Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Ovchinnikov (; 29 May 1936 in

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

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 ...

– 4 February 2019 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 ...

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 ...

) was a Soviet and Russian composer.

Biography

He began composing at age 9 and entered 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 ...

at 15. Later he studied with

Tikhon Khrennikov Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov (; – 14 August 2007) was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist, and General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers (1948–1991), who was also known for his political activities. He wrote three symphonies, f ...

and

Leo Ginzburg Leo Moritsevich Ginzburg (Лео Морицевич Гинзбург) (Warsaw, Vistula Land, Russian Empire April 12, 1901 – Moscow, Soviet Union November 1, 1979) was a Soviet conductor and pianist of Polish Jewish origin. He conducted the Mos ...

. He composed

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ( ...

s, as well as works for

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

, small ensembles and solo instruments. Outside his native country he is best known as a composer of music for such films as ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

'', the 1966–67 film directed by

Sergei Bondarchuk Sergei Fyodorovich Bondarchuk (25 September 192020 October 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actor and filmmaker of Ukrainian origin who was one of the leading figures of Soviet cinema in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He is known for his sweeping p ...

, ''

Ivan's Childhood ''Ivan's Childhood'' (), sometimes released as ''My Name Is Ivan'' in the US, is a 1962 Soviet war drama film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. Co-written by Mikhail Papava, Andrei Konchalovsky and an uncredited Tarkovsky, it is based on Vladimir Bo ...

'' and ''

Andrei Rublev Andrei Rublev (, ; ) was a Russian artist considered to be one of the greatest medieval Russian painters of Orthodox Christian icons and frescoes. He is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and his feast day is 29 January. Ear ...

'' for

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...

. He has composed for some 40 films in total. Tarkovsky is said to have been so impressed by Ovchinnikov that he stated: "I cannot imagine a better composer for myself than Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov." Ovchinnikov also had a successful career as a touring conductor from the 1970s. He has recorded for

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 ...

, the Russian record company. His Symphony No. 2 was released on the Melodiya label. Ovchinnikov was named a

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 ...

in 1986. For the 60th birthday (1992) of Queen

Sirikit Sirikit (born ''Mom Rajawongse'' Sirikit Kitiyakara; 12 August 1932) is a member of the Thai royal family who was List of Thai royal consorts#Rattanakosin Kingdom, Queen of Thailand from 28 April 1950 to 13 October 2016 as the wife of King Bhum ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, he was commissioned to compose ''The Bouquet for the Queen''. For that work he was awarded the

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

. He was also a professor at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

from 1990 to 1991.

Compositions

Orchestral

* 1955-57: Symphony No. 1 * 1955-57: Six Symphonic Suites (for full orchestra) * 1956: Symphony No. ''2, Yuri Gagarin'' (symphonic poem, dedicated to

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...

, rev. 1972–73) * 1964: Symphony No. 3 * 1986: Symphony No. 4 for Chorus and Orchestra * 1991: Symphony No. 5

Opera

* 1974-78: On the Dawn of the Misty Youth

Ballet

* 1962: Sulamith * 1988: Song of Songs * Song of Spring Thaw * Dedication (One act, collaboration with ''V.Kicta''

For piano

* Suite No. 1 (for piano) * Suite No. 2 (for piano, four hands)

Choral music

* 2015: ''Elegy in Memory of Rachmaninoff,'' for Soprano, Chorus, and Orchestra (Written for the 100th Anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff Concert) *''There is Sky Lighted Edge'', for a-capella Chorus (words by A. Block) *''Vocaliz'', for a-capella Chorus *''Little Ballade,'' for a-capella Chorus (words by R. Burns) *''Singing for You,'' for a-capella Chorus *''Be Famed, Native Land,'' for Chorus and Orchestra (words by L.Vasilieva) *''Wind brought from Afar'', for a-capella Chorus (words by A. Block) *''Autumnal'', for Chorus (words by V.Firsov)

Cantata

* ''Song-Ballade about BAM Builders'', for Orchestra, Symphony, and Bass soloist (words by L. Vasilieva)

Oratorio

* ''Seasons'', for Orchestra, Symphony, and SATB soloists (folk lyrics arranged by V.Firsov) * ''Sergei Radonezhsky'', for Orchestra, Symphony, AB soloists (folk lyrics)

Accompaniment Music

* 1973: ''Scene of Action -- Russia'' (in collaboration with D.Gendelev) * ''2001'' (play by S. MIkhailov, premiered at The A. Bryantsev Youth Theater) * ''Full Turn Around'' (based on

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

's analogous story, directed by A. Tarkovsky)

Arrangements

* Select Arrangements of Rachmaninoff's Choral Works

Filmography

* '' The Steamroller and the Violin'' (1960) * '' The Boy and the Dove'' (1961) * ''

'' (1962) * '' The First Teacher'' (1965) * ''

'' (1966–1967) * ''

'' (1966) * '' A Long Happy Life'' (1966) * '' A Nest of Gentry'' (1969) * '' A Soldier Came Back from the Front'' (1971) * ''

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

'' (1972 restored version) * '' That Sweet Word: Liberty!'' (1972) * ''

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

'' (1972 restored version) * ''

Zvenigora ''Zvenigora'' () is a 1928 Soviet silent film by Ukrainian director Alexander Dovzhenko, first shown on 13 April 1928. This was the fourth film by Dovzhenko, but the first one which was widely reviewed and discussed in the media. This was a ...

'' (1973 restored version) * '' They Fought for Their Country'' (1975) * '' The Steppe'' (1977) * ''

Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...

'' (1986)

References

External links

Official Website of Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov (in English)
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ovchinnikov, Vyacheslav 1936 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Russian male musicians Male film score composers Moscow Conservatory alumni People's Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian film score composers Russian male composers Soviet film score composers Soviet male composers People from Voronezh