Geniuses

What is Shostakovich? Is it possible to understand, to grasp, to describe and explain? The West was deeply shocked at the time, not believing that such a composer was possible in such a Soviet Union. His symphonies have been recognized all over the world. In 1948, Zhdanov named Shostakovich among the main figures of the "formalist movement". This did not prevent the authorities, both before and after that, from declaring Shostakovich the winner of Stalin's and then State Prizes: until 1953, Shostakovich received the Stalin prize five times and almost won the competition for the USSR anthem...

The name of Vladimir Sofronitsky is on a par with the names of Anton Rubinstein and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Prokofiev and Shostakovich admired him, and the composer Glazunov shortly before his death called him one of the most remarkable Russian pianists... Vladimir Sofronitsky did not win international competitions, his titles are modest, and his biography is not rich in external notable events... But most importantly — a pianist of refined romantic style, Sofronitsky enjoyed a special favor of the public, which no official awards can win.

Composer Igor Stravinsky woke up famous the morning after the Paris premiere of his "Firebird"-and no one for 60 years (!) could predict the surprises that he presented to the public in each subsequent opus. Stravinsky is the brightest modernist in the entire modern repertoire, and there are no borders for his music: in all time zones, it is equally clear and fascinating. Stravinsky entered music like an elephant into a China shop, overturned everything - and it turned out that he pushed the boundaries of a whole century...

Alexander Scriabin is an outstanding Russian composer, virtuoso pianist and mystic philosopher who dreamed of changing the world and transforming humanity through music. A brilliant innovator, he changed the musical language of the era. The boldness of his harmonic discoveries was astounding. They tried to imitate him, but it was impossible. Scriabin created an exclusively individual style and still the phenomenon of his work remains unsolved to the end...

"The composer's music should Express the spirit of the country in which he was born, his faith and thoughts that arose under the impression of books and paintings that he loves. It should be a generalization of the composer's entire life experience... "I am a Russian composer, and my homeland has left its mark on my character and my views. My music is the fruit of my character, and that's why it's Russian music. I never tried to intentionally write Russian music...»

"The first part of his 2nd Concerto, Scherzo, Prokofiev called "Running from the bogeyman". In fact, the whole life of a composer is a run from a bogeyman. In 1917,he went abroad. Unfortunately, Prokofiev could not organize his creative destiny abroad: he was disgusted with publishers, managers, impresarios, and businessmen from the world of music. Returning to the USSR in the late 20s, he was by no means full of hope and happiness. He had no illusions about the revolution and all that followed. But even in the West, it was getting harder to breathe, and the cloud of fascism was gathering. From one monster he ran to another."..