Alexander Alexandrov

Alexander Alexandrov (1883–1946) became the first artistic director of the Alexandrov Ensemble (now A. V. Alexandrov Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Army). He was choirmaster, conductor, teacher and the public figure who wrote the music to the State Anthem of the Soviet Union. He also composed the song "The Sacred War", one of the most famous Soviet songs of the Second World War. During his career, he also worked as a professor of the Moscow Conservatory, and became a Doctor of Arts. His work was recognized by the awards of the title of People's Artist of the USSR and two Stalin Prizes. Alexandrov was born in Plakhino, a village south-east of Moscow. As a boy his singing was so impressive that he travelled to Saint Petersburg to become a chorister in Kazan Cathedral. A pupil of Nikolai Medtner, he studied composition at Saint Petersburg and in Moscow, where he eventually became professor of music in 1918. Alexandrov founded the Red Army Choir in 1928, and spent many years as its director, in which role he first gained favor with Joseph Stalin. His ensemble participated successfully in the Universal Exposition of 1937 in Paris, and in 1942, Stalin commissioned him and lyrist Sergey Mikhalkov to create a new Soviet national anthem, which was officially adopted in 1944. Alexandrov died in 1946 at the age of 63, while on tour in Berlin.