Kabalevsky

Each time I learn a new song, I am required to learn about the composer, the song and write up about it. It is really fun to find out about the composer and about what a song means. Enjoy, learning with me.

Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky 

Born: December 30, 1904 – St. Petersburg, Russia

Died: February 18, 1987 – Moscow, Russia (Wikipedia says he died Feb. 14, 1987)

Kabalevsky’s family belonged to Russian Nobility. In 1916, they moved to Moscow. Kabalevsky’s teacher was Nikolai Miaskovsky. When he grew up he was a teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. One of his students was Leo Smit who was a skilled musician. Kabalevsky’s compositional media was orchestra, chamber music, keyboard, choral, opera, songs, theatrical and film. He never married and died of natural causes.

A Novelette is defined as a short piece of lyrical music, especially one for the piano. The word was used by the composer Robert Schumann. Schumann popularized the word novelette by using it in titles for some of his piano compositions .He had a literary background that he would find ways to include in his music.

Resources:

                Wikipedia: Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky and Robert Schumann

Pocket Dictionary of Music, Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky

Web site for definitions, Novelette