Konstantin Konstantinovich Ivanov (russian: Константи́н Константи́нович Ивано́в; 8 May 1907–15 April 1984) 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, ...

conductor and composer.

Career

A brief article in The Great Soviet Encyclopaedia says he was born on May 8, 1907 in the town of Yefremov or Efremov (Russian: Ефре́мов) in the

Tula Oblast Tula Oblast (russian: Ту́льская о́бласть, ''Tulskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically in the European Russia region of the country and is part of the Central Federal District, covering ...

. At the age of 13, he was adopted by a regiment of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

. He became a trumpeter in army orchestras. He attended 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 ...

where he studied conducting with the conductor L. M. Ginzburg. Ivanov graduated in 1937, and the following year won the third prize at the first edition of the

All-Union Conductors Competition The All-Union Conductors Competition was a competition among musical conductors in the Soviet Union from 1938 to 1988. It took place in Moscow for its first time in 1938 when a set of prizes were awarded by a jury chaired by Samuil Samosud and in ...

. Engagements with 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 ...

and the All-Union Radio Symphony Orchestra followed in 1941. In 1945, Ivanov succeeded Nathan Rakhlin as Principal Conductor of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra. Under Ivanov's direction, the orchestra began an extensive program of touring. Initially this was to the republics of the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, but in 1956 it performed in the Soviet allied states of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. As the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

thawed, Ivanov and the orchestra travelled outside the Communist bloc. In 1958 they made an appearance at an international exposition in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

where they performed for Queen Elizabeth of Belgium. In the same year they also visited

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. In 1960, the orchestra visited the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, then in 1961 appeared at the

Vienna Festival __NOTOC__ The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) is a cultural festival in Vienna that takes place every year for five or six weeks in May and June. The Wiener Festwochen was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the four Alli ...

. Konstantin Ivanov was succeeded as Principal Conductor of the USSR Symphony Orchestra in 1965 by

Yevgeny Svetlanov Yevgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov (russian: Евгéний Фёдорович Светлáнов; 6 September 1928 – 3 May 2002) was a Russian conductor, composer and a pianist. Life and work Svetlanov was born in Moscow and studied conducting ...

. His reputation in later years, at least in the west, was somewhat eclipsed by the rise of a younger generation of Soviet conductors such as Svetlanov, Rozhdestvensky and Kondrashin, all of whom became much better known, and who travelled abroad more frequently. He died on April 15, 1984, only 16 days shy of his 77th birthday.

Recordings

Some of Ivanov's recordings became available in the west through the association of Britain's

EMI Group EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012 ...

with the Soviet state label

Melodiya Melodiya ( rus, links=no, Мелодия, t=Melody) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm ...

. These included his account of Glazunov’s 5th Symphony. The Dutch Melodia disc (562.265) of this performance was backed with four works by

Anatoly Lyadov Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov (russian: Анато́лий Константи́нович Ля́дов; ) was a Russian composer, teacher, and conductor (music), conductor. Biography Lyadov was born in 1855 in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersbur ...

. EMI-Melodiya used these as fillers on LPs of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

’s First and Third Symphonies, conducted by Ivanov's successor

. Ivanov also conducted Rimsky-Korsakov’s ''Antar Symphony'' with the USSR Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra on a 3-disc set of the composer's orchestral music. In 1973 Melodiya issued an LP of Rimsky-Korsakov's suites from ''

Le Coq d'Or ''The Golden Cockerel'' ( rus, Золотой петушок, Zolotoy petushok ) is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, his last opera he completed before his death in 1908. ...

'' and ''

Tsar Sultan The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan ( rus, «Сказка о царе Салтане, о сыне его славном и могучем богаты� ...

''. This also appeared on EMI-Melodiya. At various times, Ivanov recordings of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony have been in circulation, as have symphonies by Eshpai and

Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (russian: Анто́н Степа́нович Аре́нский; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving ...

, along with Shostakovich’s cantata ''The Sun Shines Over the Motherland''. The recordings considered here were heard in the following incarnations: Arensky: Suite No. 1 World Record Club (Australia) R 09475.

Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra The Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra is a Russian classical music radio orchestra established in 1930. It was founded as the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, and served as the official symphony for the Soviet All-Union Radio network. History Followi ...

(Coupled with Symphony No. 1 conducted by Eduard Serov) Glazunov: Symphony No 5 HMV-Melodiya LP ASD 2540 (Coupled with Rimsky-Korsakov, Symphony No 1 conducted by Boris Khaikin), Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. The Symphony was also released on Dutch Melodia LP 562.265 with Liadov's Kikimora, Baba Yaga and two orchestral polonaises. The Liadov items were played by the USSR Symphony Orchestra. Myaskovsky: Symphony No. 5 Melodiya Australia CD MA 3019 (no longer available). USSR Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra. Coupled with Symphony No. 11 (Moscow Symphony Orchestra conducted by Veronika Dudarova. Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 2 ''Antar'', Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. World Record Club (Australia) 3-LP set R 06847-9. Suites from ''Le Coq D'or'' ''and Tsar Sultan'' have been issued by HMV-Melodiya, World Record Club (Australia), and on CD from Melodiya Australia MA 3027 (no longer available). Shostakovich: The Sun Shines Over The Motherland. RFSFR Russian Chorus (Director: Alexander Yurlov), USSR Symphony Orchestra. Russian Disc RDCD 11 048 (no longer available). Some of the LPs were issued by Capitol/Angel in the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov, Konstantin 1907 births 1984 deaths People from Yefremovsky District People from Yefremovsky Uyezd Soviet conductors (music) Soviet composers Moscow Conservatory alumni People's Artists of the USSR People's Artists of the RSFSR Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples