Vladimir Grigoryevich Zakharov (; October 18, 1901 – July 13, 1956), was a Soviet and Russian composer and choir conductor. He was born near

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loc ...

in the present-day

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

. From 1912 to 1921 he lived in the city of

Taganrog Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: History of Taganrog ...

, where he studied at the Boys Gymnasium and attended music classes by

Valerian Molla Valerian may refer to: Arts and entertainment * a fictional character in ''Valérian and Laureline'', a comics series **''Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'', a film adaptation of the comic series * an early pseudonym for Gary Numan (b ...

at the Taganrog School for Music. He graduated from the Rostov Conservatory in 1927. His long-term connection with the

Pyatnitsky Choir The Pyatnitsky Russian Folk Chorus (russian: Государственный академический русский народный хор им. М. Е. Пятницкого) is a Russian musical group which was established by Mitrofan Pyatnits ...

(since 1932) gave him many chances composing choral music. Most of his songs are in peasant way. Even sometime later, no one can tell whether one of his famous song was a composition or an arrangement of a folk piece. In the 1920s, he and other composers formed the

Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians The Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians or RAPM (russian: Российская Ассоциация Пролетарских Музыкантов, РАПМ ) was a musicians' creative union of the early Soviet period. It was founded in Jun ...

(RAPM) and became an active member of this association. Vladimir Zakharov was awarded the title of the

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significa ...

in 1944, and received three Stalin Prizes in 1942, 1946 and 1952. He joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

in 1944. In 1948 he was appointed one of the Principal Secretaries 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 193 ...

. He was an active figure in the persecution on "formalist" composers. Those who were denounced by him include Dmitri Shostakovich,

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armeni ...

Nikolai Myaskovsky Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky or Miaskovsky or Miaskowsky (russian: Никола́й Я́ковлевич Мяско́вский; pl, Mikołaj Miąskowski, syn Jakóbowy; 20 April 18818 August 1950), was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is so ...

, and

Vano Muradeli Vano Muradeli ( ka, ვანო მურადელი; russian: Вано Ильич Мурадели; in Gori – 14 August 1970, in Tomsk), was a Soviet Georgian composer. He was born in Gori, Georgia (then part of Imperial Russia) t ...

.Elizabeth Wilson - Shostakovich a life remembered

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zakharov, Vladimir Grigoryevich 1901 births 1956 deaths 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century composers 20th-century Russian conductors (music) 20th-century Russian male musicians People from Bakhmutsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members People's Artists of the USSR Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian choral conductors Russian male classical composers Russian male conductors (music) Soviet conductors (music) Soviet male classical composers Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery