Mark Anatolievich Minkov (russian: Марк Анатольевич Минков; 25 November 1944 – 29 May 2012) was a Soviet / Russian music composer. His music is featured in a number of

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s, stage performances, and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s. He composed the scores for more than a hundred

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...

and

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s, including ''

Investigation Held by ZnaToKi ''Investigation Led by ZnaToKi'', or ''Investigation Led by Experts'' (russian: Следствие ведут ЗнаТоКи, translit. ''Sledstvie vedut ZnaToKi'') was a popular 1971-1989 Soviet detective TV-series with two Russian series (2 ...

'' (1985), ''

We Are from Jazz ''We Are from Jazz'' (russian: Мы из джаза, My iz dzhaza) is a 1983 Soviet comedy musical film by Karen Shahnazarov. Plot A student is expelled from music school because he loves jazz, and jazz at that time (the film depicts the 1920s) ...

'' (1983), '' Neznayka with Our Court'' (1983) and the '' In port'' animated film. His awards included an Honoured Cultural Worker of Russia Federation, Laureate Awards of the All-

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and International composer contests. He was the President of the Russian Cinematic Composers Guild, an acting member of the Russian Cinematic Academy

Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars. History The award was established i ...

, a member of the Composers Union (1970), and a member of the Cinematographers Union (1981).

Early life and career

Minkov was born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. He attended the Merzlyakovki Conservatory School where he studied composition under Nikolay Sidelnikov. He then studied under

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenian ...

at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

in 1964. He was awarded the Golden

Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

Medal (1999) for "his contribution to the development, preservation and multiplication of the national cultural traditions, help and support of the creative

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...

, and development and forming of newer styles and directions in culture". A song by Minkov based on the lyrics ''Invisible struggle'' (

translit. Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

Nezrimiy Boi - ''If somebody, somewhere among us, sometimes...'') by Anatoly Gorokhov is featured in almost all the series. It became an unofficial

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

of the

Soviet Militia ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, , mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə) was the name of the police forces in the Soviet Union (until 1991) and in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), as well as in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992). The ...

. In 2001, he was awarded the MVD Russian Interior Ministry award for the music theme to the Sledstvie vedut znatoki. In 2003, Minkov became a

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: Народный артист Российской Федерации, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an h ...

References

External links

* 1944 births 2012 deaths Russian composers Russian male composers Musicians from Moscow Soviet film score composers Male film score composers Moscow Conservatory alumni People's Artists of Russia Soviet Jews Russian Jews 20th-century Russian male musicians {{Russia-composer-stub