Aleksandra Nikolayevna Pakhmutova ( ; born 9 November 1929) is a Soviet and Russian composer. She has remained one of the best-known figures in

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 ...

and later

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

since she first achieved fame in her homeland in the 1960s. She was awarded the

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

in 1984.

Biography

She was born on November 9, 1929, in Beketovka (now a neighborhood in

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

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 ...

, and began playing the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and composing music at an early age. In 1936, she entered the Stalingrad City Music School. After the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...

, she briefly went to

Karaganda Karaganda (, ; ), also known as Karagandy (, ; ; ) (also sometimes romanized as Qaraghandy), is a major city in central Kazakhstan and the capital of the Karaganda Region. It is the fifth most populous city in the country, with a population o ...

for refuge and study. She was admitted to the prestigious

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 ...

and graduated in 1953. In 1956, she completed a post-graduate course led by composer

Vissarion Shebalin Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin (; 29 May 1963) was a USSR, Soviet composer, music pedagogue. Rector of the Moscow Conservatory (1942-1948). People's Artist of the RSFSR (1947). Biography Shebalin was born in Omsk, where his parents were school t ...

. Her career is notable for her success in a range of different genres. She has composed pieces for the

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

(The Russian Suite, the concerto for the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

and the orchestra, the Youth Overture, the concerto for the orchestra); the ballet Illumination; music for children (cantatas, a series of choir pieces, and numerous songs); and songs and music for over a dozen different movies from ''Out of This World'' in 1958 to ''Because of Mama'' in 2001. She is best known for some of her 400 songs, including such enduringly popular songs as ''The Melody'', ''Russian Waltz'', ''Tenderness'', ''Hope'', ''The Old Maple Tree'', ''The Song of the Perturbed Youth'', a series of the ''Gagarin Constellation'', ''The Bird of Happiness'' (from the 1981 film ''

O Sport, You Are Peace! ''O Sport, You Are Peace!'' ( transliterated as O sport, ty - mir!) was a 1981 documentary film directed by Yuri Ozerov (director), Yuri Ozerov, who also co-wrote it. The documentary showed the opening and closing ceremonies, and sporting events of ...

'', this song is subsequently very known in both

and

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 ...

when performed by Russian singer

Vitas Vitaliy Vladasovich Grachev or Vitaliy Vladasovych Grachov, known professionally as Vitas ( ; stylised in all caps), is a Russian– Ukrainian singer. Vitas is known for his falsetto and his eclectic musical style, which incorporates element ...

since 2003) and ''Good-Bye Moscow'' which was used as the farewell tune of the 22nd

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

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 ...

. '' Tenderness'' was used with great effect in

Tatyana Lioznova Tatyana Mikhailovna Lioznova (; 20 July 192429 September 2011) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter best known for her TV series ''Seventeen Moments of Spring'' (1973). Personal life Tatyana Lioznova was born in Moscow to parents Moses ...

's 1967 film '' Three Poplars in Plyushchikha''. Her husband, the eminent Soviet-era poet

Nikolai Dobronravov Nikolai Nikolayevich Dobronravov (; 22 November 1928 – 16 September 2023) was a Soviet and Russian poet and lyricist. He collaborated with his wife Aleksandra Pakhmutova. Dobronravov had two higher educations: in 1950 he graduated from the ...

, contributed lyrics to her music on occasion, including songs used in three films. One of her most famous ballads is ''Belovezhskaya Pushcha'', composed in 1975, which celebrates

Białowieża Forest Białowieża Forest is a large forest complex on the border between Poland and Belarus. It is one of the last and the largest remaining part of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to more ...

, a last remnant of the European wildwood split now between

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

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. Another much-aired song was ''

Malaya Zemlya Malaya Zemlya (, lit. "Small Land") was a Soviet uphill outpost on Cape Myskhako (), situated westward from Tsemes Bay on the Black Sea, that was recaptured after battles with the Germans during the Battle of the Caucasus on the night of 4 Febru ...

'', about a minor outpost where the then Soviet leader

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

served as a political commissar during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Alexandra Pakhmutova found favor with the state establishment as well as the public. Reputedly Brezhnev's favorite composer, she received several Government Awards and State Prizes and served as the Secretary of the USSR and Russian Unions of Composers. She was named a

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

in 1990. Her name was given to

Asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

# 1889, registered by the planetary centre in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to 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 ...

Personal life

In 1956, Pakhmutova married an actor and poet

. He was assigned by the radio officials to work with her as a lyricist on a children's tune "Little Motor Boat" (Lodochka motornaya). They have written a lot of songs for children but the couple didn't have children of their own.

Compositions

Songs

Pakhmutova is accredited with composing over 500 individual songs; and thus, only the most well-known are listed here. * « Надежда» ("The Hope") * « Песня о тревожной молодости» ("Song of Restless Youth") * «Мелодия» ("Melody") * « Беловежская пуща» ("

") * « Нежность» (" Tenderness") * « Команда молодости нашей» ("Our Youth Team") * «Старый клён» ("Old Maple") * « Как молоды мы были» ("How Young We Were") * « Трус не играет в хоккей» ("

No Coward Plays Hockey "No Coward Plays Hockey" () could be called the anthem of ice hockey in the Soviet Union and Russia. The song was composed in 1968 by Aleksandra Pakhmutova (music), Sergei Grebennikov and Nikolai Dobronravov (lyrics - both). During this period of So ...

") * « И вновь продолжается бой» (" And the Battle Is Going Again") * «Слава вперёдсмотрящему» ("Glory to the Ones Who Look Forward")

Vocal cycles

* Gagarin's Constellation * Songs about Lenin * Aiga Stars * Motherland * Hugging the Sky

Orchestral

* 1953: ''Russian Suite'' for symphony orchestra *"Ode to Lighting the Fire" (for mixed choir and symphony orchestra). *1957: Music for children: Suite "Lenin in our heart" *1972: Heroes of Sport (Written for the final credits of the Russian sports movie Moving Up)

Concerto

* 1955: Trumpet Concerto * 1972: Concerto for Orchestra (based on the ballet ''Illumination'', staged in 1974,

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)

Cantata

* Beautiful as youth, country *1953: Vasily Turkin *1962: Red Pathfinders *1972: Squad Songs

Overtures

* 1957: Youth *1958: Thuringia *1967: Merry Girls *1967: Russian Holiday, for the orchestra of Russian folk instruments

Instrumental

* The Rhythms of Time *Carnival *Auftakt *Robinsonade (from the film "My Love in the Third Year of Study") *Heart in the palm *A moment of luck *Morning big city *Elegy (from the film ''

'')

Recordings

# 1971: Concerto for Orchestra in E Major ( USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra, under

Evgeny 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. From 1 ...

) # 1985: Marshal Zhukov March (from film "Battle of Moscow," Central Military band of Ministry of Defence of USSR, under Colonel

Anatoly Maltsev Anatoly Ivanovich Maltsev (also: Malcev, Mal'cev; Russian: Анато́лий Ива́нович Ма́льцев; 27 November N.S./14 November O.S. 1909, Moscow Governorate – 7 June 1967, Novosibirsk) was born in Misheronsky, near Moscow, and ...

) # 2015: Concerto for solo Trumpet and Orchestra (Trumpet Records, Timofei Aleksandrovich Dokschitzer) # 2019: Anniversary Concert for Aleksandra Pakhmutova (Bolshoi Theater, under

Mikhail Pletnev Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev (, ''Mikha'il Vas'ilevič Plet'nëv''; born 14 April 1957) is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Life and career Pletnev was born into a musical family in Arkhangelsk, then part of the Soviet Union. His fath ...

and

Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of Abram Borisovich Bashmet and Maya Zinovyeva Bashmet (née Kri ...

)

Honors and awards

;Soviet and Russian *

№ 21035 (29 October 1990) – for outstanding contributions to the development of Soviet musical art and productive social activities *

Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation () is a state award of Russia. The title is awarded to citizens of Russia for special services in labour to the state and its people associated with the achievement of outstanding results in public, social ...

(9 November 2024) – for special merits to the development of national musical art, multifaceted social activities and many years of fruitful creative work *Two

Orders 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 ...

№ ****** & № 460143 (6 November 1979 and 29 October 1990) *

Order of St. Andrew The Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle the First-Called () is the highest order conferred by both the Russian Imperial Family (as an order of chivalry) and by the Russian Federation (as a state order). Established as the first and highest order ...

(28 October 2019) *

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

; **1st class (9 November 2009) – for outstanding contribution to the development of national musical art, and many years of creative activity **2nd class (27 December 1999) – for great personal contribution to the development of musical art **3rd class (29 September 2014) – for great contribution to the development of domestic musical art and achieved creative success *

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 ...

, twice (1967, 1971) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(1986) *

State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...

(12 June 2015) *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

(1975) – for the songs of recent years (1971–1974) *USSR State Prize (1982) – for the music for the film ''

'' (1981) *

Lenin Komsomol Prize Lenin Komsomol Prize () was a Soviet Union, Soviet annual award for the best works in science, engineering, literature or art carried out by young authors of age not exceeding 33 years. Komsomol was the abbreviated name of The Communist Union of ...

(1966) – a song cycle about youth and the Komsomol Prize of the Union State of Russia and Belarus for literary and artistic works that make a significant contribution to strengthening the relations of brotherhood, friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the countries – members of the Union State (10 March 2004) *Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR (1971) *

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) *

(1984) *Honorary Citizen of

(19 October 1993) *Honorary Citizen of

Bratsk Bratsk (, ; ) is a Types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara, Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir. It had population of . Etymology The name of the city, which is from the same ro ...

(26 August 1994) *Honorary citizen of

(13 September 2000) ;Foreign *

Order of Francysk Skaryna The Order of Francysk Skaryna () is an award of Belarus. It is named after Francysk Skaryna, one of the first book printers in Cyrillic script. Order of Francysk Skaryna is a single level award that was instituted on 13 April 1995; it is awarded ...

(Belarus, 3 April 2000) – for outstanding work on the development and strengthening of the Belarusian-Russian cultural relations ;Public * Order of St. Euphrosyne, Grand Duchess of Moscow, 2nd class (Russian Orthodox Church, 2008) *The title "Living Legend" by the national Russian award "Ovation" (2002) *The award "Russian National Olympus" (2004) , - ! colspan="3" style="background: red;" ,

Ovation The ovation ( from ''ovare'': to rejoice) was a lesser form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of nations or states; when an enemy was considered basely inferior (e.g., slaves, pira ...

, - , -

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pakhmutova, Aleksandra 1929 births 20th-century Russian classical composers 20th-century Russian women composers 21st-century Russian classical composers 21st-century Russian women composers Living people Musicians from Volgograd Moscow Conservatory alumni Heroes of Labour of the Russian Federation Heroes of Socialist Labour People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Francysk Skaryna Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Recipients of the USSR State Prize Russian film score composers Russian women classical composers Soviet film score composers Soviet women classical composers