Mikhail Ivanovich Chulaki () ( in

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

– January 29, 1989 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) 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 ...

Russian composer and teacher. He studied under the composer

Vladimir Shcherbachov Vladimir Vladimirovich Shcherbachov (Shcherbachyov, Shcherbachev) (; 25 January 1889, in Warsaw – 5 March 1952, in Leningrad) was a Soviet composer. He studied with Maximilian Steinberg, Anatoly Lyadov, and Jāzeps Vītols (Joseph Wihtol) at t ...

at 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 ...

, graduating in 1931.Ho/Feofanov (1989) He held administrative and teaching positions, including at the Leningrad Conservatory (1933–1941, 1944–1948), and taught composition at 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 ...

(from 1948): among his composition pupils was the 15-year-old

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

, whom Chulaki did much to support both materially and as an artist. Before World War II he was artistic director of the

Leningrad Philharmonic The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a symphony orchestra based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Their home venue is the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. History The roots of t ...

. From 1963 to 1970 he worked as artistic director of 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 ...

, Moscow. While in that post, he gave Rostropovich his first major break as a conductor, inviting him to conduct Tchaikovsky's ''Eugene Onegin''.Wilson (2007), p. 287 His son was the writer Mikhail Mikhailovich Chulaki.

Notes and references

*Ho, Allan & Feofanov, Dmitry. ''Biographical Dictionary of Russian/Soviet Composers''. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989. *Wilson, Elizabeth. ''Shostakovich: A Life Remembered''. London: Faber & Faber, 2006. *Wilson, Elizabeth. ''Mstislav Rostropovich: Cellist, Teacher, Legend''. London: Faber & Faber, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chulaki, Mikhail Soviet composers Soviet male composers 1908 births 1989 deaths Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory 20th-century Russian classical musicians Russian ballet composers Bolshoi Theatre directors 20th-century Russian male musicians