 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Aleksandra Pakhmutova" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Aleksandra Pakhmutova | |
|---|---|
Александра Пахмутова | |
.jpg) Pakhmutova in 2024 | |
| Born | Aleksandra Nikolayevna Pakhmutova (1929-11-09)9 November 1929 (age 96) |
| Alma mater | Moscow Conservatory |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Years active | 1955–present |
| Title | |
| Spouse | Nikolai Dobronravov (1956–2023) |
Aleksandra Nikolayevna Pakhmutova (Russian:Александра Николаевна Пахмутоваlistenⓘ; born 9 November 1929) is a Soviet and Russian composer. She has remained one of the best-known figures inSoviet and laterRussianpopular music since she first achieved fame in her homeland in the 1960s. She was awarded thePeople's Artist of the USSR in 1984.
She was born on November 9, 1929, in Beketovka (now a neighborhood inVolgograd),Russian SFSR,Soviet Union, and began playing thepiano and composing music at an early age. In 1936, she entered the Stalingrad City Music School. After theGerman invasion of the Soviet Union, she briefly went toKaraganda for refuge and study. She was admitted to the prestigiousMoscow Conservatory and graduated in 1953. In 1956, she completed a post-graduate course led by composerVissarion Shebalin.[1]
Her career is notable for her success in a range of different genres. She has composed pieces for thesymphony orchestra (The Russian Suite, the concerto for thetrumpet and the orchestra, the Youth Overture, the concerto for the orchestra); the ballet Illumination; music for children (cantatas, a series of choir pieces, and numerous songs); and songs and music for over a dozen different movies fromOut of This World in 1958 toBecause of Mama in 2001.
She is best known for some of her 400 songs, including such enduringly popular songs asThe Melody,Russian Waltz,Tenderness,Hope,The Old Maple Tree,The Song of the Perturbed Youth, a series of theGagarin Constellation,The Bird of Happiness (from the 1981 filmO Sport, You Are Peace!, this song is subsequently very known in bothRussia andChina when performed by Russian singerVitas since 2003) andGood-Bye Moscow which was used as the farewell tune of the 22ndOlympic Games inMoscow.Tenderness was used with great effect inTatyana Lioznova's 1967 filmThree Poplars in Plyushchikha. Her husband, the eminent Soviet-era poetNikolai Dobronravov, contributed lyrics to her music on occasion, including songs used in three films.
One of her most famous ballads isBelovezhskaya Pushcha, composed in 1975, which celebratesBiałowieża Forest, a last remnant of the European wildwood split now betweenPoland andBelarus. Another much-aired song wasMalaya Zemlya, about a minor outpost where the then Soviet leaderLeonid Brezhnev served as apolitical commissar duringWorld War II.
Alexandra Pakhmutova found favor with the state establishment as well as the public. Reputedly Brezhnev's favorite composer, she received several Government Awards andState Prizes and served as the Secretary of the USSR and Russian Unions of Composers. She was named aHero of Socialist Labour in 1990. Her name was given toAsteroid# 1889, registered by the planetary centre inCincinnati,Ohio,United States.
In 1956, Pakhmutova married an actor and poetNikolai Dobronravov. He was assigned by the radio officials to work with her as a lyricist on a children's tune "Little Motor Boat" (Lodochka motornaya). They have written a lot of songs for children but the couple didn't have children of their own.[2]
Pakhmutova is accredited with composing over 500 individual songs; and thus, only the most well-known are listed here.[3]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ovation | ||
| Preceded by 2001 Igor Moiseyev | Living Legend Award 2002 Aleksandra Pakhmutova | Succeeded by |
1990 recording, conductorYevgeny Svetlanov
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
