(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.
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
Logos – Concerto 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 Shade – Setting 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 Shade – Setting 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)