Ukrainian composer Andriy Shtoharenko (1902 – 1992) was born in the village of Novi Kaidaky, near Dnipropetrovsk. He completed his music studies at the Kharkiv Conservatory in 1936 under S. Bohatyriov. In 1954, he started to teach at the Kiev conservatory, where he later became a professor. From 1968, he was appointed Chairman of the Union of Composer’s of Ukraine.
As a composer, he was well known within the Soviet Union though his music is rarely performed elsewhere. He was awarded the Stalin Prize for his compositions in 1946 and 1952, and received the prestigious title of People’s Artist of the USSR. During his long career, he served in many positions, including Professor of Composition and Director of the Kharkiv Conservatory and later Kiev Conservatory.
He composed in nearly every genre, primarily writing works for orchestra, solo piano, and vocal music. He also wrote number of film scores. His chamber music, though it comprises only a small part of his output, has been highly praised by critics. Shtoharenko’s music shows the influence of Mussorgsky and Borodin in that many of his works tend to be of a programmatic nature. Most of his works deal with political themes glorifying the Communist party, Friendship of Soviet Peoples, as well as World War II.