Eduard Petrovich Grikurov |

Eduard Grikurov

Soviet opera conductor, People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1957). Today everyone considers Grikurov a Leningrader. And this is true, although before coming to Leningrad Grikurov studied at the composer-theoretical department of the Tbilisi Conservatory (1924-1927) with M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, S. Barkhudaryan and M. Bagrinovsky, but as a musician he finally took shape already in Leningrad, with whom all his activities are inextricably linked. He was educated at the Leningrad Conservatory – first in the class of A. Gauk (1929-1933), and then in graduate school under the guidance of F. Shtidri (1933-1636). Practical work at the Lenfilm film studio (1931-1936) was also a useful school for him.

After that, Grikurov devoted himself to the activities of an opera conductor. Starting with productions at the Conservatory Opera Studio, in 1937 he became the conductor of the Maly Opera Theater and worked here without interruption until 1956 (since 1943 he was the chief conductor). However, even when Grikurov headed the Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov (1956-1960), he did not break his creative ties with Malegot, conducting many performances. And in 1964, Grikurov again became the chief conductor of the Maly Opera and Ballet Theater.

Dozens of performances – opera and ballet – took place on the Leningrad stages under the direction of Grikurov. His extensive repertoire includes Russian and foreign classics, works by Soviet composers. Along with Russian opera, the conductor pays special attention to the work of Verdi.

Describing the performing style of Grikurov, the Leningrad musicologist V. Bogdanov-Berezovsky wrote: “He is attracted by the contrast dynamics, the variety of means of artistic expression, and the concrete-figurative content of music. At the same time, he is best at virtuosic scores with a clearly identified characteristic element … One of Grikurov’s most significant performances in this respect is Verdi’s Falstaff … Such performances as Iolanta and Werther reveal other aspects of Grikurov’s artistic personality – his inclination to sincere and heartfelt lyrics and to a condensed dramatic element.

Together with the ballet of the Maly Theater, Grikurov traveled to Latin America (1966). In addition, he toured extensively throughout the Soviet Union. Grikurov’s pedagogical activity at the Leningrad Conservatory began in 1960.

L. Grigoriev, J. Platek, 1969