Viktor Dubrovsky

b. 1927 (Voronezh) · d. 1994 (Smolensk)

Russia

Viktor Pavlovich Dubrovsky (1927–1994) was a Soviet and Russian conductor, founder and first director of the Smolensk Russian Folk Orchestra. He was named an Honored Artist of the Byelorussian SSR in 1959 and a People's Artist of the Russian SFSR in 1969.

Dubrovsky was born on 10 December 1927 in Voronezh. He graduated with distinction from the Central Music School in Moscow in 1944, then completed the orchestral faculty of the Moscow State Conservatory with distinction in 1949, studying with Professor Lev Tseitlin. In 1953, he graduated with distinction from the conservatory's conducting faculty, where he studied with Leo Ginzburg. While still a fourth-year student, he won a competition for appointment as an assistant conductor of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra.

From 1956, Dubrovsky served as artistic director and chief conductor of the State Symphony Orchestra of the Byelorussian SSR in Minsk. Under his direction, the orchestra gave the first performances of many works by Belarusian composers.

In 1962, he became artistic director and chief conductor of the Osipov State Academic Russian Folk Orchestra in Moscow, a post he held for 15 years. The orchestra made major tours under his direction, including visits to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and Australia. For more than ten years, he also taught conducting at the Belarusian State Conservatory and the Moscow State Institute of Culture.

Dubrovsky made numerous recordings of symphonic and folk music for All-Union Radio and Central Television. His recordings with Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniil Shafran, David Oistrakh and Leonid Kogan were issued repeatedly by the Melodiya label.

In 1988, Dubrovsky established the first professional Russian folk orchestra in Smolensk Oblast and became its first artistic director and chief conductor. The ensemble became one of the leading orchestras in the USSR. From 1991, he also served as artistic director and chief conductor of the State Academic Orchestra of Belarus.

Over 45 years of active concert work, Dubrovsky and his orchestras toured in more than 50 countries and gave about 2,500 concerts. He received a Golden Disc in Hamburg in 1968 for his contribution to the development of symphonic and folk music. In 1995, the orchestra he founded was named after him, and a commemorative plaque was installed on the Smolensk Philharmonic building.

Dubrovsky died on 17 October 1994 and was buried at the Bratskoye Cemetery in Smolensk.

Organizations