Yuri Falik
Yuri (Yury ) Alexandrovich Falik (; July 30, 1936, Odessa, USSR – January 23. 2009, Saint-Petersburg, Russia) was a Russian composer, orchestral conductor, cellist, a board member of the Leningrad (Saint-Petersburg) branch of the Composers' Union, and People's Artist of Russia. Biography Childhood and youth Yuri Falik was born into the family of orchestral musicians. His father Alexander Efimovich Falik played percussion in the Odessa Opera orchestra. His mother Yevgenia Mikhailovna also worked at the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theatre. In early childhood, Yuri Falik was often present at orchestra rehearsals and opera productions, easily memorizing and humming the music he heard. Yuri and his mother were evacuated to Kyrgyzstan during World War II. His father volunteered on the front lines of the war, and perished in 1942. The family tragedy and traumatic experiences of his early childhood strongly influenced not only Falik's personality but also his art. After returning to Odessa in 1944, he started to study cello under the guidance of his father's friend from the Odessa Opera House symphony orchestra, David Abramovich Mevzhinsky. The following year, Falik entered his class at the famous Odessa Secondary Special Music Boarding School, beginning his systematic music education. At the age of 11, Falik began composing, often neglecting his schoolwork in favor of his new hobby. Soon he got his first mentor in composition, the composer Vladimir Afanasievich Shvets, who taught musical literature at the P. Stolyarsky School. Quartet Falik had a special interest in quartets. In addition, as a cellist, he played in the school's academic quartet ensemble. In 1952, he organized his own quartet ensemble, which consisted of his schoolmates and friends. Along with classical works, the repertoire of this quartet included new works of the Soviet Union composers, as well as Falik's own compositions. According to his friend Adam Stratievsky, there were two youth quartets (1953 and 1954) written for the ensemble. The Quartet in e-moll (1954) was subsequently published by the Soviet Composer Publishing House in 1982 and was included in the list of the composer's works as the First Quartet. By the time he left school, Falik had composed a number of works, including quartets, works for an orchestra, choirs, romances, and a piano prelude. However, he decided to enter the performing faculty of the Leningrad Conservatory as a cellist. Conservatory From 1955 till 1960, Falik studied at the Leningrad Conservatory in Professor Alexander Shtrimmer's cello class. He then pursued his postgraduate studies under Mstislav Rostropovich's guidance. He successfully started his performing career with his first solo concert in Leningrad in 1958. He then performed concert tours in Soviet cities. In 1962, Falik became a Diploma-winner of the Second International Tchaikovsky Competition, and a few months later he won the First prize in the International Cello Competition at the Eight World Festival of Youth and Students in Helsinki. Almost half a century later, in 2007, Falik took part in the Tchaikovsky Competition again, but as a jury member in the cello category. Though he had a