Isaak Dunayevsky: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Latest revision as of 19:20, 23 December 2024

Isaak Osipovich Dunayevsky (Russian: Исаак Осипович Дунаевский listen^ⓘ; also transliterated as Dunaevski or Dunaevskiy; 30 January [O.S. 18 January] 1900 – 25 July 1955) was a Soviet film composer and conductor of the 1930s and 1940s, who composed music for operetta and film comedies, frequently working with the film director Grigori Aleksandrov.^[1]^[2]

Biography

Dunayevsky was born to a Jewish family in Lokhvytsia in the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Myrhorod Raion, Poltava Oblast, Ukraine) in 1900. He studied at the Kharkiv Musical School in 1910 where he studied violin under Konstanty Gorski and Joseph Achron. During this period he started to study the theory of music under Semyon Bogatyrev (1890–1960). He graduated in 1919 from the Kharkiv National Kotlyarevsky University of Arts. At first he was a violinist, the leader of the orchestra in Kharkov. Then he started a conducting career. In 1924 he went to Moscow to run the Theatre Hermitage. In 1929 he worked for the first time for a music hall ("To the icy place") with the Moscow music hall. Later, he worked in Leningrad (1929–1941) as a director and conductor of the Saint Petersburg Music Hall (1929–34), and then moved to Moscow to work on his own operettas and film music.

Dunayevsky wrote 14 operettas, 3 ballets, 3 cantatas, 80 choruses, 80 songs and romances, music for 88 plays and 42 films, 43 compositions for light music orchestra and 12 for jazz orchestra, 17 melodeclamations, 52 compositions for symphony orchestra and 47 piano compositions and a string quartet.

He was one of the first composers in the Soviet Union to start using jazz. He wrote the music for three of the most important films of the pre-war Stalinist era, Jolly Fellows, Circus and the film said to be Stalin's favorite film Volga-Volga, all directed by Grigori Aleksandrov.

In a reply to the British book The World of Music, he listed the following as his chief works: The Golden Valley operetta (1937), The Free Wind operetta (1947), and music to the films Circus (1935) and The Kuban Cossacks (1949).

He died of a heart attack in Moscow in 1955. His last piece, the operetta White Acacia (1955), was left unfinished at his death. It was completed by Kirill Molchanov and staged on 15 November 1955, in Moscow.

A previously unknown opera libretto Rachel (1943) by Mikhail Bulgakov, was later found in his archive. The libretto was based on Guy de Maupassant's Mademoiselle Fifi and was published in a book by Naum Shafer (see references and links below).

A book of his essays and memoirs was published in 1961.

Honors

Dunayevsky was named a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1950. He was twice awarded the Stalin Prize (1941, 1951) and received two orders and many medals (including Order of the Red Banner of Labour, Order of the Red Star, and Order of the Badge of Honour).

Family

His brother Semyon (1906–1986) was a conductor; another brother, Zinovy (1908–1981), was a composer.

Dunayevsky was married once. He had a son Yevgeny (b. 1932) by his wife Zinaida Sudeikina, and another son Maksim (b. 1945) by his lover, the ballerina Zoya Pashkova (1922—30.01.1991).^[3] Maksim is also a well-known composer.

The American journalist Vladislav Davidzon is a descendent of the composer.^[4]

The American drag performer Plane Jane (Andrew Dunayevskiy), who appeared on Season 16 of RuPaul's Drag Race, is a distant relative of Dunayevsky.^[5]

Works

The Tranquillity of the Faun, ballet (1924)
Murzilka, ballet for children (1924)
For Us and You, operetta (1924)
Bridegrooms (Женихи), operetta (1926)
The Knives (Ножи), operetta (1928)
To the icy place, operetta (1929)
Million Langours, operetta (1932)
Jolly Fellows (Весёлые ребята), film music (1934), including "Serdtse"
Three Friends (Три товарища), film music (1935)
Late for a Date (Девушка спешит на свидание), film music (1936)
Seekers of Happiness (Искатели счастья), film music (1936)
Circus (Цирк), film music (1936)
The Children of Captain Grant (Дети капитана Гранта), film music (1936), including two songs and the famous orchestral overture
The Golden Valley (Золотая долина), operetta (1937)
Volga-Volga (Волга-Волга), film music (1938)
The Roads to Happiness (Дороги к счастью), operetta (1939)
My Love (Моя любовь). film music (1940)
Moscow, suite for solo voices, chorus and orchestra (1941)
The Wind of Liberty (Вольный ветер), operetta (1947)
Cossacks of the Kuban (Кубанские казаки), film music (1949)
The Son of the Clown (Сын клоуна), operetta (1950)
Glory of the Railwaymen, cantata
Our Homeland May Flourish!, cantata
Ballet Suite for orchestra
Suite on Chinese themes, orchestra
Rhapsody on Songs of the people of the Soviet Union, jazz orchestra
The Music Store, jazz orchestra
String Quartet
Song of the Fatherland, film music
Requiem, narrator and quintet
Song of Stalin, chorus and orchestra
White Acacia (Белая акация), operetta (1955, completed by Kirill Molchanov)
Quiet, Everything Quiet (Тихо, всё тихо), the sign-off tune of the Soviet television until 1991.

Also:

Songs
Pieces for chamber orchestra
Incidental music for theatre and cinema

Bibliography

Kommissarskaya, M Dunayevsky, the article in "Tvorcheskiye biografii Kompozitorov", Moscow, 1989 (in Russian)
Shafer, Naum “Dunayevsky Today” Moscow, Sovetsky Kompozitor, 1988 (in Russian)

References

^ Richard Taylor, Nancy Wood, Julian Graffy, Dina Iordanova (2019). The BFI Companion to Eastern European and Russian Cinema. Bloomsbury. p. 1937. ISBN 978-1838718497.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Peter Rollberg (2009). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 197–199. ISBN 978-0-8108-6072-8.
^ "Zoia Pashkova Biography". kino-teatr.ru (in Russian). Russia.
^ "Yevgeniy Fiks' Gay, Communist, Yiddish Utopia". 4 December 2018.
^ Plane Jane and Lieutenant Brigadier General Cuhntalina Badussy with Katya | The Bald & the Beautiful. Retrieved 2024-04-09 – via www.youtube.com.

External links

[1] Richard Taylor, Nancy Wood, Julian Graffy, Dina Iordanova (2019). The BFI Companion to Eastern European and Russian Cinema. Bloomsbury. p. 1937. ISBN 978-1838718497.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[2] Peter Rollberg (2009). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 197–199. ISBN 978-0-8108-6072-8.

[3] "Zoia Pashkova Biography". kino-teatr.ru (in Russian). Russia.

[4] "Yevgeniy Fiks' Gay, Communist, Yiddish Utopia". 4 December 2018.

[5] Plane Jane and Lieutenant Brigadier General Cuhntalina Badussy with Katya | The Bald & the Beautiful. Retrieved 2024-04-09 – via www.youtube.com.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Soviet composer and conductor (1900–1955)}}
 [[File:Isaak Dunaevsky.jpg|thumb|200px|Isaak Dunayevsky]]
-'''Isaak Osipovich Dunayevsky''' ({{lang-ru|''Исаак Осипович Дунаевский''}}; also [[Transliteration|transliterated]] as '''Dunaevski''' or '''Dunaevsky'''; {{OldStyleDate|30 January|1900|18&nbsp;January}}{{spaced ndash}}25 July 1955) was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[film]] [[composer]] and conductor of the 1930s and 1940s, who achieved huge success in music for [[operetta]] and film comedies, frequently working with the film director [[Grigori Aleksandrov]]. He is considered one of the greatest Soviet composers of all time. Many of his songs are very well known and held in high regard in Russia and the former [[Soviet Union]].
+'''Isaak Osipovich Dunayevsky''' ({{langx|ru|Исаак Осипович Дунаевский}} {{Audio|Ru-Isaak Osipovich Dunayevsky.ogg|listen}}; also [[Transliteration|transliterated]] as '''Dunaevski''' or '''Dunaevskiy'''; {{OldStyleDate|30 January|1900|18&nbsp;January}}{{spaced ndash}}25 July 1955) was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] film composer and conductor of the 1930s and 1940s, who composed music for [[operetta]] and film comedies, frequently working with the film director [[Grigori Aleksandrov]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The BFI Companion to Eastern European and Russian Cinema|page=1937|author=Richard Taylor, Nancy Wood, Julian Graffy, Dina Iordanova|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-1838718497|date=2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema|author=Peter Rollberg|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2009|place=US|isbn=978-0-8108-6072-8|pages=197–199}}</ref>
 ==Biography==
-[[Image:Loktionov Aleksandrov Dunajevskij Pokrass Moskvin.jpg|thumb|left|Komandarm [[Aleksandr Loktionov|A. D. Loktionov]], composer [[Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov|Alexander Alexandrov]], Isaak Dunayevsky, [[Dmitry Pokrass]] and artist [[Ivan Moskvin]]]]
-Dunayevsky was born to a [[Jewish]] family in [[Lokhvitsa]], [[Poltava Governorate]], [[Russian Empire]] in 1900.  He studied at the [[Kharkov]] Musical School in 1910 where he studied [[violin]] under [[Konstanty Gorski]] and [[Joseph Achron]]. During this period he started to study the theory of music under [[Semyon Bogatyrev]] (1890–1960). He graduated in 1919 from the [[Kharkov Conservatory]]. At first he was a violinist, the leader of the orchestra in Kharkov. Then he started a conducting career. In 1924 he went to [[Moscow]] to run the Theatre Hermitage. After that he worked in [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]] (1929–1941) as a director and conductor of the "Music-Hall" (1929–34) and then moved to Moscow to work on his operettas and film music.
+Dunayevsky was born to a [[Jews|Jewish]] family in [[Lokhvytsia]] in the [[Poltava Governorate]] of the [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Myrhorod Raion]], [[Poltava Oblast]], [[Ukraine]]) in 1900. He studied at the [[Kharkiv]] Musical School in 1910 where he studied [[violin]] under [[Konstanty Gorski]] and [[Joseph Achron]]. During this period he started to study the theory of music under [[Semyon Bogatyrev]] (1890–1960). He graduated in 1919 from the [[Kharkiv National Kotlyarevsky University of Arts]]. At first he was a violinist, the leader of the orchestra in Kharkov. Then he started a conducting career. In 1924 he went to [[Moscow]] to run the Theatre Hermitage. In 1929 he worked for the first time for a music hall ("To the icy place") with the [[Moscow music hall]]. Later, he worked in [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]] (1929–1941) as a director and conductor of the [[Saint Petersburg Music Hall]] (1929–34), and then moved to Moscow to work on his own operettas and film music.
 Dunayevsky wrote 14 operettas, 3 ballets, 3 cantatas, 80 choruses, 80 songs and romances, music for 88 plays and 42 films, 43 compositions for light music orchestra and 12 for jazz orchestra, 17 [[melodeclamation]]s, 52 compositions for symphony orchestra and 47 piano compositions and a string quartet.
-He was one of the first composers in the [[Soviet Union]] to start using [[jazz]]. His music was accessible to the masses, with melodious and memorable tunes that secured his success.  He wrote the music for three of the most important films of the pre-war Stalinist era, ''[[Jolly Fellows]]'', ''[[Circus (1936 film)|Circus]]'' and the film said to be Stalin's favourite film ''[[Volga-Volga]]'', all directed by [[Grigori Aleksandrov]].
+He was one of the first composers in the [[Soviet Union]] to start using [[jazz]]. He wrote the music for three of the most important films of the pre-war Stalinist era, ''[[Jolly Fellows]]'', ''[[Circus (1936 film)|Circus]]'' and the film said to be Stalin's favorite film ''[[Volga-Volga]]'', all directed by [[Grigori Aleksandrov]].
 In a reply to the British book ''The World of Music'', he listed the following as his chief works: ''The Golden Valley'' operetta (1937), ''The Free Wind'' operetta (1947), and music to the films ''Circus'' (1935) and ''The Kuban Cossacks'' (1949).
@@ Line 15: / Line 16: @@
 He died of a heart attack in Moscow in 1955. His last piece, the operetta ''White Acacia'' (1955), was left unfinished at his death. It was completed by Kirill Molchanov and staged on 15 November 1955, in Moscow.
-A previously unknown opera libretto ''Rachel'' (1943) by [[Mikhail Bulgakov]], was later found in his archive.  The libretto was based on [[Guy de Maupassant]]'s ''[[Mademoiselle Fifi (book)|Mademoiselle Fifi]]'' and was published in a book by Naum Shafer (see references and links below).
+A previously unknown opera libretto ''Rachel'' (1943) by [[Mikhail Bulgakov]], was later found in his archive. The libretto was based on [[Guy de Maupassant]]'s ''[[Mademoiselle Fifi (short story collection)|Mademoiselle Fifi]]'' and was published in a book by [[Naum Shafer]] (see references and links below).
 A book of his essays and memoirs was published in 1961.
-==Honours==
+==Honors==
-Dunayevsky was named a [[People's Artist of Russia]] in 1950. He was twice awarded the [[Stalin Prize]] (1941, 1951) and received two orders and many medals (including the Order of the Red Labour Banner, the Order of the Red Star, and the Badge of Honour).
+Dunayevsky was named a [[People's Artist of the RSFSR]] in 1950. He was twice awarded the [[USSR State Prize|Stalin Prize]] (1941, 1951) and received two orders and many medals (including [[Order of the Red Banner of Labour]], [[Order of the Red Star]], and [[Order of the Badge of Honour]]).
 ==Family==
 His brother Semyon (1906–1986) was a conductor; another brother, Zinovy (1908–1981), was a composer.
-Dunayevsky was married once. He had a son Yevgeny (b. 1932) by his wife Zinaida Sudeikina, and another son [[Maksim Dunayevsky|Maksim]] (b. 1945) by his lover, the ballerina Zoya Pashkova. Maksim is also a well-known composer.
+Dunayevsky was married once. He had a son Yevgeny (b. 1932) by his wife Zinaida Sudeikina, and another son [[Maksim Dunayevsky|Maksim]] (b. 1945) by his lover, the ballerina Zoya Pashkova (1922—30.01.1991).<ref>{{cite web |title=Zoia Pashkova Biography |url=https://www.kino-teatr.ru/teatr/acter/enwiki/w/sov/398137/bio/ |website=kino-teatr.ru |location=Russia |language=Russian}}</ref> Maksim is also a well-known composer.
+The American journalist [[Vladislav Davidzon]] is a descendent of the composer.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/yevgeniy-fiks-gay-communist-yiddish-utopia | title=Yevgeniy Fiks' Gay, Communist, Yiddish Utopia | date=4 December 2018 }}</ref>
-His daughter Alina (granddaughter of Isaak), who is living in France (was born in 1983 in Moscow), is continuing her grandfather's and her father's traditions. She is an author-composer, dancer, model and singer. She is the founder of her pop-rock-electro band Markize in Paris. She is well known in rock circles of Europe and Russia. She has issued two albums (one edited and reedited in France and in Russia), several video-clips and several singles. She made a great number of international concerts. In 2009 she was invited as a Guest of Honor to sing in duet with a French pop-singer. She was also invoted to take part in projects of other different artists and has her fan-clubs in different countries.
-Alina Dunaevskaya: www.alina-dunaevskaya.com
+The American drag performer [[Plane Jane]] (Andrew Dunayevskiy), who appeared on [[RuPaul's Drag Race season 16|Season 16]] of [[RuPaul's Drag Race]], is a distant relative of Dunayevsky.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5wnqlALePk |title=Plane Jane and Lieutenant Brigadier General Cuhntalina Badussy with Katya {{!}} The Bald & the Beautiful |language=en |access-date=2024-04-09 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref>
 ==Works==
@@ Line 36: / Line 38: @@
 *''Bridegrooms'' (''Женихи''), operetta (1926)
 *''The Knives'' (''Ножи''), operetta (1928)
-*''Polar Passions'', operetta (1928)
+*''To the icy place'', operetta (1929)
 *''Million Langours'', operetta (1932)
-*''[[Jolly Fellows (1934 film)|Jolly Fellows]]'' (''Весёлые ребята''), film music (1934), including "[[Serdtse]]"
+*''[[Jolly Fellows]]'' (''Весёлые ребята''), film music (1934), including "[[Serdtse (song)|Serdtse]]"
 *''Three Friends'' (''Три товарища''), film music (1935)
+*''[[Late for a Date]]'' (''Девушка спешит на свидание''), film music (1936)
 *''[[Seekers of Happiness]]'' (''Искатели счастья''), film music (1936)
 *''[[Circus (1936 film)|Circus]]'' (''Цирк''), film music (1936)
-*''[[The Children of Captain Grant (film)|The Children of Captain Grant]]'' (''Дети капитана Гранта''), film music (1936)
+*''[[The Children of Captain Grant (film)|The Children of Captain Grant]]'' (''Дети капитана Гранта''), film music (1936), including two songs and the famous orchestral overture
 *''The Golden Valley'' (''Золотая долина''), operetta (1937)
 *''[[Volga-Volga]]'' (''Волга-Волга''), film music (1938)
@@ Line 62: / Line 65: @@
 *''Song of Stalin'', chorus and orchestra
 *''White Acacia'' (''Белая акация''), operetta (1955, completed by [[Kirill Molchanov]])
+* ''Quiet, Everything Quiet'' (Тихо, всё тихо), the sign-off tune of the Soviet television until 1991.
 Also:
@@ Line 67: / Line 71: @@
 *Pieces for chamber orchestra
 *[[Incidental music]] for theatre and cinema
-==External links==
-*[http://home.wanadoo.nl/ovar/dunayev.htm Ovar]
-*[http://shafer.pavlodar.com/works/book1.htm Naum Shafer, “Dunayevsky Today”)]
 ==See also==
-* [[Maksim Dunayevsky]] - son
+* [[Maksim Dunayevsky]]
-* [[Donajowsky]] - fictional Russian composer
 ==Bibliography==
-*Kommissarskaya, M. Dunayevsky, the article in "Tvorcheskiye biografii Kompozitorov",  Moscow, 1989 {{ru icon}}
+*Kommissarskaya, M Dunayevsky, the article in "Tvorcheskiye biografii Kompozitorov", Moscow, 1989 {{in lang|ru}}
-*Shafer, Naum “Dunayevsky Today” Moscow, Sovetsky Kompozitor, 1988 {{ru icon}}
+*Shafer, Naum “Dunayevsky Today” Moscow, Sovetsky Kompozitor, 1988 {{in lang|ru}}
+== References ==
-{{Authority control}}
+<references/>
+==External links==
+*[http://odessareview.com/isaak-dunayevsky-red-mozart-soviet-cinema/ Isaak Dunayevsky: The Red Mozart Of Soviet Cinema]
+*[https://www.jewishgen.org/Ukraine/OTW_Bios_Stamps_Dunayevsky.asp Famous Ukrainian Jews Commemorated on Postage Stamps-Isaak Dunayevsky]
+*[https://russkiymir.ru/en/publications/268744/ The heart grows light with a joyful song:120th birthday of Isaak Dunayevsky]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060915061350/http://home.wanadoo.nl/ovar/dunayev.htm Ovar]
+*[http://shafer.pavlodar.com/works/book1.htm Naum Shafer, “Dunayevsky Today”]
+{{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunayevsky, Isaak}}
 [[Category:1900 births]]
 [[Category:1955 deaths]]
-[[Category:People from Lokhvytsia Raion]]
+[[Category:20th-century classical musicians]]
-[[Category:People from Poltava Governorate]]
+[[Category:20th-century composers]]
-[[Category:Ukrainian Jews]]
+[[Category:20th-century conductors (music)]]
+[[Category:20th-century Ukrainian musicians]]
+[[Category:People from Lokhvitsky Uyezd]]
+[[Category:People from Poltava Oblast]]
+[[Category:Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]]
+[[Category:People's Artists of the RSFSR]]
+[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour]]
+[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour]]
+[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Star]]
+[[Category:Recipients of the Stalin Prize]]
+[[Category:Light music composers]]
+[[Category:Male film score composers]]
+[[Category:Jewish classical musicians]]
 [[Category:Jewish composers]]
-[[Category:Russian composers]]
+[[Category:Jewish Ukrainian musicians]]
-[[Category:Male composers]]
+[[Category:Male operetta composers]]
-[[Category:Soviet composers]]
+[[Category:Soviet classical musicians]]
-[[Category:People's Artists of Russia]]
+[[Category:Soviet conductors (music)]]
-[[Category:Stalin Prize winners]]
 [[Category:Soviet film score composers]]
-[[Category:Male film score composers]]
+[[Category:Soviet male composers]]
 [[Category:Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery]]
-[[Category:20th-century classical musicians]]
-[[Category:20th-century composers]]

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF FAST WorldCat
National	Germany United States France BnF data Italy Czech Republic Spain Netherlands Latvia Sweden Poland Israel Finland Belgium
Academics	CiNii
Artists	MusicBrainz FID
People	Deutsche Biographie DDB
Other	IdRef SNAC