Samuil Abramovich Samosud (russian: Самуи́л Абра́мович Самосу́д) (

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, —

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 ...

, 6 November 1964), PAU, was a

Soviet 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 nation ...

and

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n conductor. He started his musical career as a cellist, before becoming a conductor at the

Mariinsky Theater The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in 1917. From 1918 to 1936 he conducted at the Maly Operny,

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In 1936 he became musical director at the Bolshoi Theater,

. He founded what became the

Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1951 by Samuil Samosud, as the Moscow Youth Orchestra for young and inexperienced musicians, acquiring its current name in 1953. It is most associated wit ...

in 1951. He premiered several important works, including

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

's '' Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District'', '' The Nose'' and the Seventh Symphony; as well as

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

's ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'' and ''

On Guard for Peace ''On Guard for Peace'' (russian: link=no, На страже мира, Na strazhe mira), also translated as ''On Guard of Peace'', Op. 124 is an oratorio by Sergei Prokofiev scored for narrators, mezzo-soprano, boy soprano, boys choir, mixed ...

''. Shostakovich "had a high opinion" of Samosud's theatrical performances, and regarded him as "the supreme interpreter" of operatic works including ''Lady Macbeth''. Nonetheless, after hearing Samosud conduct the Seventh Symphony, the composer wrote that he wanted to hear

Yevgeny Mravinsky Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Mravinsky (russian: Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Мрави́нский) (19 January 1988) was a Russian conductor, pianist, and music pedagogue; he was a professor at Leningrad State Conservatory. Biog ...

perform the symphony, as he didn't "have great faith in Samosud as a symphonic conductor".

References

External links

Samuel Samosud — Biography on Prokofiev.org
(on

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

, captured on 4 February 2012) 1884 births 1964 deaths Soviet conductors (music) 20th-century Russian conductors (music) Russian male conductors (music) 20th-century Russian male musicians Russian Jews Musicians from Tbilisi Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery {{russia-conductor-stub