Nazib Zhiganov

(1911-1988)

“Creating step-by-step the foundation of modern Tatar musical art, Nazib Zhiganov combined high professional culture and traditional folk art achievements on a fundamentally new level. Nazib Zhiganov's efforts are so great and diverse that it allows us to speak of him as one of the greatest figures of 20th-century musical culture not only in Tatarstan but also in Russia as a whole.” 

–R. N. Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan

Honored Art Worker of the TASSR (1939), RSFSR (1940), People’s Artist of the USSR (1957), Professor (1953). Composer, founder of the academic Tatar musical school, and creator of the classical music education system there.

The composer’s compositions are still the most extensive in the musical art of the Republic of Tatarstan. Nazib Zhiganov is the author of 8 operas, 3 ballets, 17 symphonies, numerous chamber, vocal, and instrumental works, as well as songs.

His leadership and contribution led to the opening and operation of such musical institutions and organizations as the Union of Composers of the Republic of Tatarstan, Tatar State Opera Theatre named after M. Jalil, State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan Secondary Specialized Music School (now Lyceum at the Kazan State Conservatory).