The great composer Rodion Shchedrin left this world

The greatest composer Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin, whose work became a symbol of the era, died at the age of 92 on August 29, 2025. His music – operas, ballets, symphonies and numerous chamber and choral music – has enjoyed tremendous success on the world stage for many decades.

Rodion Shchedrin, born in 1932 in Moscow, began his career at the Central Music School and graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with a degree in composer and pianist. He became a member of the Union of Composers of the RSFSR in his student years and subsequently served as Chairman of the Board of the Union of Composers of the RSFSR from 1973 to 1990.

Since 1958, Shchedrin was married to the legendary ballerina Maya Plisetskaya. In the last years of his life, he and his wife lived in Munich, and in 2022 they gave the A.A. Theatre Museum. Bakhrushin’s Moscow apartment, which became an exposition dedicated to their life and work. The passing of Rodion Shchedrin is a huge tragedy for world music culture.