unique. He composed five symphonies, five violin sonatas, two piano sonatas, the Heavenly Land cantata and many other works.

Russian composers of the 20th century

S. Prokofiev, I. F. Stravinsky, D. D. Shostakovich are great composers of the 20th century.

Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev - composer, conductor, pianist.

His music is varied in content. It contains lyrics and epic, humor and drama, psychologism and characterization. Opera and ballet creativity laid down new principles and techniques of musical drama. His operas are The Gambler, The Love for Three Oranges, War and Peace. Prokofiev worked in the genre of film music. His cantata Alexander Nevsky, created in collaboration with director S. Eisenstein, is widely known.

Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky - emigrant composer, conductor.

His work is divided into Russian and foreign periods. His brightest ballets: "Petrushka", "The Rite of Spring", "The Firebird". Stravinsky also made a great contribution to the symphonic genre.

Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich - composer, teacher, pianist. His work is multifaceted in genres and figurative content. Especially his significance as a composer-symphonist. His fifteen symphonies reflect the complex world of human feelings with experiences, struggles, tragic conflicts. His opera "Katerina Izmailova" is an excellent work of this genre.

Conclusion

The music of the great composers is written in different genres, contains multifaceted plots, constantly updated techniques, corresponding to a particular era. Some composers have reached heights in a few genres, while others have successfully covered almost all areas. It is difficult to single out the best of the entire galaxy of great composers. All of them made a significant contribution to the history of world musical culture.

The term "composer" first appeared in the 16th century in Italy, and since then it has been used to denote a person who is involved in composing music.

19th century composers

In the 19th century, the Viennese music school was represented by such an outstanding composer as Franz Peter Schubert. He carried on the traditions of Romanticism and influenced an entire generation of composers. Schubert has created over 600 German romances, taking this genre to the next level.

Franz Peter Schubert

Another Austrian, Johann Strauss, became famous for his operettas and light musical forms of dance character. It was he who made the waltz the most popular dance in Vienna, where balls are still held. In addition, his legacy includes polkas, quadrills, ballets and operettas.

Johann Strauss

A prominent representative of modernism in the music of the late 19th century was the German Richard Wagner. His operas have not lost their relevance and popularity to this day.

Giuseppe Verdi

Wagner can be contrasted with the majestic figure of the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, who remained faithful to operatic traditions and gave Italian opera a new breath.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Among the Russian composers of the 19th century, the name of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky stands out. He is characterized by a unique style that combines European symphonic traditions with Glinka's Russian heritage.

20th century composers

Sergei Vasilyevich Rahmaninov

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninov is rightfully considered one of the brightest composers of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. His musical style was based on the traditions of romanticism and existed in parallel with the avant-garde movements. It is for his individuality and lack of analogues that his work was highly appreciated by critics all over the world.

Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky

The second most famous composer of the 20th century is Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky. Russian by origin, he emigrated to France, and then the United States, where he showed his talent in full force. Stravinsky is an innovator, not afraid to experiment with rhythms and styles. In his work, the influence of Russian traditions, elements of various avant-garde movements and a unique individual style are traced, for which he is called "Picasso in music".

World classical music is unthinkable without the works of Russian composers. Russia, a great country with a talented people and its own cultural heritage, has always been among the leading locomotives of world progress and art, including music. The Russian composing school, the successor of the traditions of which was the Soviet and today's Russian schools, began in the 19th century with composers who combined European musical art with Russian folk melodies, linking together the European form and the Russian spirit.

A lot can be said about each of these famous people, all of them are not simple, and sometimes even tragic, but in this review we have tried to give only a brief description of the life and work of composers.

1.Mikhail I. GLINKA (1804—1857)

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka is the founder of Russian classical music and the first Russian classical composer to achieve world fame. His works, based on the centuries-old traditions of Russian folk music, were a new word in the musical art of our country.
Born in the Smolensk province, he received his education in St. Petersburg. The formation of the worldview and the main idea of ​​Mikhail Glinka's work was facilitated by direct communication with such personalities as A.S. Pushkin, V.A. Zhukovsky, A.S. Griboyedov, A.A. Delvig. A creative impulse to his work was added by a long-term trip to Europe in the early 1830s and meetings with the leading composers of the time - V. Bellini, G. Donizetti, F. Mendelssohn and later with G. Berlioz, J. Meyerbeer. Success came to MI Glinka after staging the opera "Ivan Susanin" ("Life for the Tsar") (1836), which was enthusiastically received by everyone, for the first time in world music, Russian choral art and European symphonic and operatic practice were organically combined, as well as a hero appeared, like Susanin, whose image summarizes the best features of the national character. VF Odoevsky characterized the opera "a new element in Art, and a new period begins in its history - the period of Russian music".
The second opera - the epic Ruslan and Lyudmila (1842), which was worked on against the background of the death of Pushkin and in the difficult living conditions of the composer, due to the deeply innovative essence of the work, was ambiguously met by the audience and the authorities and brought M.I. Glinka difficult experiences ... After that he traveled a lot, alternately living in Russia and abroad, without stopping to compose. His legacy includes romances, symphonic and chamber works. In the 1990s, Mikhail Glinka's Patriotic Song was the official anthem of the Russian Federation.

Mikhail Glinka's quote: "To create beauty, one must be a pure soul."

Quote about MI Glinka: "The entire Russian symphony school, like the whole oak in an acorn, is contained in the symphonic fantasy" Kamarinskaya ". P.I. Tchaikovsky

An interesting fact: Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was not distinguished by good health, despite this he was very easy-going and knew geography very well, perhaps, if he had not become a composer, he would have become a traveler. He knew six foreign languages, including Persian.

2. Alexander Porfirevich BORODIN (1833—1887)

Alexander Porfirevich Borodin, one of the leading Russian composers of the second half of the 19th century, in addition to his talent as a composer, was a scientist-chemist, doctor, teacher, critic and had a literary talent.
Born in St. Petersburg, from childhood everyone around him noted his unusual activity, enthusiasm and ability in various directions, primarily in music and chemistry. A.P. Borodin is a Russian composer-nugget, he did not have professional music teachers, all his achievements in music thanks to independent work on mastering the technique of composition. The formation of A.P. Borodin was influenced by the work of M.I. Glinka (as, by the way, for all Russian composers of the 19th century), and the impulse for a dense occupation with composition in the early 1860s was given by two events - firstly, the acquaintance and marriage with the talented pianist E.S. Protopopova, and secondly, the meeting with MA Balakirev and joining the creative community of Russian composers known as "The Mighty Handful". At the end of the 1870s and in the 1880s, A.P. Borodin travels and tours a lot in Europe and America, meets with the leading composers of his time, his fame is growing, he became one of the most famous and popular Russian composers in Europe at the end of the 19th th century.
The central place in the work of A.P. Borodin is occupied by the opera "Prince Igor" (1869-1890), which is an example of the national heroic epic in music and which he himself did not have time to finish (it was completed by his friends A.A. Glazunov and N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov). In "Prince Igor", against the background of majestic pictures of historical events, the main idea of ​​the composer's entire work is reflected - courage, calm greatness, spiritual nobility of the best Russian people and the mighty strength of the entire Russian people, manifested in the defense of the homeland. Despite the fact that A.P. Borodin left a relatively small number of works, his work is very diverse and he is considered one of the fathers of Russian symphonic music, who influenced many generations of Russian and foreign composers.

Quote about A.P. Borodin: "Borodin's talent is equally powerful and striking both in symphony and in opera and romance. His main qualities are gigantic strength and breadth, colossal scope, swiftness and impetuosity, combined with amazing passion, tenderness and beauty ". V.V. Stasov

An interesting fact: the chemical reaction of silver salts of carboxylic acids with halogens, resulting in halogenated hydrocarbons, which he first investigated in 1861, was named after Borodin.

3. Modest P. MUSORGSKY (1839—1881)

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky is one of the most brilliant Russian composers of the 19th century, a member of the "Mighty Handful". Musorgsky's innovative work was far ahead of its time.
Was born in the Pskov province. Like many talented people, from childhood he showed aptitude in music, studied in St. Petersburg, was, according to family tradition, a military man. The decisive event that determined that Mussorgsky was born not for military service, but for music, was his meeting with MABalakirev and joining the "Mighty Handful". Mussorgsky is great in that in his grandiose works - the operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, he captured in music dramatic milestones in Russian history with a radical novelty that Russian music did not know before him, showing in them a combination of popular folk scenes and a diverse wealth of types, the unique character of the Russian people. These operas, in numerous editions, both by the author and by other composers, are among the most popular Russian operas in the world. Another outstanding work of Mussorgsky is the cycle of piano pieces "Pictures at an Exhibition", colorful and inventive miniatures are permeated with the Russian theme-refrain and the Orthodox faith.

There was everything in Mussorgsky's life - both greatness and tragedy, but he was always distinguished by genuine spiritual purity and disinterestedness. His last years were difficult - disorder in life, lack of recognition of creativity, loneliness, addiction to alcohol, all this determined his early death at 42, he left relatively few works, some of which were completed by other composers. The specific melody and innovative harmony of Mussorgsky anticipated some features of the musical development of the 20th century and played an important role in the formation of the styles of many world composers.

Quote from MP Mussorgsky: "The sounds of human speech, as external manifestations of thought and feeling, should, without exaggeration and violence, become true, accurate, but artistic, highly artistic music."

Quote about M.P. Mussorgsky: "Primordially Russian sounds in everything that Mussorgsky did" N.K. Roerich

An interesting fact: at the end of his life, Mussorgsky, under pressure from the "friends" of Stasov and Rimsky-Korsakov, gave up the copyright to his works and presented them to Tertiy Filippov

4. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840—1893)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, perhaps the greatest Russian composer of the 19th century, raised Russian musical art to unprecedented heights. He is one of the most important composers of world classical music.
A native of Vyatka province, although paternal roots in Ukraine, Tchaikovsky showed musical talent from childhood, but his first education and work was in the field of jurisprudence. Tchaikovsky was one of the first Russian "professional" composers - he studied music theory and composition at the new St. Petersburg Conservatory. Tchaikovsky was considered a "Western" composer, in contrast to the folk figures of the "Mighty Handful" with whom he had good creative and friendly relations, but his work is no less permeated with the Russian spirit, he managed to uniquely combine the Western symphonic heritage of Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann with the Russians traditions inherited from Mikhail Glinka.
The composer led an active life - he was a teacher, conductor, critic, public figure, worked in two capitals, toured Europe and America. Tchaikovsky was a rather emotionally unstable person, enthusiasm, despondency, apathy, hot temper, violent anger - all these moods changed in him quite often, being a very sociable person, he always strove for loneliness.
It is a difficult task to single out something best from Tchaikovsky's work, he has several works of equal size in almost all musical genres - opera, ballet, symphony, chamber music. The content of Tchaikovsky's music is universal: with inimitable melodism it embraces the images of life and death, love, nature, childhood, works of Russian and world literature are revealed in a new way, deep processes of spiritual life are reflected in it.

Quote from the composer:
"I am an artist who can and should bring honor to my Motherland. I feel a great artistic power in me, I have not yet done a tenth of what I can do. And I want to do it with all my heart."
"Life has charm only when it consists of alternation of joys and sorrow, from the struggle between good and evil, from light and shadow, in a word - from diversity in unity."
"Great talent takes a lot of hard work."

Quote about the composer: "I am ready day and night to stand guard of honor at the porch of the house where Pyotr Ilyich lives - to such an extent I respect him" A.P. Chekhov

An interesting fact: the University of Cambridge, in absentia and without defending a thesis, awarded Tchaikovsky the title of Doctor of Music, and the Paris Academy of Fine Arts also elected him a corresponding member.

5. Nikolay Andreevich RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844—1908)

Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov is a talented Russian composer, one of the most important figures in creating an invaluable Russian musical heritage. His peculiar world and worship of the eternal all-embracing beauty of the universe, admiration for the miracle of life, unity with nature have no analogues in the history of music.
Born in the Novgorod province, according to family tradition he became a naval officer, on a warship he went around many countries of Europe and the Americas. He received his musical education first from his mother, then taking private lessons from the pianist F. Canille. And again thanks to MABalakirev, the organizer of The Mighty Handful, who introduced Rimsky-Korsakov to the musical community and influenced his work, the world has not lost a talented composer.
The central place in the legacy of Rimsky-Korsakov is made up of operas - 15 works, demonstrating the variety of genre, stylistic, dramatic, compositional decisions of the composer, nevertheless having a special style - with all the richness of the orchestral component, melodic vocal lines are the main ones. Two main directions distinguish the composer's work: the first is Russian history, the second is the world of fairy tales and epics, for which he received the nickname "storyteller".
In addition to direct independent creative activity, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov is known as a publicist, compiler of collections of folk songs, to which he showed great interest, as well as the finalizer of the works of his friends - Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky and Borodin. Rimsky-Korsakov was the creator of the school of composition, as a teacher and head of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, he graduated about two hundred composers, conductors, musicologists, among them Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

Quote about the composer: "Rimsky-Korsakov was a very Russian person and a very Russian composer. I believe that this primordially Russian essence of his, his deep folklore-Russian basis should be especially appreciated today." Mstislav Rostropovich

The work of Russian composers of the late 19th - first half of the 20th century is an integral continuation of the traditions of the Russian school. Along with this, the concept of an approach to the "national" belonging of this or that music appeared, there is practically no direct quotation of folk melodies, but the intonational Russian basis, the Russian soul, remained.

6. Alexander N. SKRYABIN (1872 - 1915)

Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin is a Russian composer and pianist, one of the brightest personalities of Russian and world musical culture. Scriabin's original and deeply poetic creativity stood out for its innovation even against the background of the birth of many new trends in art associated with changes in social life at the turn of the 20th century.
Born in Moscow, his mother died early, his father could not pay attention to his son, as he served as ambassador to Persia. Scriabin was brought up by his aunt and grandfather; from childhood he showed musical talent. At the beginning he studied in the cadet corps, took private piano lessons, after graduating from the corps he entered the Moscow Conservatory, his fellow student was S.V. Rachmaninov. After graduating from the Conservatory, Scriabin devoted himself entirely to music - as a concert pianist-composer, he toured in Europe and Russia, spending most of his time abroad.
The peak of Scriabin's composer's creativity was 1903-1908, when the Third Symphony ("Divine Poem"), the symphonic "Poem of Ecstasy", "Tragic" and "Satanic" piano poems, 4 and 5 sonatas and other works were released. "The Poem of Ecstasy", consisting of several themes-images, concentrated the creative ideas of Sriabin and is his striking masterpiece. It harmoniously combines the composer's love for the power of a large orchestra and the lyrical, airy sound of solo instruments. The colossal vital energy, fiery passion, volitional power embodied in the "Poem of Ecstasy" makes an irresistible impression on the listener and to this day retains the strength of its influence.
Another masterpiece by Scriabin is Prometheus (Poem of Fire), in which the author completely renewed his harmonic language, deviating from the traditional tonal system, and for the first time in history this work was supposed to be accompanied by color music, but the premiere, for technical reasons, took place without light effects.
The last unfinished "Mystery" was the idea of ​​Scriabin, a dreamer, romantic, philosopher, to appeal to all mankind and inspire him to create a new fantastic world order, to unite the Universal Spirit with Matter.

A. N. Skryabin's quote: "I am going to tell them (people) - so that they ... expect nothing from life except what they can create for themselves ... I am going to tell them that there is nothing to grieve, that there is no loss So that they are not afraid of despair, which alone can give rise to real triumph. Strong and mighty is the one who experienced despair and defeated it. "

Quote about A. N. Skryabin: "Scriabin's work was his time, expressed in sounds. But when the temporary, transitory finds its expression in the work of a great artist, it acquires permanent meaning and becomes permanent." G. V. Plekhanov

7. Sergei Vasilyevich Rahmaninov (1873 - 1943)

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff is the world's largest composer of the early 20th century, a talented pianist and conductor. The creative image of Rachmaninov as a composer is often defined with the epithet "the most Russian composer", emphasizing in this brief formulation his merits in uniting the musical traditions of the Moscow and St. Petersburg composer schools and in creating his own unique style that stands out in the world musical culture.
Born in the Novgorod province, at the age of four he began to study music under the guidance of his mother. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, after 3 years of study he transferred to the Moscow Conservatory and graduated with a large gold medal. He quickly became known as a conductor and pianist, and composed music. The failed premiere of the groundbreaking First Symphony (1897) in St. Petersburg caused a creative composer crisis, from which Rachmaninov emerged in the early 1900s with a mature style that united Russian church song, outgoing European romanticism, modern impressionism and neoclassicism - and all this is saturated with complex symbolism. During this creative period his best works were born, including 2 and 3 piano concerts, the Second Symphony and his most favorite work - the poem "Bells" for choir, soloists and orchestra.
In 1917, Rachmaninov and his family were forced to leave our country and settle in the United States. Almost ten years after his departure, he did not compose anything, but he toured extensively in America and Europe and was recognized as one of the greatest pianists of the era and the greatest conductor. For all the stormy activity, Rachmaninov remained a vulnerable and insecure person, striving for solitude and even loneliness, avoiding the annoying attention of the public. He sincerely loved and yearned for his homeland, thinking if he had made a mistake by leaving it. He was constantly interested in all the events taking place in Russia, read books, newspapers and magazines, helped financially. His most recent compositions, Symphony No. 3 (1937) and Symphonic Dances (1940), were the result of his creative career, incorporating all the best of his unique style and the mournful feeling of irreparable loss and homesickness.

Quote from S.V. Rachmaninov:
"I feel like a ghost wandering lonely in a world alien to him."
"The highest quality of any art is its sincerity."
"Great composers have always and above all paid attention to melody as the leading principle in music. Melody is music, the main basis of all music ... Melodic ingenuity, in the highest sense of the word, is the composer's main goal in life ... for this reason, the great composers of the past have shown so much interest in the folk melodies of their countries. "

Quote about S.V. Rachmaninov:
"Rachmaninov was created from steel and gold: Steel is in his hands, gold is in his heart. I cannot think of him without tears. I not only admired the great artist, but loved the person in him." I. Hoffman
"Rachmaninov's music is the Ocean. His waves - musical - begin so far beyond the horizon, and lift you so high and so slowly lower you ... that you feel this Power and Breath." A. Konchalovsky

An interesting fact: during the Great Patriotic War, Rachmaninov gave several charity concerts, the money collected from which he sent to the fund of the Red Army to fight the Nazi invaders.

8. Igor Fyodorovich STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)

Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky is one of the most influential world composers of the 20th century, the leader of neoclassicism. Stravinsky became a "mirror" of the musical era, his work reflects a plurality of styles, constantly intersecting and difficult to classify. He freely combines genres, forms, styles, choosing them from centuries of musical history and subjecting them to his own rules.
Born near St. Petersburg, studied at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, independently studied musical disciplines, took private lessons from N.A. He began to compose professionally relatively late, but his rise was rapid - a series of three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913) immediately brought him to the ranks of composers of the first magnitude.
In 1914 he left Russia, as it turned out almost forever (in 1962 he toured the USSR). Stravinsky is a cosmopolitan, forced to change several countries - Russia, Switzerland, France, as a result he stayed to live in the United States. His work is divided into three periods - "Russian", "neoclassical", American "mass production", the periods are divided not according to the time of life in different countries, but according to the author's "handwriting".
Stravinsky was a very highly educated, sociable person with a great sense of humor. His circle of acquaintances and correspondents included musicians, poets, artists, scientists, businessmen, statesmen.
The last highest achievement of Stravinsky - Requiem (Memorial chants) (1966) absorbed and combined the previous artistic experience of the composer, becoming the true apotheosis of the master's work.
In the work of Stavinsky, one unique feature stands out - "unrepeatability", it is not for nothing that he was called "the composer of a thousand and one style", the constant change of genre, style, direction of the plot - each of his works is unique, but he constantly returned to constructions in which Russian origin is visible, audible Russian roots.

Quote by IF Stravinsky: "I have been speaking Russian all my life, my syllable is Russian. Maybe in my music it is not immediately visible, but it is in it, it is in its hidden nature."

Quote about IF Stravinsky: "Stravinsky is a truly Russian composer ... The Russian spirit is ineradicable in the heart of this truly great, multifaceted talent, born of the Russian land and closely related to it ..." D. Shostakovich

Interesting fact (bike):
Once in New York, Stravinsky took a taxi and was surprised to read his name on the sign.
- You are not a relative of the composer? he asked the driver.
- Is there a composer with such a surname? - the driver was surprised. - I hear it for the first time. However, Stravinsky is the name of the taxi owner. I have nothing to do with music - my name is Rossini ...

9. Sergey Sergeevich PROKOFIEV (1891—1953)

Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev is one of the largest Russian composers of the 20th century, pianist, conductor.
Born in Donetsk region, from childhood he got involved in music. Prokofiev can be considered one of the few (if not the only) Russian musical "prodigies", from the age of 5 he was engaged in composing, at the age of 9 he wrote two operas (of course, these works are still immature, but they show a desire to create), at the age of 13 he passed exams in Petersburg Conservatory, among his teachers was N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. The beginning of his professional career caused a storm of criticism and misunderstanding of his individual, fundamentally anti-romantic and extremely modernist style, the paradox is that, having ruined the academic canons, the structure of his compositions remained true to classical principles and subsequently became the restraining force of modernist all-denying skepticism. From the very beginning of his career, Prokofiev performed and toured a lot. In 1918, he went on an international tour, including visiting the USSR, and finally returned to his homeland in 1936.
The country has changed and the "free" creativity of Prokofiev was forced to yield to the realities of new demands. Prokofiev's talent blossomed with renewed vigor - he writes operas, ballets, music for films - sharp, strong-willed, extremely accurate music with new images and ideas, laid the foundation for Soviet classical music and opera. In 1948, almost simultaneously three tragic events occurred: on suspicion of espionage, his first Spanish wife was arrested and exiled to the camps; the Resolution of the Polyburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) was issued, in which Prokofiev, Shostakovich and others were attacked and accused of "formalism" and the harm of their music; there was a sharp deterioration in the composer's health, he retired to the dacha and practically did not leave it, but continued to compose.
Some of the brightest works of the Soviet period were the operas "War and Peace", "The Story of a Real Man"; ballets "Romeo and Juliet", "Cinderella", which have become a new standard of world ballet music; oratorio "On guard of the world"; music for the films "Alexander Nevsky" and "Ivan the Terrible"; symphonies No. 5,6,7; piano works.
Prokofiev's work is striking in its versatility and breadth of topics, the originality of his musical thinking, freshness and originality made up an entire era in the world musical culture of the 20th century and had a powerful impact on many Soviet and foreign composers.

Quote from S.S. Prokofiev:
"Can an artist stand aside from life? .. I adhere to the conviction that a composer, like a poet, sculptor, painter, is called to serve people and people ... He, first of all, must be a citizen in his art, praise human life and lead a person to a brighter future ... "
"I am a manifestation of life, which gives me the strength to resist everything unspiritual."

Quote about S.S. Prokofiev: "... all the facets of his music are beautiful. But there is one completely unusual thing here. We all apparently have some setbacks, doubts, just a bad mood. And at such moments , even if I don't play and don't listen to Prokofiev, but just think about him, I get an incredible charge of energy, I feel a great desire to live, to act "E. Kisin

Interesting fact: Prokofiev was very fond of chess, and enriched the game with his ideas and achievements, including the "nine" chess invented by him - a 24x24 field board with nine sets of pieces placed on it.

10. Dmitry Dmitrievich SHOSTAKOVICH (1906 - 1975)

Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich is one of the most significant and performed composers in the world, his influence on contemporary classical music is immeasurable. His creations are true expressions of the inner human drama and the chronicle of difficult events of the 20th century, where the deeply personal is intertwined with the tragedy of man and humanity, with the fate of his native country.
Born in St. Petersburg, received his first music lessons from his mother, graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, upon admission to which its rector Alexander Glazunov compared him to Mozart - so he impressed everyone with his wonderful musical memory, delicate ear and composer's gift. Already in the early 1920s, by the time he graduated from the Conservatory, Shostakovich had the baggage of his own works and became one of the best composers in the country. World fame came to Shostakovich after winning the 1st International Chopin Competition in 1927.
Until a certain period, namely before the staging of the opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District", Shostakovich worked as a free artist - "avant-garde", experimenting with styles and genres. The harsh distribution of this opera, arranged in 1936, and the repressions of 1937 marked the beginning of the subsequent constant internal struggle of Shostakovich for the desire to express his views by his own means in the conditions of imposing trends in art by the state. In his life, politics and creativity are very closely intertwined, he was praised by the authorities and persecuted by them, held high positions and was removed from them, was awarded and was on the verge of arrest himself and his relatives.
A gentle, intelligent, delicate person, he found his own form of expression of creative principles in symphonies, where he could speak the truth about time as openly as possible. Of all Shostakovich's extensive work in all genres, it is the symphonies (15 works) that occupy the central place, the most dramatically saturated are the 5,7,8,10,15 symphonies, which have become the pinnacle of Soviet symphonic music. A completely different Shostakovich opens up in chamber music.
Despite the fact that Shostakovich himself was a "domestic" composer and practically did not travel abroad, his music, which was humanistic in essence and truly artistic in form, quickly and widely spread throughout the world and was performed by the best conductors. The magnitude of Shostakovich's talent is so immense that the full comprehension of this unique phenomenon of world art is still ahead.

Dmitry Shostakovich's quote: "Real music is capable of expressing only humane feelings, only advanced humane ideas."

The melodies and songs of the Russian people inspired the works of famous composers of the second half of the 19th century. Among them were P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.P. Mussorgsky, M.I. Glinka and A.P. Borodin. Their traditions were continued by a whole galaxy of outstanding musical figures. Russian composers of the 20th century are still popular.

Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin

A.N. Scriabin (1872 - 1915), a Russian composer and talented pianist, teacher, innovator, cannot leave anyone indifferent. In his original and impulsive music, sometimes mystical moments are heard. The composer is attracted and drawn by the image of fire. Even in the titles of his works, Scriabin often repeats words such as fire and light. He tried to find the possibility of combining sound and light in his works.

The composer's father, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Scriabin, was a well-known Russian diplomat, an actual state councilor. Mother - Lyubov Petrovna Scriabin (nee Shchetinina), was known as a very talented pianist. She graduated with honors from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Her professional career began successfully, but soon after the birth of her son, she died of consumption. In 1878 Nikolai Alexandrovich finished his studies and was assigned to the Russian embassy in Constantinople. The upbringing of the future composer was continued by his close relatives - grandmother Elizaveta Ivanovna, her sister Maria Ivanovna and her father's sister Lyubov Alexandrovna.

Despite the fact that at the age of five, Scriabin mastered playing the piano, and a little later he began to study musical compositions, according to the family tradition, he received a military education. He graduated from the 2nd Moscow Cadet Corps. In parallel, he took private lessons in piano and music theory. Later he entered the Moscow Conservatory and graduated with a small gold medal.

At the beginning of his creative activity, Scriabin deliberately followed Chopin, choosing the same genres. However, even at that time, his own talent had already appeared. At the beginning of the 20th century, he wrote three symphonies, then The Poem of Ecstasy (1907) and Prometheus (1910). It is interesting that the composer added a part of the light keyboard to the score of "Prometheus". He was the first to use light and music, the purpose of which is characterized by the disclosure of music by the method of visual perception.

The composer's accidental death interrupted his work. He never realized his plan to create "Mystery" - a symphony of sounds, colors, movements, smells. In this work, Scriabin wanted to tell all of mankind his innermost thoughts and inspire him to create a new world, marked by the union of the Universal Spirit and Matter. His most significant works were only a preface to this grandiose project.

The famous Russian composer, pianist, conductor S.V. Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) was born into a wealthy noble family. Rachmaninoff's grandfather was a professional musician. The first piano lessons were given to him by his mother, and later he was invited by the music teacher A.D. Ornatskaya. In 1885, his parents assigned him to a private boarding school to the professor of the Moscow Conservatory N.S. Zverev. The order and discipline in the educational institution had a significant impact on the formation of the future character of the composer. Later he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with a gold medal. While still a student, Rachmaninov was very popular with the Moscow public. He has already composed his First Piano Concerto, as well as some other romances and pieces. And his Prelude in C Sharp Minor became a very popular composition. The great P.I. Tchaikovsky drew attention to the diploma work of Sergei Rachmaninoff - the opera "Oleko", which he wrote under the impression of the poem by A.S. Pushkin's "Gypsies". Pyotr Ilyich got it staged at the Bolshoi Theater, tried to help with the inclusion of this work in the theater's repertoire, but died unexpectedly.

From the age of twenty, Rachmaninov taught at several institutes, gave private lessons. At the invitation of the famous philanthropist, theatrical and musical figure Savva Mamontov, at the age of 24, the composer becomes the second conductor of the Moscow Russian Private Opera. There he became friends with F.I. Shalyapin.

Rachmaninoff's career was interrupted on March 15, 1897 due to the rejection of his innovative First Symphony by the Petersburg public. The reviews for this work were truly devastating. But the greatest grief was brought to the composer by the negative feedback left by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, whose opinion Rachmaninoff greatly appreciated. After that, he fell into a prolonged depression, which he managed to get out of with the help of a doctor-hypnotist N.V. Dahl.

In 1901 Rachmaninoff finished work on the Second Piano Concerto. And from that moment his active creative activity as a composer and pianist begins. Rachmaninoff's unique style combined Russian church chants, romanticism and impressionism. He considered the melody to be the main leading principle in music. This found its greatest expression in the author's favorite work - the poem "Bells", which he wrote for the orchestra, chorus and soloists.

At the end of 1917, Rachmaninov and his family left Russia, worked in Europe, and then left for America. The composer was very upset by the break with the Motherland. During the Great Patriotic War, he gave charity concerts, the proceeds of which he sent to the Red Army Fund.

Stravinsky's music is distinguished by stylistic diversity. At the very beginning of his creative activity, she was based on Russian musical traditions. And then in the works one can hear the influence of neoclassicism, characteristic of the music of France of that period and dodecaphony.

Igor Stravinsky was born in Oranienbaum (now Lomonosov), in 1882. The father of the future composer Fyodor Ignatievich is a famous opera singer, one of the soloists of the Mariinsky Theater. His mother was the pianist and singer Anna Kirillovna Kholodovskaya. From the age of nine, teachers taught him piano lessons. After graduating from high school, he, at the request of his parents, enters the law faculty of the university. For two years, from 1904 to 1906, he took lessons from N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, under whose direction he wrote the first works - scherzo, piano sonata, suite Faun and Shepherdess. Sergei Diaghilev highly appreciated the composer's talent and offered him cooperation. The joint work resulted in three ballets (staged by S. Diaghilev) - The Firebird, Petrushka, The Rite of Spring.

Shortly before the First World War, the composer left for Switzerland, then for France. A new period begins in his work. He studies the musical styles of the 18th century, writes the opera Oedipus the King, music for the ballet Apollo Musaget. His signature style has changed several times over time. The composer lived in the USA for many years. His last famous work is "Requiem". A feature of the composer Stravinsky is considered to be the ability to constantly change styles, genres and musical directions.

The composer Prokofiev was born in 1891 in a small village in the Yekaterinoslav province. The world of music was opened for him by his mother, a good pianist, who often performed works of Chopin and Beethoven. She also became a real musical mentor for her son and, in addition, taught him German and French.

At the beginning of 1900, young Prokofiev was able to attend the Sleeping Beauty ballet and listen to the operas Faust and Prince Igor. The impression received from the performances of the Moscow theaters was expressed in his own work. He writes the opera The Giant, and then the overture to Deserted Shores. The parents soon realize that they cannot continue teaching their son music. Soon, at the age of eleven, the aspiring composer was introduced to the famous Russian composer and teacher S.I. Taneev, who personally asked R.M. Gliera to study musical composition with Sergei. S. Prokofiev at the age of 13 passed the entrance exams to the St. Petersburg Conservatory. At the beginning of his career, the composer toured and performed extensively. However, his work caused misunderstanding among the public. This was due to the peculiarities of the works, which were expressed in the following:

• modernist style;
• destruction of established musical canons;
• extravagance and ingenuity of composing techniques

In 1918 S. Prokofiev left and returned only in 1936. Already in the USSR he wrote music for films, operas, ballets. But after he was accused, along with a number of other composers, of "formalism", he practically moved to live in a dacha, but continued to write musical works. His opera War and Peace, the ballets Romeo and Juliet, and Cinderella became the property of world culture.

Russian composers of the 20th century, who lived at the turn of the century, not only preserved the traditions of the previous generation of the creative intelligentsia, but also created their own unique art, for which the works of P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.I. Glinka, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

It is safe to say about each of them that he is the greatest composer who ever was, although in fact it is impossible, and indeed impossible, to compare music written over several centuries. However, all of these composers stand out from their contemporaries as composers who composed music of the highest standard and sought to push the boundaries of classical music to new limits. The list does not contain any order, such as importance or personal preference. Just 10 Great Composers You Should Know.

Interesting fact: Beethoven first wanted to dedicate his third symphony (1804) to Napoleon, the composer was fascinated by this man, who seemed to many at the beginning of his reign to be a real hero. But when Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor, Beethoven crossed out his dedication to Napoleon on the title page and wrote only one word - "Heroic".

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata:

Interesting fact: During his lifetime, Bach was so underestimated that less than a dozen of his works were published.

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by J.S.Bach:

Interesting fact: As a child, Mozart memorized and recorded Miserere (a Catholic chant to the text of the 50th Psalm of David) by the Italian Gregorio Allegri, having listened to it only once.

Mozart's Little Night Serenade:

Interesting fact: Wagner took part in the failed revolution of 1848-1849 in Germany, and was forced to escape from the arrest of Franz Liszt.

"Flight of the Valkyries" from Wagner's opera "Valkyrie":

Interesting fact: From his youth, Tchaikovsky had an irresistible thirst for knowledge, and in various fields. So, one of the first among his contemporaries, he got acquainted with a new invention of the 19th century, which was destined to have a great future. It was Edison's phonograph that ushered in the era of recording.

"Waltz of the Flowers" from Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker":

Fun fact: Verdi was an Italian nationalist and was elected to the first Italian parliament in 1860, after Italy's independence from Austria.

Overture to Verdi's opera La Traviata:

Interesting fact: During World War I, Roman customs officers confiscated the portrait of Stravinsky by Pablo Picasso when the composer was leaving Italy. The portrait was painted in a futuristic manner and the customs officers mistook these circles and lines for some kind of encrypted classified material.

Suite from Stravinsky's ballet "The Firebird":

Interesting fact: The father of Johann Strauss is also Johann and also a famous musician, and therefore the "waltz king" is called the youngest or son, his brothers Joseph and Edward were also famous composers.

Strauss waltz "On the beautiful blue Danube":

Interesting fact: The premiere of Rachmaninoff's First Symphony ended in complete failure, both because of poor performance and because of the innovative nature of the music, which was far ahead of its time. This event caused a serious nervous illness.

Rachmaninov Concert Piano Concerto 4 - Movement 1:

Fun fact: Schubert's friends and fellow musicians got together and performed Schubert's music. These meetings were called "Schubertiads" (Schubertiads). Some kind of first fan club!

Ave Maria Schubert: