Alexander Lokshin

Who was Alexander Lokshin?

Aleksandr Lazarevich Lokshin was a Russian composer of classical music. He was born on September 19, 1920, in the town of Biysk, in the Altai Region, Western Siberia, and died in Moscow on June 11, 1987.

An admirer of Mahler and Alban Berg, he created his own musical language; he wrote eleven symphonies plus symphonic works including "Les Fleurs du Mal", "Three Scenes from Goethe's Faust", the cantata "Mater Dolorosa", etc. Only his Symphony No.4 is purely instrumental; all other symphonies include vocal parts. Symphony No.3 by Lokshin was written on Kipling's verses, a ballet "Fedra" was staged on music of Symphony No.4. He also wrote a cycle of piano variations for Maria Grinberg and another one for Elena Kuschnerova.