Background
A native of Saint St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Petrov was the son of a military doctor. His mother was an artist.
A native of Saint St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Petrov was the son of a military doctor. His mother was an artist.
He studied composition at the Leningrad Conservatory under Orest Yevlakhov.
Andrey Petrov is known for his music for numerous classic Soviet films such as I Step Through Moscow, Beware of the Carolina, and Office Romance. He had little interest in music until, at fourteen, he saw The Great Waltz. After this he decided to become a composer.
Petrov is known for his work in various genres.
He wrote a number of operas and ballets, as well as symphonic works, incidental and film music, and various songs. He is especially famous for his ballet Creation of the World, based on drawings by Jean Effel.
This was performed around the world, with Mikhail Baryshnikov among its first performers. Petrov also scored over eighty films, including the Soviet-American co-production The Blue Bird.
From 1964 until his death Petrov was the head of the Saint St. Petersburg Composers" Union, to which he was introduced by Dmitri Shostakovich.
He also founded and served as the general director of a music festival in Saint St. Petersburg. Andrey Petrov died in Saint St. Petersburg. He is buried at the Volkovskoye Cemetery in the city.
Union of Soviet Composers.