Mikhail Ivanovich Chulaki (russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Чула́ки, also transliterated as Tchulaki and Tschulaki) ( in

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...

– January 29, 1989 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 ...

) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Russian composer and teacher. He studied under the composer

Vladimir Shcherbachov Vladimir Vladimirovich Shcherbachov (Shcherbachyov, Shcherbachev) (russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Щербачёв; 24 January 1889, in Warsaw – 5 March 1952, in Leningrad) was a Soviet composer. He studied with Maximi ...

at the

Leningrad Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...

, graduating in 1931.Ho/Feofanov (1989) He held administrative and teaching positions, including at the Leningrad Conservatory (1933–1941, 1944–1948), and taught composition 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 ...

(from 1948): among his composition pupils was the 15-year-old

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

, whom Chulaki did much to support both materially and as an artist. Before World War II he was artistic director of the

Leningrad Philharmonic The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (russian: Симфонический оркестр Санкт-Петербургской филармонии, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a Russian orchestra based ...

. From 1963 to 1970 he worked as artistic director of the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

, Moscow. While in that post, he gave Rostropovich his first major break as a conductor, inviting him to conduct Tchaikovsky's ''Eugene Onegin''.Wilson (2007), p. 287 His son was the writer Mikhail Mikhailovich Chulaki.

Notes and references

*Ho, Allan & Feofanov, Dmitry. ''Biographical Dictionary of Russian/Soviet Composers''. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989. *Wilson, Elizabeth. ''Shostakovich: A Life Remembered''. London: Faber & Faber, 2006. *Wilson, Elizabeth. ''Mstislav Rostropovich: Cellist, Teacher, Legend''. London: Faber & Faber, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chulaki, Mikhail Soviet composers Soviet male composers 1908 births 1989 deaths Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century composers Russian ballet composers Bolshoi Theatre directors 20th-century Russian male musicians