Khrennikovsky seven

The Khrennikov Seven , or the Khrennikov Seven , is a group of seven Russian Soviet composers that were severely criticized at the VI Congress of the Union of Composers in November 1979 in a speech by Tikhon Nikolaevich Khrennikov . The reason for criticism was the unauthorized inclusion of the music of these composers in the programs of music festivals in Cologne and Venice . Khrennikov described their compositions as written: “only for unusual timbre combinations and eccentric effects”, in which “musical thought, if present, is hopelessly drowning in a stream of frantic noises, sharp cries or unintelligible murmurs ... Do they represent our country, our music? ” ^{[1] The} tone of the speech was reminded of the I Congress of the Union of Composers of 1948, which criticized the music of Sergei Prokofiev , Dmitry Shostakovich , Nikolai Myaskovsky and others. Seven composers were listed in the following order:

1. Elena Firsova
2. Dmitry Smirnov
3. Alexander Kneifel
4. Victor Suslin
5. Vyacheslav Artyomov
6. Sofia Gubaidulina
7. Edison Denisov .

At the congress, these composers were officially boycotted. Over the next few years, their names made up the "black list" on radio, television and in concert organizations. By 1991, four out of seven (except for Edison Denisov, Alexander Kneifel and Vyacheslav Artyomov) left the USSR.