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Boris LyatoshinskiySoviet Ukrainian composer, conductor and teacher
Date of Birth: 22.12.1894
Country:  Ukraine |
Content:
Biography of Boris Lyatoshynsky
Boris Nikolaevich Lyatoshynsky was a Soviet Ukrainian composer, conductor, and teacher, and one of the founders of the modernist movement in Ukrainian music. He was born on December 22, 1894 (January 3, 1895) in Zhytomyr, Ukraine.
Education and Career
Lyatoshynsky graduated from the law faculty of St. Volodymyr University in Kyiv in 1918, and in 1919, he completed his studies at the Kyiv Conservatory in the composition class of Reinhold Glière. From 1920, he worked as a professor at the Kyiv Conservatory, and from 1935, he held the position of professor at the Moscow Conservatory, with breaks in 1935-1938 and 1941-1944.
During his career, Lyatoshynsky also served as the head of the Association of Contemporary Music, which operated from 1926 to 1929, as well as a member of the Organizing Bureau of the Union of Composers of Ukraine (1932-1939) and the Organizing Committee of the Union of Composers of the USSR (1939-1948). From 1939 to 1941, he was the head, and later a member of the board of the Union of Composers of Ukraine.
Achievements and Controversy
Despite his significant contributions to Ukrainian music, Lyatoshynsky faced criticism from the authorities during the Soviet campaign against formalism. Nevertheless, he received recognition for his work, including being awarded the title of People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR in 1968.
Lyatoshynsky composed various notable works, including the operas "The Golden Ring" (1930, 2nd edition 1970) and "Schors" (1938, 2nd edition "The Military Leader" (1948)). He also composed the "Ukrainian Quintet" (2nd edition, 1945), five symphonies, three symphonic poems, five string quartets, romances, cantatas, and music for dramatic plays and films.
Awards and Legacy
Lyatoshynsky received several prestigious awards for his compositions, including the Stalin Prize of the second degree in 1946 for the "Ukrainian Quintet" and the Stalin Prize of the first degree in 1952 for the music for the film "Taras Shevchenko" (1951). He was also honored with the State Prize of the Ukrainian SSR named after T.H. Shevchenko in 1971 (posthumously) for his opera "The Golden Ring" (1930).
In addition to his awards, Lyatoshynsky was named a Merited Artist of the Ukrainian SSR in 1945 and received the Order of Lenin and three other orders. His name is also carried by a music school in Zhytomyr, and in 1981, the Kyiv Chamber Choir was named after him.
