Composer of the Week – Dmitry Kabalevsky

Happy Birthday to Russian composer Dmitry Kabalevsky, who was born today in 1904. Kabalevsky was a great composer of piano and orchestral works, and also wrote a number of operas. Kabalevsky was a member of the communist party, and a leading figure of the Union of Soviet Composers. Although he was, for a very brief time, considered to be one of those composers following the musical traditions of the West, he didn’t have the troubles of some of his contemporaries, such as Prokofiev or Shostakovich.

Kabalevsky is well-known in Russia for his work in music education. He taught music to children, in addition to setting up music education programs in Soviet schools. Many of his works were intended as pieces to bridge the gap between the simpler pieces designed for children learn and the advanced pieces of a professional musician.

Here’s the beginning of his Piano Concerto No. 3:

And a cool old recording of his Concerto No. 1 for cello:

And to round out the concertos, his Violin Concerto in C Major: