Music and Time Annotation << Back To Eduard Patlayenko’s 80 Anniversary: Historical Subject in Works of the Composer N.Yu. Grodnitskaya The paper is dedicated to the oeuvre of composer Eduard Patlayenko (born in 1936). A native of Stavropol, he came to Karelia after his graduation from Leningrad conservatoire in 1963, to connect all his further life with these parts. He is one of the most honored members of the Karelian composers’ organization. His oeuvre being rich and versatile, he is equally attracted by both large-scale symphonic canvases and chamber genres. The composer is tireless in the search for topics for his pieces of work, which nearly always feature an unexpected and unhackneyed solution. Plots of a number of pieces of work by Patlayenko have been inspired by the literature. It was not infrequently that he picked out historical subjects from it as well, which run like a golden thread through his entire creative work. In his student days, the composer got acquainted with poet Victor Sosnora. A few pieces were composed based on some of his poems, two of which are quite considerable. These are vocal-symphonic opuses Frescoes Based on «"The Lay of the Host of Igor" for Baritone and Orchestra» (1962) and «Songs of Boyan», a triptych for baritone and orchestra (1966), which defined the composer’s style to a great extent. «The Third Symphony» (1967) was created based on «The White Disease», an antifascist play by the Czech classic playwright Karel Čapek. Events of the Great Patriotic War and the death of the composer’s father gave him an impetus to compose «The Fourth Symphony» (1983). «Oratorial Symphony "Rusia and The Sword"» (1978), which libretto was written by the composer himself, comes under his most significant pieces. Keywords: Eduard Nikolayevich Patlayenko, Karel Čapek, Victor Sosnora, history, fresco, ‘The White Disease’, jazz quartet, oratorial symphony. Contacts: E-mail: nat193708@jandex.ru Pp. 50-57.