Belza, Ihor

Belza, Ihor [Белза, Ігор (Дорощук; Doroshchuk)], b 26 January 1904 in Kielce, Poland, d 5 January 1994 in Moscow. Musicologist, composer, and pedagogue. A graduate of the Kyiv Conservatory (Borys Liatoshynsky’s class), Belza taught there and was also director of the music department of the Kyiv Artistic Film Studio (1930–7). In 1938–41 he worked in the Mystetstvo publishing house in Kyiv and collaborated with the journal Radians'ka muzyka. In 1942–9 he was a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Belza’s writings deal with the history of Ukrainian music as well as music and culture of Slavic countries, particularly Czechoslovakia and Poland. He is the author of Ukrainskaia muzyka v gody voiny (Ukrainian Music during the War Years, 1946) and B. M. Liatoshyns'kyi (1947). Belza’s compositions include five symphonies; orchestral, chamber, and piano pieces; vocal solos; and film music.

[This article was updated in 2018.]