Edison Vasilievich Denisov (, 6 April 1929 – 24 November 1996) was a Russian composer in the so-called " Underground", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division of Soviet music.

Biography

Denisov was born in

Tomsk Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. He studied mathematics before deciding to spend his life composing. This decision was enthusiastically supported by

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

, who gave him lessons in composition. In 1951–56 Denisov studied at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

: composition with

Vissarion Shebalin Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin (; 29 May 1963) was a USSR, Soviet composer, music pedagogue. Rector of the Moscow Conservatory (1942-1948). People's Artist of the RSFSR (1947). Biography Shebalin was born in Omsk, where his parents were school t ...

, orchestration with Nikolai Rakov, analysis with Viktor Tsukkerman and piano with Vladimir Belov. In 1956–59 he composed the opera ''Ivan-Soldat'' (Soldier Ivan) in three acts based on Russian folk fairy tales. He began his own study of scores that were difficult to obtain in the USSR at that time, including music by composers ranging from

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

and

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

and Stockhausen. He wrote a series of articles giving a detailed analysis of different aspects of contemporary compositional techniques and at same time actively experimented as a composer, trying to find his own way. After graduating from the Moscow Conservatory, he taught orchestration and later composition there. His pupils included the composers Dmitri Smirnov, Elena Firsova, Dilorom Saidaminova, Vladimir Tarnopolsky, Sergey Pavlenko, Ivan Sokolov, Yuri Kasparov. He supported and encouraged Dmitri Capyrin and Alexander Shchetynsky who have never been his pupils. In 1979, at the Sixth Congress of the Union of Soviet Composers, he was blacklisted as one of " Khrennikov's Seven" for unapproved participation in a number of festivals of Soviet music in the West. Denisov became a leader of the

Association for Contemporary Music Association for Contemporary Music (ACM) (, ''ASM - Assotsiatsiya Sovremennoy Muzyki'') was an alternative organization of Russian composers interested in avant-garde music. It was founded by Nikolai Roslavets in 1923. ACM ran concert series and p ...

reestablished in Moscow in 1990. Later he moved to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where after an accident and long illness he died in a

Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé (; named for Saint Maudez) is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France, in the high-end eastern inner suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, cent ...

hospital in 1996.

Music

Denisov's cycle for soprano and chamber ensemble ''Le soleil des Incas'' (1964), setting poems by Gabriela Mistral and dedicated to

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

, brought him international recognition following a series of successful performances of the work in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

and Paris (1965).

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

liked the piece, discovering the "remarkable talent" of its composer. However, it was harshly criticised by the Union of Soviet Composers for its "western influences", "erudition instead of creativity", and "total composer's arbitrary" ( Tikhon Khrennikov). After that, performances of his works were frequently banned in the Soviet Union. Later he wrote a flute concerto for Aurèle Nicolet, a violin concerto for Gidon Kremer, works for the oboist Heinz Holliger, clarinettist Eduard Brunner and a

sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

for

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

and piano for Jean-Marie Londeix, that became highly popular among saxophone players. His sombre but striking Requiem, setting a multi-lingual text ( English, French, German, and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

) based on works by the German writer Francisco Tanzer, was given its first performance in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in 1980. Among his major works are the operas '' L'écume des jours'' after

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan were bizarre parodies of criminal fiction, highly controversial at the time of th ...

(1981), ''Quatre Filles'' after

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

(1986) and ballet ''Confession'' after

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

Honours and awards

* People's Artist of the Russian Federation * Honoured Artist of the RSFSR * Chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters

Selected works

Chamber *1958 Sonata for Two Violins *1958 Three concert pieces for violin and piano *1960 Sonata for Flute and Piano *1961 String quartet no. 2 *1963 Concerto for flute, oboe, piano and percussion *1963 Violin sonata *1968 ''Ode'' (in Memory of

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

) for clarinet, piano and percussion *1968 ''Musique Romantique'' (''Романтическая музыка—Romantic Music'') for oboe, harp and string trio *1969 String trio *1969 Wind quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn *1969 ''Silhouettes'' for flute, two pianos and percussion *1969 ''Chant des Oiseaux'' (''Пение птиц'') for prepared piano (or harpsichord) and tape *1969 ''DSCH'' for clarinet, trombone, cello and piano *1969 ''The Singing of the Birds'' for the ANS photoelectronic synthesizer *1970 Sonata for alto saxophone and piano *1971 Piano Trio *1972 Sonatina for violin *1972 Sonata for clarinet solo *1974 ''Signes en blanc'' (''Знаки на белом—The Signs on White'') for piano *1975 ''Choral Varié'' for trombone and piano *1983 ''Five Etudes'' for Solo Bassoon *1984 Variations on Bach chorale ‘’Es ist genung’’ for viola and piano (or chamber orchestra) *1985 ''Three Pictures after

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

'' for viola, oboe, horn, piano, vibraphone and double bass *1987 Clarinet Quintet *1987 Piano quintet *1991 Four pieces for string quartet *1991 Octet for winds *1991 Quintet for saxophone quartet and piano *1993 Sonata for clarinet and piano *1994 Sonata for alto saxophone and cello *1995 Trio for flute, bassoon and piano *1995 Des ténèbres à la lumière (From Dusk to Light) for accordion *1996 Sonata for two flutes (May) *1996 ''Femme et oiseaux'' (''The Woman and the Birds'') homage to

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

for piano, string quartet and woodwind quartet *1996 ''Avant le coucher du soleil'' for alto flute and vibraphone Concertos *1972 Cello Concerto *1975 Piano Concerto *1975 Flute Concerto *1977 Violin Concerto *1977 ''Concerto Piccolo'' for saxophone and six percussionists *1978 Concerto for flute, oboe, and orchestra *1982 Variations for cello and orchestra on

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's Canon ''Tod ist ein langer Schlaf'' *1982 Chamber music for viola, harpsichord, and strings *1982 Concerto for bassoon, cello and orchestra *1984 Concerto for 2 violas, harpsichord, and strings *1985 ''Happy ending'' for 2 violins, cello, double bass and string orchestra *1986 Viola Concerto *1986 Oboe Concerto *1989 Clarinet Concerto *1991 Guitar Concerto *1993 Concerto for flute, vibraphone, harpsichord and string orchestra *1996 Concerto for flute, clarinet and orchestra Symphonic *1958 Little suite *1970 ''Peinture'' (''Живопись—Painting'') for orchestra *1982 Chamber Symphony No. 1 *1983 Epitaph for chamber orchestra *1985 Suite from the Ballet ''Confession'' *1986 Waltz by Franz Schubert *1987 Symphony No. 1 *1994 Chamber Symphony No. 2 *1996 Symphony No. 2 Choral/Vocal *1964 ''Le soleil des Incas'' (''Солнце инков''—''The Sun of Incas''), text by Gabriela Mistral for soprano, flute, oboe, horn, trumpet, two pianos, percussion, violin and cello *1964 ''Italian Songs'', text by Alexander Blok for soprano, flute, horn, violin and harpsichord *1966 ''Les pleurs'' (''Плачи—Lamentations''), text of Russian folksongs for soprano, piano and three percussionists *1966 '' Five stories of Mr. Keuner '' (B. Brecht) for tenor and small ensemble *1968 ''Autumn'' (''Осень'') after Velemir Khlebnikov for thirteen solo voices *1970 Two Songs after poems by Ivan Bunin for soprano and piano *1973 ''La vie en rouge'' (''Жизнь в красном цвете''—''The Life in Red''), text by

for solo voice, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion *1980 ''Requiem'' after liturgian texts and poems by Francisco Tanzer for soprano, tenor, mixed chorus and orchestra *1981 ''Song of Autumn'' for soprano and orchestra *1986 ''Aux plus haut des cieux'' for soprano and chamber orchestra *1988 ''Legends of the subterranean waters'' for chorus *1988 ''Peaceful Light'' for chorus *1989 ''Four Poems'' after G. de Nerval for voice, flute and piano *1991 ''Kyrie'' for choir and orchestra after fragment from Mozart K.323 *1992 ''History of Life and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christus'' according to St. Matthew for bass, tenor, chorus and orchestra *1995 ''Choruses for Medea'' for chorus and ensemble *1995 ''Morning Dream'' after seven poems of Rose Ausländer for soprano, mixed chorus and orchestra Opera *1956–9 ''Soldier Ivan'' () opera in three acts after motifs from Russian folk fairy tales *1981 '' L'écume des jours'' (''Пена дней—The Foam of Days''), an opera after

*1986 ''Quatre Filles'' (''Четыре девушки—The Four Girls''), an opera in one act after

Ballet *1984 ''Confession'' (''Исповедь''), a ballet in three acts after

Arrangements/Completions *1981 Arrangement of Bach Partita BWV 1004, for violin and orchestra *1985 Arrangements of 5 Paganini Caprices op. 1, for violin and string orchestra *1993 Completion of

's opera '' Rodrigue et Chimène'' *1995 Completion of

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

's opera-oratorio ''Lazarus oder Die Feier der Auferstehung'' (''Лазарь и торжество Воскрешения'') D689 *1996 Three Cadenzas for Mozart's Concerto for flute and harp

References

Bibliography

* Armengaud J.-P. ''Entretiens avec Denisov, un compositeur sous le régime soviétique.'' P., 1993 * , , * Yuri Kholopov & Valeria Tsenova: ''Edison Denisov — The Russian Voice in European New Music''; Berlin, Kuhn, 2002 * * Brian Luce: ''Light from Behind the Iron Curtain: Anti-Collectivist Style in Edison Denisov's "Quatre Pièces pour Flûte et Piano;"'' UMI, Ann Arbor, 2000 * Peter Schmelz: ''Listening, Memory, and the Thaw: Unofficial Music and Society in the Soviet Union, 1956–1974,'' PhD Dissertation, University of California (

Richard Taruskin Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation. The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as ...

, advisor), 2002 * Peter Schmelz: ''Such Freedom, If Only Musical''. Oxford University Press, 2009 * Ekaterina Kouprovskaia : ''Edison Denisov'', monographie. Aedam Musicae, 2017 * Купровская Е. ''Мой муж Эдисон Денисов''. — М.: Музыка, 2014 * Ценова B. ''Неизвестный Денисов''. М., 1997 * * ''Свет. Добро. Вечность. Памяти Э. Денисова. Статьи. Воспоминания. Материалы''. М. 1999

External links

Official website dedicated to Edison Denisov (English, Russian & French)
*
Edison Denisov at wikilivres.ru (Russian & English)Edison Denisov at news.google.comEdison Denisov at books.google.comEdison Denisov at scholar.google.comEdison Denisov at jstor.org

List of works (Russian)

Brief bio at "Boosey & Hawkes"
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051101105529/http://website.lineone.net/~dmitrismirnov/DenisovLight.html Composer of Light by Dmitri Smirnov (English)br>Fragments on Denisov by Dmitri Smirnov & Elena Firsova (Russian)
* ttp://www.bruceduffie.com/denisov.html Interview with Edison Denisovby Bruce Duffie, May 16, 1991
Edison Denisov, the friend of our family
by Natalia Bondy ''(SpecialRadio, June 2016
russian text)
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Denisov, Edison 1929 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Russian classical composers 20th-century Russian male musicians Knights of the Legion of Honour Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Honored Artists of the RSFSR Russian male opera composers Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Moscow Conservatory alumni People from Tomsk People's Artists of Russia Pupils of Vissarion Shebalin Russian opera composers Soviet male classical composers Tomsk State University alumni