Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin (16 December 1932 – 29 August 2025) was a distinguished Soviet and Russian composer, pianist, and music pedagogue. Born in Moscow into a musical family, Shchedrin was exposed to music and critical awareness from an early age. He studied at the Moscow Choral School and the Moscow Conservatory, where he learned composition under Yuri Shaporin and piano with Yakov Flier, graduating in 1955.

Shchedrin's early works were tonal and richly orchestrated, often incorporating elements of Russian folk music, while his later compositions explored aleatoric and serial techniques. An accomplished pianist and organist, he performed his First Piano Concerto in 1954, which drew on Russian folklore. He chose to focus primarily on composition, creating a diverse body of work that includes operas, ballets, orchestral works, chamber music, vocal music, and film scores.

He married the renowned ballerina Maya Plisetskaya in 1958, for whom he composed several ballets, including the Carmen Suite and Anna Karenina. His First Symphony, composed in 1958, and his subsequent symphonies and concertos were characterized by innovative structures and themes. Shchedrin's works were internationally recognized and performed, and he was regarded as a leading composer of the late Soviet period and a significant figure in contemporary Russian music. Throughout his career, he received numerous awards, including the USSR State Prize and the State Prize of the Russian Federation.