Andrey Petrov

Andrey Petrov studied at Saint Petersburg Conservatory. The recorded working language is Russian. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are opera. Distinctions recorded are USSR State Prize, Order of Lenin, People's Artist of the USSR and Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class.

• Name — Andrei Petrov • Native Name — Андрей Петров • Born — 2 September 1930 • Birthplace — Leningrad • Died — 15 February 2006 • Place of death — Saint Petersburg, Russia • Resting Place — Volkovo Cemetery • Occupation — Composer • Awards — People's Artist of the USSR (1980)

A native of Leningrad, Petrov was the son of a military doctor; his mother was an artist. He had little interest in music until, at fourteen, he saw The Great Waltz; after this he decided to become a composer. He studied composition at the Leningrad Conservatory under Orest Yevlakhov. Petrov is known for his work in various genres; he wrote a number of operas and ballets, as well as symphonic works, incidental and film music, and various songs. He is especially famous for his ballet Creation of the World (1968), based on drawings by Jean Effel. This was performed around the world, with Mikhail Baryshnikov among its first performers. Petrov also scored over eighty films, including the Soviet-American co-production The Blue Bird (1976). From 1964 until his death Petrov was the head of the St. Petersburg Union of Composers, to which he was introduced by Dmitri Shostakovich. He also founded and served as the general director of a music festival in Saint Petersburg. He won numerous prizes and awards; on May 22, 1998, he was made an honorary citizen of Saint Petersburg. In 1993 a small planet, asteroid 4785 (Petrov) was named after him. Petrov's wife, Natalya Yefimovna, was a well-known musicologist; his only daughter, Olga, co-wrote a number of his later works. Andrey Petrov died in Saint Petersburg; he is buried at the Volkovo Cemetery.

• "Poem" for 4 Trumpets, Organ, Strings, and Timpani • Ballet "The Creation of the World" (1968) • Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1983) • Symphony-Fantasy "The Master and Margarita" (1984) • Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1990)