In the picture, the photographer captured Sophia — the eldest daughter of Nikolay Ivanovich and Varvara Vasilievna, the sister of Tikhon Khrennikov.
Sophia was born in 1894. From childhood, she helped her mother with household duties, took care of her younger brothers and sisters, especially her youngest brother, Tikhon, whom she loved very much. When it turned out that the boy had musical talent, Sophia saved up money and bought him a used piano as a gift, at which the future composer, at the age of thirteen, composed his first work — a study for the piano.
Relatives recalled that Sophia always loved children and had pedagogical abilities — it was she who taught the future composer to read. She graduated from the Teachers' Institute and worked all her life as a physics and mathematics teacher in Yelets. Sophia did not have children of her own, and she gave all her soul to schoolchildren. The students remembered her with gratitude and spoke of her as a demanding and at the same time sensitive and attentive teacher.
In 1933, when the Khrennikovs' father died, and the younger children left for Moscow, Sophia took care of the mother and his epileptic brother Alexey. She became the pivot that kept the big family together. When the war began, a family council decided to leave for evacuation to the city of Kurgan. Mother Varvara Vasilievna, far from home, became seriously ill and, despite all the cares, died in early 1943.
The war, the death of her mother and brothers, domestic problems — these events undermined Sophia’s health, and in 1944 she died of heart disease. She was buried in the family plot of the old city cemetery next to her parents, brother and other relatives.
The composer Khrennikov treated his older sister with love and respect, and was very upset by the death of a loved one. He said that Sophia was a person of exceptional kindness and spiritual generosity, she always gave everything to people, without demanding anything for herself. Every time the musician came to his hometown, he always found time to visit the old cemetery and pay tribute to his family.
Sophia was born in 1894. From childhood, she helped her mother with household duties, took care of her younger brothers and sisters, especially her youngest brother, Tikhon, whom she loved very much. When it turned out that the boy had musical talent, Sophia saved up money and bought him a used piano as a gift, at which the future composer, at the age of thirteen, composed his first work — a study for the piano.
Relatives recalled that Sophia always loved children and had pedagogical abilities — it was she who taught the future composer to read. She graduated from the Teachers' Institute and worked all her life as a physics and mathematics teacher in Yelets. Sophia did not have children of her own, and she gave all her soul to schoolchildren. The students remembered her with gratitude and spoke of her as a demanding and at the same time sensitive and attentive teacher.
In 1933, when the Khrennikovs' father died, and the younger children left for Moscow, Sophia took care of the mother and his epileptic brother Alexey. She became the pivot that kept the big family together. When the war began, a family council decided to leave for evacuation to the city of Kurgan. Mother Varvara Vasilievna, far from home, became seriously ill and, despite all the cares, died in early 1943.
The war, the death of her mother and brothers, domestic problems — these events undermined Sophia’s health, and in 1944 she died of heart disease. She was buried in the family plot of the old city cemetery next to her parents, brother and other relatives.
The composer Khrennikov treated his older sister with love and respect, and was very upset by the death of a loved one. He said that Sophia was a person of exceptional kindness and spiritual generosity, she always gave everything to people, without demanding anything for herself. Every time the musician came to his hometown, he always found time to visit the old cemetery and pay tribute to his family.
