Biography

1932born in Moscow on 16th December
1945-1950Studied at the Moscow Choral School
1950-1955Studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Yuri Shaporin (composition) and Yakov Flier (piano)
1958Married to Maya Plisetskaya, the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre
1960World première of the ballet "The Little Humpbacked Horse" in Moscow
1961World première of the opera "Not Only Love" (first version) in Moscow
1963World première of "Naughty Limericks" (1st concert for orchestra) at the Festival "Warsaw Autumn", conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky
1964-1969Professor of composition at the Moscow Conservatory
1967World première of the ballet "Carmen Suite" in Moscow
1968Refused to sign an open letter which was to sanction the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops in Czechoslovakia

World première of "The Chimes" (2nd concert for orchestra) in New York, conductor Leonard Bernstein
since 1969Free-lance composer
1972World première of the ballet "Anna Karenina" in Moscow

Opening of the Pokrovsky Chamber Music Theatre with the opera "Not Only Love" (second version)

Recipient of the USSR State Prize
1973Succeeded Dmitri Shostakovich as president of the Union of Composers of Russian Federation (since 1989 honorary president)
1976Correspondent member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts
1977World première of the opera "Dead Souls" in Moscow, conductor Yuri Temirkanov
1982Attended the Munich Piano Summer for the first time
1983Honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts of the GDR
1984Recipient of the Lenin Prize
1985Honorary member of the "International Music Council"
1988World première of the Russian Lithurgy "The Sealed Angel" in Moscow
1989Member of the Interregional Group which sympathized with "perestroika"

Member of the Berlin Academy of Arts

World première of "Khorovody" (4th concert for orchestra) in Tokyo
1990World première of "Old Russian Circus Music" (3rd concert for orchestra) in Chicago, conductor Lorin Maazel
1992Shchedrin lives alternately in Munich and Moscow

Received the Russian State Prize from President Boris Yeltsin
1993Recipient of the Dmitri Shostakovich Prize
1994World première of the opera "Lolita" in Stockholm, conductor Mstislav Rostropovich

World première of the "Concerto for violoncello and orchestra" ("Sotto voce concerto") in London, Mstislav Rostropovich (violoncello), Seiji Ozawa (conductor)

World première of the "Trumpet Concerto" in Pittsburgh
1995Crystal Awards, World Economic Forum, Davos
1997Honorary professor at the Moscow Conservatory
1998World première of "Four Russian Songs" (5th concert for orchestra) in London

World première of "Concerto Cantabile" in Zurich, conductor Mariss Jansons
1999World première of the 5th Piano Concerto in Los Angeles
2001Final nomination fort the "Grammy Awards" for the best contemporary composition ("Concerto Cantabile")
2002"Composer of the Year" of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

World première of Symphonic Etudes for Orchestra "Dialogues with Shostakovich" in Pittsburgh, conductor Mariss Jansons

World première of the opera "The Enchanted Wanderer" in New York, conductor Lorin Maazel

Order for Service to the Russian State third degree
2003World première of the 6th Piano Concerto "Concerto lontano" in Amsterdam
2005Honorary professor at the St Petersburg State Conservatory
2006World première of the Russian choral opera "Boyarina Morozova" in Moscow
2007Order for Service to the Russian State second degree
2008Honorary professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing

German music award "Echo Klassik 2008" for the choral opera "Boyarina Morozova" in the category "Opera recording of the year"

World première of the “Lyric Scenes” for string quartet at the 57th ARD International Music Competition in Munich

Première of the stage performance of the opera “The Enchanted Wanderer” in the production of Alexei Stepanyuk in St Petersburg

World première of the “Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt Testament” in Munich, conductor Mariss Jansons

Publication of the first autobiographic book "Autobiographical notes" in Moscow
2009The Russian Theatre Award “Golden Mask” in the category “Best compositional work for opera” for the opera "The Enchanted Wanderer"

World première of the symphonic fresco for orchestra “Lithuanian Saga” at the „Vilnius Festival 2009“ (Lithuania)

World première of the 7 Impromptus for piano „Artless Pages“ by Yuja Wang at the Verbier Festival 2009 (Switzerland)

World première of the „Journey to Eisenstadt“ for violin and piano in London
2010Nomination for the “Grammy 2011” in the category “Best Classical Contemporary Composition” (A Composer’s Award) for the opera "The Enchanted Wanderer"

World première of the „Oboe Concerto“ in Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (Netherlands)
2011World première of the „Concert Etude“ at the XIVth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow

World première of the Double concerto „Romantic Offering“ for piano, violoncello and orchestra with Martha Argerich and Misha Maisky in Lucerne (Switzerland)
2012World première of the dramatic scene for soprano and symphonic orchestra “Cleopatra and the Snake” at the “Salzburg Whitsun Festival 2012” (Austria)

„Moscow Award in Literature and the Arts 2012“ for the Russian choral opera „Boyarina Morozova“

Awarded with the Russian Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” 4th class
2013World première of the opera "Left Hander" on the new stage of the Mariinsky Theatre

Awarded with the Prize "Baltic Star"
2014World première of the orchestra Work "Moscow - Petushki" at Verbier Festival
2014The opera "Not Love Alone" gets the Golden Sophite in St.Petersburg
2017Vladimir Putin awarded Rodion Shchedrin with the Order of Honour