THE LIVING COMPOSERS PROJECT  

Yuri Kasparov

(b. 8 June 1955, Moscow).

Russian composer of mostly orchestral, chamber and vocal works that have been performed throughout Europe and elsewhere.

Mr. Kasparov graduated from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute in 1978 and the P. I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in Moscow in 1984, where he had postgraduate studies in composition with Edison Denisov from 1984–91.

Among his honours are First Prize in the competition All-Union in Moscow (1985, for Symphony No. 1, 'Guernica'), Primo Premio in the competition Guido d'Arezzo in Arezzo (1989, for Ave Maria), Grand Prix in the competition Henri Dutilleux (1996, for Effet de nuit), and an honourable mention in the competition of the Accademia Musicale Pescarese in Pescara (1999, for Reminiscence). He was later named Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France in 2008.

Mr. Kasparov is also active in other positions. He served as musical editor-in-chief of the Russian State Central Studio of Documentary Films in Moscow from 1985–89. He founded the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble in 1990 and has served as its artistic director since 1990. In addition, he was a founding member of the organising committee of the Assotsiatsiya Sovremennoy Muzyki – Association for Contemporary Music in Moscow.

He has taught instrumentation as a professor at the P. I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory since 2005.

His primary publishers are Le Chant du Monde, Éditions Alphonse Leduc and Éditions Gérard Billaudot.

CONTACT INFORMATION

E-mail address: yuri.kasparov@gmail.com

SELECT LIST OF WORKS

STAGE:

Nevermore (mono-opera, libretto by Edgar Allan Poe), baritone, small orchestra (17 players), 1992

The end of ideas is nigh! (interactive opera, libretto by Sergey Volchenko), soprano, baritone, flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2001

ORCHESTRAL:

Symphony No. 1, 'Guernica', large orchestra (96 players), 1984

Symphony No. 2, 'Kreutzer-Sinfonie', large orchestra (80 players), 1987

Linkos (sequence), 1988

Diffusion, off-stage tuba, orchestra in 3 groups (29 total players), 1988

Concerto, oboe, orchestra (3 flutes, 3 clarinets, 3 trombones, harp, tenor banjo, organ, amplified harpsichord [+ prepared piano, celesta], 6 percussion, 26 strings), 1988

Genesis (Microsymphony), 1989

Silencium (Chamber Symphony No. 1), small orchestra (14 players), 1989

Devil's Trills (Variations on Tartini's theme), small orchestra (16 players), 1990

Of Eternal Peace (chamber concerto), bassoon, small orchestra (14 players), 1992

LogosConcerto for Orchestra, 1993

Touching (Chamber Symphony No. 2), small orchestra (16 players), 1995

Seven Illusory Images of Memory, small orchestra (16 players), 1995

Concerto, bassoon, orchestra, 1996

The World as It Is (musical picture), large orchestra (91 players), 1997

Beyond Time (Variations on Denisov's theme), small orchestra (14 players), 1998

Concerto, cello, large orchestra (70 players), 1998

Symphony No. 3, 'L'Ecclésiaste', 1999

DSCH-Meditation, organ, 20 strings, 2000

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, large orchestra, 2002

Les Symboles de Picasso, small orchestra (12 players), 2003

Castles in the Air, 24 flutes, 2003

C'est la vie (concerto), flute, large orchestra (67 players), 2003

Obélisque (concerto), organ, large orchestra (70 players), 2005

Le Cauchemar de nuit de l'agent Fix (plaisanterie musical d'après Jules Verne), string orchestra, 2005

Symphony No. 4, 'Notre Dame', 2008

CHAMBER MUSIC:

Epitaph in Memory of Alban Berg, oboe, harp, violin, percussion, 1988

Invention, string quartet, 1989

Sonata-Infernale, bassoon, 1989

Sketch of a picture with collage, trumpet, violin, piano, 1990

Variations, clarinet, piano, 1990

Postludio, harp, 1990

Cantus Firmus, violin, 1990

Landscape fading into infinity, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 1991

Goat Song, bassoon, double bass, percussion, 1991

Notturno, clarinet, violin, piano, 1991

Chaconne, bassoon, cello, live electronics, 1992

Schoenberg's Space, violin, cello, piano, 1993

Briefly about a serious matter, trombone, organ, 1994

Game of Gale, tenor saxophone, piano, marimba, 1995

12 Samples of Interrelations between bassoon, 8 double basses and 8 kettledrums, bassoon, timpani (2 players), 8 double basses, 1996

Chorale, 4 double basses, 1997

Scrappy Reflections, cello, piano, percussion, 1997

Gas-Bag, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, 1997

Crossthoughts, bassoon, 4 cellos, 1998

Light and ShadeSetting off (Chamber Symphony No. 3), oboe, clarinet, bassoon, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 1999

Concertando con forza tanta, cello, piano, 1999

Ghost of Music, clarinet, bassoon, organ, percussion, 2002

Lullaby for Sonia Marmeladoff, harp, string quartet, 2004

Hommage à Honegger, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, piano, 2 violins, viola, cello, 2005

Dialogue with commentaries, double bass, piano, 2005

CHORAL:

Ave Maria, 12 mixed voices, violin, organ, vibraphone, 1989

VOCAL:

Stabat Mater, soprano, string quartet, 1991

A dream (text by Edgar Allan Poe), soprano, organ, 1996

Effet de nuit (text by Paul Verlaine), bass-baritone, clarinet, French horn, cello, piano, vibraphone, 1996

Trois Fables de Jean de La Fontaine (text by Jean de La Fontaine), bass-baritone, oboe, clarinet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, percussion, 1997

The Magic Violin (text by Nikolay Gumilev), mezzo-soprano, fixed media, 2001

PIANO:

Reminiscence, piano, fixed media, 1993

Quintessence, 2003

Prelude, Toccata and Fugue, 2 pianos, 2008

ORGAN:

Credo, 1990

La Bonne Humeur de Monsieur Degeyter (musical joke), 2000

The Lesson of Democracy. Teacher and Pupil (musical joke), 2002

Lontano, organ, fixed media, 2005

DISCOGRAPHY

Devil's Trills (Variations on Tartini's theme). Alexei Vinogradov/Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga: MK 417036, 1991)

Notturno. Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (Olympia: OCD 282, 1991)

Epitaph in Memory of Alban Berg. Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (Olympia: OCD 283, 1991)

Sonata-Infernale. Valery Popov, bassoon (Olympia: OCD 295, 1992)

Ave Maria; Concerto (oboe); Genesis (Microsymphony); Invention; Linkos; Stabat Mater. Vladimir Ponkin/Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, State Symphony Cinema Orchestra (Olympia: OCD 296, 1992)

Goat Song. Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (Olympia: OCD 297, 1992)

Landscape fading into infinity; Overture from Nevermore; Credo; Cantus Firmus; Variations; Postludio; Silencium (Chamber Symphony No. 1). Oleg Tantzov, clarinet; Olga Eldarova, harp; Maria Khodina, violin; Natalya Savinova, cello; Viktor Yampolsky, piano; Kirill Umansky, organ; Alexei Vinogradov/Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (Le Chant du Monde: LDC 288 060/CM 210, 1993)

Devil's Trills (Variations on Tartini's theme); A dream; Light and ShadeSetting off (Chamber Symphony No. 3); 12 Samples of Interrelations between bassoon, 8 double basses and 8 kettledrums; Reminiscence; Seven Illusory Images of Memory. Ekaterina Kichigina, soprano; Jeffrey Lyman, bassoon; Mikhail Dubov, piano; Ludmila Golub, organ; Viktor Grishin, Igor Prokopov, timpani; Mark Kadin/Double Bass Octet of Rustem Gabdullin; Alexei Vinogradov/Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (Le Chant du Monde: LDC 278 1120, 2000)