Role

:

Composer

Birth

:

August 12, 1932

Period

:

Contemporary

Genre

:

Keyboard

 

 

Vocal

 

Sergey Mikhaylovich Slonimsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and musicologist who was born on April 27, 1932, in Leningrad, Soviet Union. He was born into a family of musicians, with his father, Mikhail Slonimsky, being a composer and his uncle, Nicolas Slonimsky, being a renowned musicologist and composer. Sergey grew up in a musical environment and started playing the piano at a young age. He received his early musical education from his father and later studied at the Leningrad Conservatory. Slonimsky's early compositions were influenced by the works of his father and uncle, as well as by the music of Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich. He was also interested in jazz and incorporated elements of jazz into his compositions. In 1955, he graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory with a degree in composition. After graduation, Slonimsky worked as a composer and pianist in Leningrad. He composed music for films, theater productions, and radio broadcasts. He also performed as a pianist, both as a soloist and as an accompanist. In 1961, he moved to Moscow and became a member of the Union of Soviet Composers. Slonimsky's compositions from the 1960s and 1970s were characterized by their experimental and avant-garde nature. He was interested in exploring new sounds and techniques, and his works often featured unconventional instrumentation and extended techniques. Some of his notable works from this period include "Music for 12 Strings" (1962), "Music for 16 Strings" (1964), and "Music for 20 Strings" (1970). In the 1980s, Slonimsky's style shifted towards a more traditional and tonal approach. He began to incorporate elements of Russian folk music and classical forms into his compositions. Some of his notable works from this period include "Symphony No. 2" (1982), "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra" (1984), and "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra" (1987). Slonimsky was also a prolific musicologist and wrote extensively on the history and theory of music. He was particularly interested in the music of the Soviet era and wrote several books on the subject, including "Soviet Music and Society" (1975) and "Russian Music After the Revolution" (1994). He also edited and translated several books on music, including his uncle Nicolas Slonimsky's "Lexicon of Musical Invective" (1953). Slonimsky's contributions to music were recognized with several awards and honors. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation in 1992 and was a recipient of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in 1996. He was also a member of the Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences and the International Society for Contemporary Music. Sergey Mikhaylovich Slonimsky passed away on December 25, 2020, in Moscow, Russia. He left behind a legacy of innovative and diverse compositions, as well as a wealth of knowledge and scholarship on the history and theory of music.

More....