MOSCOW: Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin has died at the age of 92 according to an announcement from Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre.
The theatre described his passing as an “enormous tragedy” in a statement released on Friday.
Shchedrin was the husband of late ballet legend Maya Plisetskaya and was hailed as “one of the greatest contemporary geniuses”.
His “operas, ballets and symphonies are played on the world’s greatest stages” the theatre confirmed.
“Rodion Shchedrin was a unique phenomenon and marked an entire era in world musical culture” the statement added.
Shchedrin died in Munich, Germany, where he had lived since the collapse of the Soviet Union, though he travelled regularly to Russia.
Born on 16 December 1932 in Moscow, Shchedrin gained international fame with his 1967 composition “Carmen Suite”.
Plisetskaya starred in the Bolshoi production of “Carmen Suite”, cementing the pair’s status as a Soviet-era cultural power couple.
Plisetskaya, who was awarded the title of “prima ballerina assoluta” at the Bolshoi, died in 2015 at the age of 89.
The couple were married for more than 50 years.
Shchedrin drew on Russian literature and fairy tales for compositions including “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, “The Seagull” and the opera “Lolita”.
French fashion designer Pierre Cardin created costumes for “Anna Karenina” and “The Seagull”, describing Plisetskaya as his “muse”.
Shchedrin was also renowned for his symphonies and concertos for piano and orchestra, performed globally.
He composed more than 80 works, leaving behind “a priceless artistic heritage ... that echoes in audience’s hearts”.
“Happiness is not material. It’s about being with your loved one 24 hours a day, being immersed in the joy of doing a job that brings you not just pleasure, but real delight” Shchedrin once remarked. – AFP
