Composer Yuri Simakin (1947-2015): essay on life and work

The article is devoted to the life and work of the composer Y. A. Simakin. His first musical impressions were related to the Maykop. The choice of a profession was defined in the native town of Krasnodar. The path of creative development continued in Leningrad-Saint-Petersburg, where the diversity of his talent was fully revealed. Creative personality of Y. A. Simakin was influenced by communication with prominent representatives of Russian culture, in cooperation with prominent figures of musical art, ballet, theatre, and cinema. The article is partially based on the author’s interviews with Y. A. Simakin. A picture of the evolution of the composer is built in chronological sequence. It allows getting an idea not only about genre preferences, ideological orientation and artistic value criteria inherent to the Y. A. Simakin, but also about the meaning of homeland in his life.