Dmitry Kabalevsky

In 1925, he then went on to study at the Moscow Conservatory where he learned composition with first Georgy Catoire, then Nikolai Myaskovsky and piano with Alexander Goldenweiser.

During 1925–1926 he worked as a piano teacher in a government school and was struck by the lack of proper material for helping children to learn music.

He set out to write easy pieces that would allow children to conquer technical difficulties and to form their taste.

[9] Another theory states that Kabalevsky's name was only on the list because of his position in the leadership of the Union of Soviet Composers.

[10] His traditional stance as a composer, combined with his strong sense of civic duty expressed in his educational work, endeared him to the Soviet regime and earned him a long list of honours and awards, including the Lenin Prize in 1972 and the Hero of Socialist Labour in 1974.

[5] In general, Kabalevsky was not as adventurous as his contemporaries in terms of harmony and preferred a more conventional diatonicism, interlaced with chromaticism and major-minor interplay.

[5] The important role played by the subdominant and the frequent juxtaposition of thirds in Kabalevsky's works are features common to many Russian composers.

"[14] In 1924, Maxim Gorky said that Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin was a quasi-religious admirer of Issay Dobrowen's performance of the "preterhuman music" of one of Beethoven's 32 sonatas.

Classical music performers, like ballet dancers, were household names through their frequent appearances on Soviet TV.

[16] Kabalevsky's oft-quoted credo was "Beauty Evokes Kindness" (Russian: Прекрасное пробуждает доброе, romanized: Prekrasnoe probuzhdaet dobroe).

[17][18] The system was criticised for its alleged psychological violence towards the youth, e.g., threats towards that violin students would "be raped by the bow" unless they practice enough, and for being a "tortuous tool for the gender socialization of girls.

[22][23] His idea to implement his system of musical education in secondary schools was abandoned long before the clericalization of Russian society.