Dankevich, Konstantin Fedorovich

Konstantin Dankevich was born on December 11 (24), 1905 in Odessa ^[2] (now in Ukraine ).

In 1929 he graduated with honors from the Odessa Music and Drama Institute. L. van Beethoven (now - Odessa National Music Academy named after A. V. Nezhdanova ) for piano classes by M. I. Rybitskaya ^[3] . and composition by V. A. Zolotaryov , P. I. Molchanov and N. N. Vilinsky ^[4] . It was N. N. Vilinsky who, after listening to the game of the talented pianist K. F. Dankevich, insisted that he begin to engage in composition. After graduation, their creative friendship continued for decades ^[5] .

Since 1929 - a teacher of theoretical disciplines, since 1935 - Associate Professor of the Odessa Music and Drama Institute. L. van Beethoven (from 1934 - Odessa Conservatory ). In 1944 - 1951 - director of the conservatory, head of the department of composition, from 1948 - professor. He made a great contribution to the restoration of the institution after the war ^[6] . Among his students are B.V. Alekseenko, K.A. Myaskov , G.A. Miretsky, and others.

During the war, he worked in the Department of Arts under the SNK of the Georgian SSR (Tbilisi).

In 1942 - 1943 - artistic director of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the NKVD Transcaucasia in Tbilisi ^[3] .

From 1953 to 1969 - professor at the Kiev Conservatory (now the P. I. Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine ).

He performed as a pianist and conductor.

Since 1941 - member, in 1956 - 1967 - chairman of the Union of Composers of Ukraine . In 1948-1967 - member of the board of the Union of Composers of the USSR , from 1957 - his secretary. During the war he also worked in the Union of Composers of Georgia.

Member of the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR of the 4th-6th convocations (1955-1967). Repeatedly elected as a deputy of the Kiev City Council . He was a member of the Soviet Peace Committee , chairman of the board of the Society of Romanian-Soviet Friendship, a member of the Committee on Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR in the field of literature, art and architecture under the Council of Ministers of the USSR .

He died on February 26, 1984 in Kiev . He was buried at the Bike cemetery .

• Laureate of the 1st All-Ukrainian Piano Competition (1930, Kharkov )
• Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1941) ^[7]
• People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR ^[8]
• People's Artist of the USSR (1954) ^[2]
• State Prize of the Ukrainian SSR named after T. Shevchenko ( 1978 ) - for the opera Bogdan Khmelnitsky
• Order of Lenin (11.24.1960)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1951)
• Medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
• Medal "In memory of the 1500th anniversary of Kiev . "

Operas

• “ Tragedy night ” (based on the poem by A. Bezymensky , 1934)
• "Bogdan Khmelnitsky" (dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, 1951)
• " Nazar Stodol " (based on the play by T. Shevchenko , 1960)

Ballet

• " Lilea " (based on the collection " Kobzar " T. Shevchenko , 1939)

Operetta (musical comedy)

• The Golden Keys (1943)

For orchestra

• 2 symphonies (1937 - dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the October Revolution; 1945, 2nd ed., 1947 - dedicated to the mothers of the heroes of World War II)
• symphonic suites: “Ukrainian Folk Suite” (1929), “Pedro” (1935), “No pasaran!” (1938), “Bogdan Khmelnitsky” (1940), from the ballet “Lileya” (1941)
• symphonic poems: Othello (1938), Taras Shevchenko (1939), 1917 (1955)
• Solemn Overture (1928), Solemn March (1929), Andante (1929)

For soloists, choir and symphony orchestra

• oratorio “October” (lyrics by E. Blakitny, P. Tychina , A. Bezymensky, N. Bazhan , M. Rylsky and A. Malyshko , 1957)
• poems: “In the south of the Fatherland, where the sea is noisy” (lyrics by K. Ivanov, 1955), “Poem about Ukraine” (lyrics of personalities, 1960), “Songs about humanity” (lyrics by A. Surkov , 1961),
• cantata “The dawn of communism has risen above us” (Sobstv., 1961)
• ode “Songs about Ukraine” (lyrics by A. Malyshko)

For choir and symphony orchestra

• “Song of labor reserves” (words by A. Novitsky, 1955)

For bass and orchestra

• "Monologue about Thane"

For choir with accompaniment

• cantata “Youthful greetings to Moscow” (lyrics by P. Voronko , 1954)

Choirs

• “Leninists are coming” (lyrics by V. Sosyury , 1928), “Song about Oleg Koshev” (lyrics by I. Nekhoda), “Song about Alexander Matrosov” (lyrics by K. Ivanov), “Cossack Komsomolskaya” (lyrics by I. . Zirlina), “To the Red Army” (lyrics by V. Sosyury, 1942), “Song of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya” (lyrics by P. Tychiny, 1943), “Glory to the working hands” (lyrics by A. Novitsky, 1957), “The Order on the Banner of Kiev - Lenin” (Sr. Own., 1955), “Song of Kiev” (Sr. A. Desyatnik, 1962), etc.

Other works

• chamber-instrumental ensembles - String Quartet (1929), Trio for violin, cello and piano (1930)
• for piano: Sonata (1928), Three Pieces (1928), Poem (1956)
• for violin and piano: “Song and Dance” (1930)
• for voice and piano: Suite “Pastels” (lyrics by P. Tychiny, 1930)
• romances (10), songs (about 100) on the next A. Pushkin , M. Lermontov , T. Shevchenko, I. Franko , M. Rylsky, M. Aliger , P. Tychina, V. Sosyury, S. Rudansky , etc.
• processing of Ukrainian and Russian folk songs (6)
• music for films and dramatic performances (about 20): “Yaroslav the Wise” by I. Kochergi (1946, Kharkov ), “ Boris Godunov ” by A. Pushkin (1937, Odessa), “ Othello ” (1937, Odessa), “ A lot of noise from nothing ”(1939, Kiev ),“ Hamlet ”(1956) by W. Shakespeare , Masquerade of M. Lermontov (1949, Odessa),“ The Servant of two masters ” K. Goldoni (1934),“ Pravda ”(1937),“ Bogdan Khmelnitsky "(1939)," The death of the squadron "(1951) A. Korneychuk and others.

Filmography

• 1938 - Pedro (Short)
• 1939 - Squadron No. 5
• 1956 - Three hundred years ago ...
• 1957 - True
• 1957 - The Born of the Storm
• 1958 - Lilea

Alexander Sokol ^[9] , rector of the Odessa State Music Academy named after A.V. Nezhdanova, recalls Dankevich:

... Then, suddenly, standing, without warning, completely unexpectedly walked on the keys (flashed passages from Debussy or Ravel), then again and again, and "that was all." I never heard anyone play the piano like that. With his huge hand with thick puffy fingers, he extracted the most delicate, shimmering, incredible airiness and precisely pianistic colorfulness passages. This performance of passages - just like “lying in music is syphilis” - is impossible to forget. Then he could do anything with us. He played, sang, recited, portrayed an orchestra, "acted", but already musically. (Later I learned that in a similar way he showed his operas in the theater, performing the parts of all the characters, reciting, playing, commenting, explaining). Before our eyes, the theater opera was transformed into an oratory mono opera.

And it seemed to me in the end that he was twice brilliant - as a dramatic actor and as a performer. As a composer, he only tried to merge these two hypostases into one. And all this later manifested itself, merging into one grand personality of the “MAN-ARTIST” (composer, performer, speaker, poet, organizer, teacher, etc.). ^[10] .

Conductor Igor Blazhkov sets his accents:

Dankevich is a person. Like in the opera-buff where the bass character should be, meeting the specific requirements of the era. At all government concerts, he performed with the same number - he sang his song to his own text with his own accompaniment. For the next concert - he will write a new one, but with approximately the same content. He was a healthy man, huge. As I remember now: the piano on the sloping stage of the October Palace suddenly starts to ride. And he, continuing to sing about the party and playing with his left hand, draws him like a feather to his right! ^[eleven]

• Since 1984, the name of K. Dankevich has been the Odessa School of Arts and Culture.
• In 1985, in Kiev, on the house on 21 Pushkinskaya Street, where the composer lived from 1952 to 1984, a memorial plaque (bronze; bas-relief; sculptor A. A. Kovalev , architect O. B. Ivantsov) was installed.
• In 1987, in Kiev, in Troieschyna , a street was named after the composer.

• Dankevich Konstantin Fedorovich - article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .