Aleksandr Lokshin

Alexander Lazarevich Lokshin (Russian: Александр Лазаревич Локшин) (1920 – 1987) was a Russian composer of classical music. He was born on September 19, 1920, in the town of Biysk, in the Altai Region, Western Siberia.

He was born to Lazar Lokshin, a Jew from Siberia, and Maria Korotkina, a doctor. He wrote eleven symphonies, two string quintets (one recorded), among other works. A pupil of a great Russian composer, Nikolay Myaskovsky, he refused to compromise with the Soviet regime and dearly paid for it by being persecuted and rejected by the censors . However, later in life there were allegations, never proved, that he had been an informer for the secret police. At the time of his death his name was forgotten in his native Russia and not known in the West. Some of his compositions he had never heard performed. His art, ironically, was introduced in the West only after his death. His close friendship with famed Russian conductor Rudolf Barshai led to their close collaboration, premier performances of his major works and recordings.

External links

• Alexander Lazarevich Lokshin Web Site - here you can listen to his music
• A web page in Russian dedicated to Alexander Lazarevich Lokshin
• Lokshin page on the Rudolf Barshai web site
• Site dedicated to Lokshin's music
• Lokshin section of the Soviet Composers site maintained by Onno van Rijen