Sviridov’s music combines originality and sophistication, expressiveness, refined simplicity and deep spirituality. “This music is forever. It has the pulse of a life free of the political fuss. It has time that goes on forever, in spite of all historical disasters, blows of fate and irreparable loss. ” This is how film director M. Schweider spoke about her. One can hardly find an indifferent person whose heart would not freeze in admiration for her sounds. A short biography of Sviridov gives an idea of the life and work of the famous composer. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with it in this article.
Great Russian composer George Sviridov
Even during his lifetime, admirers called Georgy Vasilyevich Sviridov (12/03/1915-06.01.1998) a great Russian composer.
The musician was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor, in addition, he is a Leninist laureate and three times State Prize laureate, as well as the holder of many state awards.
Short biography of Sviridov: childhood and adolescence
The hometown of Sviridov is Fatezh (Kursk region). The composer's father was a postal worker, actively supported the Bolsheviks, and participated in the civil war. Mother worked as a teacher at school and was more liberal, she never shared her husband’s political aspirations.
When the boy was four years old, his father died in one of the clashes of the Bolsheviks with the enemy. Mother and son were left alone, without a breadwinner and livelihood. They moved to Kursk, closer to their mother’s distant relatives. Here, the future composer went to first grade.
At a very young age, he showed a talent and passion for literature. Sviridov attends classes in school circles, is actively involved in theatrical productions and even composes poems. An eight-year-old child knew many domestic and foreign authors, he was even able to analyze their work. But literature was not the only hobby of young Sviridov.
Musical talent. Conservatory
A short biography of Sviridov talks about the first manifestations of his musical talent. Once he was to perform in the school play as a hero playing the balalaika. The future composer learned the game on this instrument in a short time. Thus began his love of music. Soon he began to compose his own tunes, picked up well-known motives by ear.
In 1936, George Sviridov became a student at the Leningrad Conservatory. Here he learns musical art from such famous composers as Shostakovich and Ryazanov. A year later, on the recommendation of Ryazanov, he was accepted into the Union of Composers of Russia.
War. The first musical compositions
At the beginning of World War II, Georgy Sviridov entered the Leningrad Military School, from which he was expelled due to poor health. He leaves for Novosibirsk, where he composes various songs and melodies, writes works for evacuated theaters, and participates in many local productions.
Creation
Georgy Sviridov throughout his life idolized poetry and prose of Pushkin. The first works of the composer were created as a musical illustration for the works of the great poet. The most famous of those that Sviridov paid attention to is “Snowstorm”.
All works created by the composer are difficult to list. These are pieces for piano, romances, sonatas, symphonic compositions. He is known to the general public as the author of music for more than ten films. Among them: Przhevalsky, Virgin Soil Upturned, Rimsky-Korsakov, Time, Forward, etc.
According to bibliographers and critics, the influence of Sviridov on Russian classical music of that time is truly enormous. In his work, he, like no other, was able to emphasize the breadth of the soul, the original culture of the Russian people.
Personal life
A brief biography of Sviridov contains information about the personal life of the musician. His wife Elsa Gustavovna at one time conquered the musician with beauty and good taste. They met at one of his concerts. After the composer’s performance, the girl approached him to express admiration for his work. Young people at first sight fell in love with each other. A few months later they got married and lived happily ever after.
The musician died in 1998. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
Snowstorm
Since the mid-1950s, the composer has his own bright and original style. He tries to write works that are exclusively Russian in nature. According to biographers, of all the seasons, the composer loved winter most of all. He believed that winter is the most suitable time for a vivid expression of the nature of Russia. He illustrated the beautiful northern winters in his works with particular inspiration. One of the most striking works in which Sviridov musically reflected the Russian winter is “Snowstorm”.
“Winter is incomprehensibly felt in his music ...”
The music for the film "Blizzard", created on the basis of Pushkin's story, was written by George Sviridov in 1964. The listeners loved her very much, the work was often performed on the air of radio and television programs.
In 1974, on the advice of his wife, a true connoisseur and connoisseur of his work, Sviridov made a thorough revision of the score. The composition received the status of an independent work and became known as “Musical illustrations for the story of A.S. Pushkin's "Snowstorm". World fame came to him after the performance by a symphony orchestra, conducted by the famous V. Fedoseev. Critics noted that in the run of the Sviridov Troika (the first part) "the presence of winter is incomprehensibly felt ..."
Plot
Everyone knows the plot of the story of Pushkin, according to which, responding to the request of the director of the film V.P. Basov, created Sviridov "Blizzard".
The story is slightly ironic and crafty. It is considered one of the classic examples of Russian literature. Pushkin retold an anecdotal story about a provincial young lady who, by the will of fate, married an accidental stranger, as her fiance got lost in a snowstorm. The story, however, ends happily: a new love is born.
Georgy Sviridov left the Pushkin plot. His music, it would seem, is not connected with the plot of the story. She is an independent protagonist of the picture, only sometimes intertwined in some fragments. The irony of the literary work disappeared from it. But something else appeared - poetry, sincerity. She became a real masterpiece and immediately found her own life. Critics have noted her amazing tangibility. It is generally recognized that the music of “Snowstorm” can not only be heard, it can be seen firsthand: genre scenes are held in front of the listener, nature paintings are opened, a ball unfolds against the backdrop of a waltz.
Recycling for Suite
In 1973, the composer again turned to this music. He remade the fragments scattered throughout the film into one. The suite was completed in 1974.
The magnificent music of George Sviridov will be discussed and interpreted for a long time. She has one truly great quality: the paintings she painted seem to grow from the depths of our genetic memory.