The Russian composer, pianist, and conductor Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987) was an important figure in the musical life of the Soviet Union. His compositions for children are among his best known and most successful works.

Dmitri Kabalevsky was born in St. Petersburg on December 30, 1904. In 1918 his family moved to Moscow, where he enrolled at the Scriabin Musical Institute. There he received formal instruction in music and piano. When he was only in his mid-teens he began giving piano lessons and composing simple pieces for his students. After leaving the institute in 1922 he continued to study intermittently with V. Selivanov (his piano teacher at the institute), taught piano, and played for silent movies.

In 1925 he entered the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied piano with Goldenweiser and composition with Catoire and, later, Miaskovsky. He began teaching composition at the conservatory in 1932 and was made a full professor in 1939. During these years...