Ivan Ivanovich Dzerzhinsky () (April 9, 1909 – January 18, 1978) was a Soviet composer. The work for which he is best known, his opera ', was more successful for its political potential than for any musical distinction.McAllister, ''New Grove'', 5:797.

Early life

Born in

Tambov Tambov ( , ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna ...

, Dzerzhinsky had an extended formal background in music. He studied piano with

Boleslav Yavorsky Boleslav Leopoldovich Yavorsky (; 22 June 1877 – 26 November 1942) was a Soviet and Russian musicologist, music teacher, administrator, and piano, pianist. Through his teachings and editorial positions he heavily influenced Soviet music theor ...

at the First Music

Tekhnikum A tekhnikum () is a type of secondary vocational school in the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, as well as in modern Russia, Ukraine and some other post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the ...

in Moscow between 1925 and 1929. Afterwards he spent 1930–31 at the Gnesin School as a composition student of

Mikhail Gnessin Mikhail Fabianovich Gnessin (; sometimes transcribed ''Gnesin''; 2 February .S. 21 January18835 May 1957)Sitsky, Larry. (1994) ''Music of the Repressed Russian Avant-Garde, 1900–1929,'' pp. 242–243 & 247 Westport, CT: Greenwood Press was a R ...

. Two years at the Leningrad Central Music Tekhnikum followed. There he studied composition first with Gavriil Popov, then with Pyotr Ryazanov. He then proceeded to the

Leningrad Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory () (formerly known as the Petrograd Conservatory and Leningrad Conservatory) is a school of music in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members ...

for two years of study with

Boris Asafyev Boris Vladimirovich Asafyev (27 January 1949; also known by pseudonym Igor Glebov) was a Russian and Soviet composer, writer, musicologist, musical critic and one of founders of Soviet musicology. He is the dedicatee of Prokofiev's First Symp ...

Musical career

From 1936 Dzerzhinsky held important administrative positions in the

Union of Soviet Composers The Union of Russian Composers (formerly the Union of Soviet Composers, Order of Lenin Union of Composers of USSR () (1932– ), and Union of Soviet Composers of the USSR) is a state-created organization for musicians and musicologists created in 1 ...

as well as in

CPSU The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

party politics. In 1948 he was appointed to the Central Committee. At various times after 1946, he acted as a deputy to the Leningrad City

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

''Quiet Flows the Don''

Dzerzhinsky consulted Shostakovich while composing the opera ' to a libretto adapted by Dzerzhinsky's brother, Leonid, from the

Mikhail Sholokhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov ( rus, Михаил Александрович Шолохов, p=ˈʂoləxəf; – 21 February 1984) was a Russian novelist and winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is known for writing about life ...

novel ''

And Quiet Flows the Don ''And Quiet Flows the Don'' (''Quiet Flows the Don'' or ''The Silent Don'', ) is a novel in four volumes by Russian writer Mikhail Sholokhov. The first three volumes were written from 1925 to 1932 and published in the Soviet magazine '' Okty ...

''. According to Leonid's own account, he utilized Sholokhov's work motifs, freely rearranging and adapting to the purpose of accentuating the dramatic aspects of the plot and to condense as much as possible of the novel's social significance within the confines of the operatic format.''LSSR Opera and Ballet Theater'' program, State Publishing House, 1940 This opera was premiered at the Leningrad Maly Opera Theater in October 1935.

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

saw the work on January 17, 1936 and immediately recognized its propaganda value. Its subject was heroic and patriotic; it glorified the spirit of the

Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don River (Russia), Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic rep ...

, whose support would become necessary in the event of war (a war that, incidentally, seemed increasingly inevitable); and its music was both lyrical and immediately appealing. Sholokhov's novel, whose first edition was the basis of the opera, was later hailed: "...with its substance, construction, style and symbolism tis one of the most notable contemporary literary works of the Soviet Union. The author's selected setting is the Don Cossacks, their life and ways, class struggle, schisms and seesaws, that define and evoke the patriarchal order of Cossack life, the first imperialist war, the revolution and people's struggle. The great events of history are made manifest in the quietude and tranquility of Cossack life suffering a total upheaval, degenerating into in a bloody struggle." Within weeks ''Quiet Flows the Don'' was proclaimed a model of socialist realism in music. Stalin saw Shostakovich's opera '' Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'' at the same theater nine days after attending ''Quiet Flows the Don''. His disapproval of Shostakovich's opera set the stage for its composer's official denunciation, which lasted until Shostakovich wrote his Fifth Symphony. Due at least in part to official praise, ''Quiet Flows the Don'' proved wildly successful, reaching its 200th performance in May 1938. However, its conservative musical style, lyrical and folkloric, had limited developmental potential. Dzerzhinsky wrote his next opera, ''Virgin Soil Upturned'' (''Podnyataya tselina''), in 1937. Also based on a Sholokhov novel, it and subsequent successors did not repeat the success of ''Quiet Flows the Don''.

Style

Unlike Popov, Ryazanov and Asafyev, who were considered progressive in their musical outlook, Dzerzhinsky from the outset wrote works that were considered traditional. His First Piano Concerto, early songs and piano pieces were influenced by

Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of N ...

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

and early

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

. In the early 1930s he was influenced by

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded ...

's music, particularly in his Second Piano Concerto, which he wrote in 1934. (This piece was criticized officially much later.)

Death

Dzerzhinsky died in Leningrad in 1978.

Honours and awards

* Stalin Prize, 3rd class (1950) – a song cycle, "New Village" *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(1939) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, actors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achiev ...

(1977) *

Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR Honored Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Zasluzhenny artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achievements in the ...

(1957)

References

*McAllister, Rita, ed. Stanley Sadie, "Dzerzhinsky, Ivan vanovich" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (London: Macmillan, 1980), 20 vols. .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dzerzhinsky, Ivan Ivanovich 1909 births 1978 deaths People from Tambov People from Tambovsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Russian male opera composers Russian film score composers Russian opera composers Soviet film score composers Soviet male classical composers Soviet male composers Soviet opera composers Soviet classical composers 20th-century Russian male musicians People's Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Burials at Bogoslovskoe Cemetery