Konstantin Konstantinovich Ivanov (15 April 1984) was a

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 ...

conductor and composer.

Career

A brief article in The

Great Soviet Encyclopaedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

says he was born on May 8, 1907, in the town of Yefremov or Efremov (Russian: Ефре́мов) in the

Tula Oblast Tula Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an Oblasts of Russia, oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in European Russia and is administratively part of the Central Federal District, covering an area of . It has a ...

. At the age of 13, he was adopted by a regiment of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. He became a trumpeter in army orchestras. He attended the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

where he studied conducting with the conductor L. M. Ginzburg. Ivanov graduated in 1937, and the following year won the third prize at the first edition of the All-Union Conductors Competition. Engagements with the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

and the All-Union Radio Symphony Orchestra followed in 1941. In 1945, Ivanov succeeded Nathan Rakhlin as Principal Conductor of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra. Under Ivanov's direction, the orchestra began an extensive program of touring. Initially this was to the republics of the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, but in 1956 it performed in the Soviet allied states of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. As the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

thawed, Ivanov and the orchestra travelled outside the Communist bloc. In 1958 they made an appearance at an international exposition in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

where they performed for Queen Elizabeth of Belgium. In the same year they also visited

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In 1960, the orchestra visited the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, then in 1961 appeared at the

Vienna Festival The Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) is a culture festival that takes place in Vienna for five or six weeks in May and June every year. The Vienna Festival was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the Participants in World W ...

. Konstantin Ivanov was succeeded as Principal Conductor of the USSR Symphony Orchestra in 1965 by

Yevgeny Svetlanov Yevgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov (; 6 September 1928 – 3 May 2002) was a Soviet and Russian conductor, composer, and pianist. Life and work Svetlanov was born in Moscow and studied conducting with Alexander Gauk at the Moscow Conservatory Th ...

. His reputation in later years, at least in the west, was somewhat eclipsed by the rise of a younger generation of Soviet conductors such as Svetlanov, Rozhdestvensky and Kondrashin, all of whom became much better known, and who travelled abroad more frequently. He died on April 15, 1984, only 16 days shy of his 77th birthday.

Recordings

Some of Ivanov's recordings became available in the west through the association of Britain's

EMI Group EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

with the Soviet state label

Melodiya Melodiya () is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya" in accordance wi ...

. These included his account of

Glazunov Glazunov (masculine, ) or Glazunova (feminine, ) is a Russian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936), Russian composer ** Glazunov Glacier in Antarctica named after Alexander * Andrei Glazunov, 19th-cent ...

’s 5th Symphony. The Dutch Melodia disc (562.265) of this performance was backed with four works by

Anatoly Lyadov Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov (; ) was a Russian composer, teacher and conductor. Biography Lyadov was born in 1855 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, into a family of eminent Russian musicians. He was taught informally by his conductor s ...

. EMI-Melodiya used these as fillers on LPs of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

’s First and Third Symphonies, conducted by Ivanov's successor

. Ivanov also conducted

Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...

’s ''Antar Symphony'' with the USSR Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra on a 3-disc set of the composer's orchestral music. In 1973 Melodiya issued an LP of Rimsky-Korsakov's suites from ''

Le Coq d'Or ''The Golden Cockerel'' ( ) is an opera in three acts, with a short prologue and an even shorter epilogue, composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, his last complete opera, before his death in 1908. Its libretto written by Vladimir Belsky, is derived ...

'' and '' Tsar Sultan''. This also appeared on EMI-Melodiya. At various times, Ivanov recordings of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony have been in circulation, as have symphonies by Eshpai and

Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving family in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and ha ...

, along with

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 cantata ''The Sun Shines Over the Motherland''. The recordings considered here were heard in the following incarnations: Arensky: Suite No. 1 World Record Club (Australia) R 09475.

Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra The Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra is a Russian classical music radio orchestra established in 1930. It was founded as the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, and served as the official symphony for the Soviet All-Union Radio network. History Foll ...

(Coupled with Symphony No. 1 conducted by Eduard Serov) Glazunov: Symphony No 5 HMV-Melodiya LP ASD 2540 (Coupled with Rimsky-Korsakov, Symphony No 1 conducted by Boris Khaikin), Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. The Symphony was also released on Dutch Melodia LP 562.265 with Liadov's Kikimora, Baba Yaga and two orchestral polonaises. The Liadov items were played by the USSR Symphony Orchestra. Myaskovsky: Symphony No. 5 Melodiya Australia CD MA 3019 (no longer available). USSR Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra. Coupled with Symphony No. 11 (Moscow Symphony Orchestra conducted by

Veronika Dudarova Veronika Borisovna Dudarova (January 15, 2009) was a Soviet and Russian conductor, the first woman to succeed as conductor of symphony orchestras in the 20th century. She became a conductor of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra in 1947, and le ...

. Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 2 ''Antar'', Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. World Record Club (Australia) 3-LP set R 06847-9. Suites from ''Le Coq D'or'' ''and Tsar Sultan'' have been issued by HMV-Melodiya, World Record Club (Australia), and on CD from Melodiya Australia MA 3027 (no longer available). Shostakovich: The Sun Shines Over The Motherland. RFSFR Russian Chorus (Director: Alexander Yurlov), USSR Symphony Orchestra. Russian Disc RDCD 11 048 (no longer available). Some of the LPs were issued by Capitol/Angel in the United States.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov, Konstantin 1907 births 1984 deaths People from Yefremovsky District People from Yefremovsky Uyezd Soviet conductors (music) Soviet composers Moscow Conservatory alumni People's Artists of the USSR People's Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Military personnel of the 1st Cavalry Army