“The great and most modest genius of our time”: how will the composer Eduard Artemyev be remembered

On Thursday, December 29, the legendary composer, People's Artist of Russia Eduard Artemiev died.

He was 85 years old. 

Earlier, the media reported that in early December, Artemyev was hospitalized due to problems with the spine.

Soon the artist was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.

Later, he was transferred to the intensive care unit due to problems that arose during the treatment of bacterial pneumonia.

His death was confirmed by his son, composer Artemy Artemiev.

“Unfortunately, I am forced to confirm the information about the death of Eduard Nikolaevich,” he told Izvestia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the relatives and friends of the composer.

According to him, Artemiev's music has connected many generations, has become a symbol of an entire historical era.

“He was an infinitely talented, extraordinary, dedicated person who paved a special, very personal path in art,” the text of the telegram says.

The amazing, sincere and heartfelt melodies of Eduard Artemiev will forever remain with us.

Condolences in connection with the death of the musician are also expressed by his colleagues.

The chairman of the board of the Union of Composers of Russia, Rashid Kalimullin, in a conversation with RT, called Artemyev an amazing composer who "correctly approached the genre of film art and film music."  

“This is a great loss, it is sad and sad that the outstanding composer Eduard Artemiev has passed away.

I can’t imagine cinema without its music,” said Kalimullin.

The Minister of Culture of Russia Olga Lyubimova, in a telegram sent to the Union of Cinematographers, stressed that Eduard Artemyev "made an invaluable contribution to the development of musical art in our country."

“This is an irreparable loss for the professional community, for all those who loved his work, for the entire national culture,” RIA Novosti quoted her as saying.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted that Artemyev's music has been inspiring and giving her hope for many years.

“An amazing gift and its embodiment, amazing in power,” the diplomat writes in his Telegram.

Director Karen Shakhnazarov, in an interview with Gazeta.Ru, noted that Eduard Artemiev "was an outstanding composer and worked with the most brilliant masters of Soviet and Russian cinema," and his death was a loss for Russian culture.

“It was a great honor for me, I worked with him twice.

He wrote music for the films "Courier" and "City Zero".

This, of course, was an amazing person in every sense.

And as a professional of the highest level, and as an artist, and just as a human being, he had absolutely extraordinary qualities.

A huge loss for our culture, cinematography,” says Shakhnazarov.

Dmitry Dyuzhev called the composer "a man of the era" and noted that his work had an impact on the actor himself.

“He was an intelligent man with a refined taste, a sense of style.

He did not pay, perhaps, attention to the external decorations of himself, external attractiveness, as if he did not care.

He had a huge world of art inside in its various manifestations, ”the Izvestia portal quotes Dyuzhev.

“The great and most modest genius of our time,” writes Yefim Shifrin about the composer.

Documentary filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, Jr., in a commentary for 360, said that he and Eduard Artemyev had not only professional, but also friendly relations.

The director noted that the composer made a great contribution to the development of electronic music in Russia.

“Until now, modern musicians imitate it, search for it, study it.

Therefore, of course, a great musician,” said Tarkovsky Jr.

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The famous composer Eduard Artemyev was born in Novosibirsk on November 30, 1937.

After graduating from the Moscow State P.I.

Tchaikovsky in 1960 studied electronic music, which had a great influence on his work.

During his career, Artemyev wrote compositions for dozens of theatrical productions and about 200 films and TV series, including Burnt by the Sun, The Barber of Siberia, Nikita Mikhalkov’s Friends among Strangers, Stalker by Tarkovsky, Odysseus, "White Nights of the Postman Alexei Tryapitsyn" by Andrei Konchalovsky and many others.

Eduard Artemiev worked with pop stars, in particular, he wrote music for songs by such performers as Roxana Babayan and Valery Leontiev.

The composer's works were performed at the Olympic Games in Moscow and Sochi.

The composer received the Nika award four times, and was also awarded the Mikael Tariverdiev prize at Kinotavr in 1999, the MIFF and Golden Eagle awards.

In 1990, Eduard Artemyev founded the Russian Association of Electroacoustic Music.

He was a member of the Union of Cinematographers and the Union of Composers of Russia.