What is Tikhon Khrennikov?
'''Tikhon Khrennikov''' (born [[Yelets]], [[Russian Empire]], 10 June 1913; died [[Moscow]], 14 August 2007) was a [[Russia]]n [[musician]]. He was a [[composer]] and [[pianist]] He got involved in the musical [[politics]] of his country, which was then the [[Soviet Union]]. A lot of people hated him, especially in western countries. He is particularly remembered for what he did at the unpleasant conference in 1948, when some of the most famous [[Soviet]] composers, including [[Shostakovich]] and [[Prokofiev]], were made to say they were sorry for the music they had written and that they would compose better music in future. In the days of the Soviet Union, and especially under [[Stalin]], musicians had to be very careful about what they did and how they composed. Music, like all arts, was supposed to make people feel that they were lucky to be living in a great country like the Soviet Union. If composers wrote music that the politicians did not like or understand, life became very difficult for them: they would not be allowed to compose, and their music could not be performed. They might even be sent to [[prison]]. Tikhon Khrennikov became Secretary to the Union of Soviet Composers in 1948, at the time when Stalin was [[dictator]]. He continued in this job until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. He made sure that all musicians obeyed their political leaders. It is difficult for us today to judge the actions of Khrennikov fairly. He survived because he did what he was told by Soviet dictators. After the collapse of the Soviet Union he tried to say he was sorry for what he did. It is difficult to judge whether he really meant this. == Life and career== Tikhon Khrennikov was the youngest of ten children, born into a family of horse traders, in the town of [[Yelets]] in the Russian province of [[Lipetsk Oblast|Lipetsk]] in central Russia. His family started to teach him the [[guitar]] and [[mandolin]]. When he was nine he started learning the piano, and when he was 13 he started composing