Viktor Arkadyevich Bely (; 14 January 1904 – 6 March 1983), was a Soviet

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and social activist. Bely was born in

Berdichev Berdychiv (, ) is a historic city in Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Berdychiv Raion within the oblast. It is south of the administrative center of the oblast, Zhytomyr. Its population is approximat ...

, in the

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire (1796–1917), Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–18; 1918–1921), Ukrainian State (1918), and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–19 ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(present-day

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). In 1929 he graduated from 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 ...

and later taught on the faculty of that school from 1935–1948. In 1939 he became a member of

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 ...

. He was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1952 and was named an honored artist of the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic 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 ...

in 1956. In 1980 he was endowed with the honorary title of

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 ...

.Russian Encyclopedia of Academics

Selected works

;Chamber music * ''Poème'' (Поэма) for viola and piano (1921) * Sonata for violin and piano (1953) ;Piano * ''Variations'' (Вариации) (1921) * Piano Sonata No. 1 (1923) * 2 Fugues (2 фуги) (1925) * Piano Sonata No. 2 (1926) * ''Lyrical Sonatina'' (Лирическая сонатина) (1928) * ''3 Miniatures on

Bashkortostan Bashkortostan, officially the Republic of Bashkortostan, sometimes also called Bashkiria, is a republic of Russia between the Volga river and the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. The republic borders Perm Krai to the north, Sverdlovsk Oblast ...

i Themes'' (3 миниатюры на башк. темы) (1939) * Piano Sonata No. 3 (1941) * Piano Sonata No. 4 (1946) * ''16 Preludes on Soviet Melodies'' (16 прелюдий на мелодии народов СССР) (1947) * ''5 Pieces on

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 ...

ian Folk Themes'' (5 пьес на белорусских народные темы) (1950) * ''4 Pieces on

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

i Themes'' (4 пьесы на таджикистана темы) (1955) * ''10 Pieces for Children'' (10 детских пьес) (1967)

References

1904 births 1983 deaths Soviet composers 20th-century Russian male musicians People from Berdychiv People from Berdichevsky Uyezd Moscow Conservatory alumni Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory People's Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Ukrainian Jews Russian male composers Soviet male composers {{russia-composer-stub