Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin (; 16 December 1932 – 29 August 2025) was a Soviet and Russian composer, pianist, and music teacher. He wrote in a wide range of genres, including operas such as Lolita and The Left-Hander, and ballets such as the Carmen Suite, created for his wife, the ballerina Maya Plisetskaya of the Bolshoi Theatre. His orchestral works includes five concertos for orchestra and six piano concertos, in which he often appeared as soloist. He also composed vocal works such as The Sealed Angel, as well as chamber music and film scores, including Anna Karenina. His works have been widely performed and commissioned internationally, particularly in the United States and Western Europe. Shchedrin is regarded as one of the leading composers of the late Soviet period and an important figure in Russian contemporary music in the decades that followed. His Double Concerto "Romantic Offering" for piano, cello and orchestra was premiered on 9 February 2011 by Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky with the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester conducted by Neeme Järvi.

  • The Left-Hander (2013)
  • A Christmas Tale (2015)

Concertos for Orchestra

  • Concerto for Orchestra No. 1 "Naughty Limericks" (1963)
  • Piano Concerto No. 6 "Concerto Lontano" for piano and string orchestra (2003)
  • Trumpet Concerto (1994)

Other orchestral works

  • Self-Portrait, variations (1984).
  • Anna Karenina (1967)
  • Anna Karenina (1975)

Writings

Discography

Awards and honors

<!--* Order of the Badge of Honour (1967)

  • Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1971)-->
  • USSR State Prize (1972)<!-- – for the oratorio Lenin Is Amongst Us and the opera Not Only Is Love (61, new edition)--><!--
  • Order of Lenin (1982)-->
  • Lenin Prize (1984)<!-- – for the opera Dead Souls (1977), a poem for chorus "Execution of Pugachev" (1981), "The solemn overture" for symphony orchestra-->
  • Crystal Award of the World Economic Forum (Davos, 1995)
  1. Nomination Concerto cantabile (2001)
  • 1st class (2022)
  • 2nd class (3 December 2007) – for outstanding contributions to the development of national music and many years of creative activity

<!--* Honorary member of the Franz Liszt Society (USA, 1979)-->

  • Honorary member of the GDR Academy of Fine Arts (1983)
  • Honorary Professor of Saint Petersburg Conservatory (2005)

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Further reading

Obituaries

<!--* Rodion Shchedrin on the Sikorski website (publisher): portrait, biography (pdf) and works -->

  • "David Fanning on Rodion Shchedrin and his Second Symphony and Rodion Shchedrin on David Fanning's publication"
  • Interview with Rodion Shchedrin, 22 October 1990<!--
  • Ismene Brown: theartsdesk Q&A: Composer Rodion Shchedrin theartsdesk.com 18 September 2010-->