Viktor Stepanovich Kosenko

Born Nov. 11 (23), 1896, in St. Petersburg; died Oct. 3, 1938, in Kiev. Soviet com-poser, pianist, and teacher.

Kosenko graduated from the Petrograd Conservatory in 1918. He taught at the Music Technicum (1918-28) in Zhitomir, the N. V. Lysenko Institute of Music and Drama (1929-34), and the Kiev Conservatory (1934-38). He became a professor in 1932. Kosenko performed as a soloist and in ensembles. An outstanding master of Ukrainian music, Kosenko drew on the best traditions of Russian and Ukrainian classical music in his compositions. Many of his works are about his contemporaries.

He composed The Heroic Overture (1932) and Moldavian Poem (1937) for symphony orchestra, Classical Trio, three piano sonatas, choral music, romances, and songs. Kosenko was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.