Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881-1950); RUS

Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881–1950) was a Russian and Soviet composer born at Novo-Georgiyevsk, near Warsaw, into a military family. Following family expectations, he trained as a military engineer while pursuing music privately, then entered the St Petersburg Conservatory in 1906, studying composition with Anatoly Lyadov and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. After military service during World War I, he settled in Moscow and in 1921 joined the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory, where he became one of the Soviet Union’s most influential composition teachers.

Myaskovsky was among the most important Russian symphonists of the twentieth century, composing twenty-seven symphonies over the course of his career. His large output also includes thirteen string quartets, nine piano sonatas, concertos, orchestral poems, and songs. Notable works include Symphony No. 6, Symphony No. 21, Cello Concerto, and Violin Concerto. His music joins Russian Romantic traditions with a more searching modern harmonic language, while his teaching shaped generations of Soviet composers, including Aram Khachaturian, Dmitry Kabalevsky, and Vissarion Shebalin.

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Read biography at allmusic.com.