Dankevych, Kostiantyn

Dankevych, Kostiantyn [Данькевич, Костянтин; Dan'kevyč, Kostjantyn], b 24 December 1905 in Odesa, d 26 February 1984 in Kyiv. Composer, conductor, pedagogue. On graduating from the Odesa Institute of Music and Drama (now the Odesa National Music Academy) in 1929, he joined its staff. He became a professor there in 1948, serving as its director until 1951; in 1953 he took up a professorship at the Kyiv Conservatory. From 1956 to 1967 he was head of the Union of Composers of Ukraine. His works include the operas Trahediina nich (Tragic Night, 1935), Bohdan Khmelnytsky (1951; new version, 1953), and Nazar Stodolia (1960); the ballet Lileia (Lily, 1939); two symphonies (1937, 1945); the symphonic poems Otello (Othello, 1937) and Taras Shevchenko (1939); a string quartet; a trio; choral works; and film scores and art songs for solo voice. M. Mykhailov wrote a monograph on Dankevych (Kyiv 1959, 1964, 1974).

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).]