Aleksandra Pakhmutova facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aleksandra Pakhmutova
Александра Пахмутова
Pakhmutova in 2004
Born	Aleksandra Nikolayevna Pakhmutova (1929-11-09) 9 November 1929 (age 95) Beketovka, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Alma mater	Moscow Conservatory
Occupation	Composer
Years active	1955–present
Title	Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation (2024) Hero of Socialist Labour (1990) People's Artist of the USSR (1984)
Spouse(s)	Nikolai Dobronravov (1956–2023)

Aleksandra Nikolayevna Pakhmutova (Russian: Александра Николаевна Пахмутова ; born 9 November 1929) is a famous composer from Russia. She became well-known in the 1960s for her popular music. She is still one of the most recognized musicians in Russia today. In 1984, she received the title of People's Artist of the USSR.

About Her Life

Aleksandra Pakhmutova was born on November 9, 1929. Her hometown was Beketovka, which is now part of Volgograd, Russia. She started playing the piano and writing music when she was very young. In 1936, she joined the Stalingrad City Music School.

During World War II, she moved to Karaganda for a short time to stay safe and continue her studies. Later, she was accepted into the famous Moscow Conservatory. She finished her studies there in 1953. In 1956, she completed advanced studies with the composer Vissarion Shebalin.

Her Musical Journey

Aleksandra Pakhmutova is known for writing many different kinds of music. She has composed pieces for a symphony orchestra. These include "The Russian Suite" and a concerto for the trumpet. She also wrote music for the ballet called "Illumination."

She created many songs and pieces for children. These include cantatas and choir songs. Pakhmutova also wrote music for more than a dozen movies. Her movie music career started with Out of This World in 1958. It continued until Because of Mama in 2001.

Famous Songs and Their Stories

Pakhmutova is most famous for her more than 400 songs. Many of these songs are still very popular. Some well-known songs include The Melody, Russian Waltz, and Tenderness. Other favorites are Hope, The Old Maple Tree, and The Song of the Perturbed Youth.

She also wrote a series of songs called the Gagarin Constellation. The song The Bird of Happiness became very popular in Russia and China. It was from the 1981 film O Sport, You Are Peace!. Another famous song is Good-Bye Moscow. This song was played as the farewell tune for the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.

The song Tenderness was used in the 1967 film Three Poplars in Plyushchikha. Her husband, Nikolai Dobronravov, was a poet. He often wrote the words for her music. They worked together on songs for three different films.

One of her most famous songs is Belovezhskaya Pushcha, written in 1975. This song celebrates the beautiful Białowieża Forest. This forest is a very old woodland now found in Poland and Belarus. Another popular song was Malaya Zemlya. This song was about a small military outpost.

Awards and Recognition

Aleksandra Pakhmutova was well-liked by both the public and the government. She received several important government awards. She also won State Prizes. She was a Secretary for the Unions of Composers in the USSR and Russia.

In 1990, she was named a Hero of Socialist Labour. This is a very high honor. An Asteroid was even named after her. It is called 1889 Pakhmutova. This asteroid was registered by a planetary center in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.

Her Family Life

In 1956, Pakhmutova married Nikolai Dobronravov. He was an actor and a poet. Radio officials asked him to write lyrics for her children's song "Little Motor Boat." They wrote many songs for children together. The couple did not have children of their own. Nikolai Dobronravov passed away in 2023.

Her Musical Works

Popular Songs

Aleksandra Pakhmutova has composed over 500 songs. Here are some of her most well-known ones:

• «Надежда» ("The Hope")
• «Песня о тревожной молодости» ("Song of Restless Youth")
• «Мелодия» ("Melody")
• «Беловежская пуща» ("Białowieża Forest")
• «Нежность» ("Tenderness")
• «Команда молодости нашей» ("Our Youth Team")
• «Старый клён» ("Old Maple")
• «Как молоды мы были» ("How Young We Were")
• «No Coward Plays Hockey»
• «And the Battle Is Going Again»
• «Слава вперёдсмотрящему» ("Glory to the Ones Who Look Forward")

Song Collections

• Gagarin's Constellation
• Songs about Lenin
• Aiga Stars
• Motherland
• Hugging the Sky

Orchestral Music

• 1953: Russian Suite for symphony orchestra
• "Ode to Lighting the Fire" (for choir and symphony orchestra)
• 1957: Music for children: Suite "Lenin in our heart"
• 1972: Heroes of Sport (from the movie Moving Up)

Concertos

• 1955: Trumpet Concerto
• 1972: Concerto for Orchestra (based on the ballet Illumination)

Cantatas

• Beautiful as youth, country
• 1953: Vasily Turkin
• 1962: Red Pathfinders
• 1972: Squad Songs

Overtures

• 1957: Youth
• 1958: Thuringia
• 1967: Merry Girls
• 1967: Russian Holiday (for folk instruments)

Instrumental Pieces

• The Rhythms of Time
• Carnival
• Auftakt
• Robinsonade (from the film "My Love in the Third Year of Study")
• Heart in the palm
• A moment of luck
• Morning big city
• Elegy (from the film O Sport, You Are Peace!)

Recordings of Her Music

• 1971: Concerto for Orchestra in E Major (USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov)
• 1985: Marshal Zhukov March (from film "Battle of Moscow," Central Military band of Ministry of Defence of USSR, conducted by Colonel Anatoly Maltsev)
• 2015: Concerto for solo Trumpet and Orchestra (Trumpet Records, Timofei Aleksandrovich Dokschitzer)
• 2019: Anniversary Concert for Aleksandra Pakhmutova (Bolshoi Theater, conducted by Mikhail Pletnev and Yuri Bashmet)

Honors and Awards

Aleksandra Pakhmutova has received many important awards throughout her career.

Soviet and Russian Awards

• Hero of Socialist Labour (1990) – for her great work in Soviet music.
• Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation (2024) – for her special contributions to Russian music.
• Two Orders of Lenin (1979 and 1990).
• Order of St. Andrew (2019).
• Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (1st, 2nd, and 3rd class).
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour, twice (1967, 1971).
• Order of Friendship of Peoples (1986).
• State Prize of the Russian Federation (2015).
• USSR State Prize (1975 and 1982).
• Lenin Komsomol Prize (1966).
• Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR (1971).
• People's Artist of the RSFSR (1977).
• People's Artist of the USSR (1984).
• Honorary Citizen of Volgograd (1993).
• Honorary Citizen of Bratsk (1994).
• Honorary citizen of Moscow (2000).

Foreign Awards

• Order of Francysk Skaryna (Belarus, 2000) – for helping cultural ties between Belarus and Russia.

Public Awards

• Order of St. Euphrosyne, Grand Duchess of Moscow, 2nd class (Russian Orthodox Church, 2008).
• The title "Living Legend" by the national Russian award "Ovation" (2002).
• The award "Russian National Olympus" (2004).