Elena Olegovna Firsova (; also ''Yelena'' or ''Jelena Firssowa''; born 21 March 1950) is a

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n composer living in the UK.

Life

Firsova was born in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

into the family of physicists Oleg Firsov and Viktoria Lichko. She studied music in Moscow with

Alexander Pirumov Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

, Yuri Kholopov,

Edison Denisov 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, Siberia. He studied math ...

and

Philip Herschkowitz Philipp Herschkowitz (; Russian: Филипп Гершкович, ''Filipp Gershkovich'') (7 September 1906 – 5 January 1989) was a Romanian-born composer and music theorist, pupil of Alban Berg and Anton Webern, who spent 47 years, from ...

. In 1979 she was blacklisted as one of the " Khrennikov's Seven" at the Sixth Congress of the

Union of Soviet Composers The Union of Russian Composers (formerly the Union of Soviet Composers, Order of Lenin Union of Composers of USSR () (1932– ), and Union of Soviet Composers of the USSR) is a state-created organization for musicians and musicologists created in 1 ...

for unapproved participation in some festivals of Soviet music in the West. She was married to the composer Dmitri Smirnov and lives in the United Kingdom. Their children are Philip Firsov (an artist and sculptor), and Alissa Firsova (a composer, pianist and conductor). She has composed more than a hundred compositions in many different genres including chamber opera '' The Nightingale and the Rose'' after

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

and

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romanticism, romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well k ...

(premiered at the 1994 Almeida Opera Festival, London), an orchestra work ''Augury'', (premiered at the 1992 BBC Proms) that includes a choral setting of

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

's famous lines "To see the world in a grain of sand..." and ''Requiem'' to

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; , . ( – 5 March 1966), better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova,. ...

's poem for soprano, chorus and orchestra (premiered at the

Konzerthaus Berlin The Konzerthaus Berlin is a concert hall in Berlin, the home of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. Situated on the Gendarmenmarkt square in the central Mitte district of the city, it was originally built as a theater. It initially operated from 1 ...

in September 2003). Her favourite genre is a chamber cantata for solo voice and ensemble (or orchestra). Some of them are written to the poems by

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

Marina Tsvetaeva Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva ( rus, Марина Ивановна Цветаева, p=mɐˈrʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə tsvʲɪˈta(j)ɪvə, links=yes; 31 August 1941) was a Russian poet. Her work is some of the most well-known in twentieth-century Russ ...

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (30 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, composer, and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pasternak's first book of poems, ''My Sister, Life'', was published in Berlin in 1922 and soon became an imp ...

and Oleg Prokofiev. However, most of them are setting the poems by her favourite poet

Osip Mandelstam Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam (, ; – 27 December 1938) was a Russian and Soviet poet. He was one of the foremost members of the Acmeist school. Osip Mandelstam was arrested during the repressions of the 1930s and sent into internal exile wi ...

that include ''Earthly Life'', ''Tristia'', ''The Stone'', ''Forest Walks'', ''Before the Thunderstorm'', ''Stygian Song'', ''Secret Way'', ''Seashell'', ''Whirlpool'', ''Silentium'', ''Winter Songs'', and ''

Petrarch Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists. Petrarch's redis ...

's Sonnets'' (in Russian translation by Osip Mandelstam). She received commissions from many music festivals, orchestras and ensembles including the Concertgebouw Orchestra,

Brodsky Quartet The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, formed in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in 1972 as the "Cleveland Quartet", and subsequently named for Russian violinist Adolph Brodsky. Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members, ...

, Manchester Wind Orchestra, Schubert Ensemble, Freden Festival, BBC Proms, Asiago Festival, and

Expo 2000 Expo 2000 was a World Expo held in Hanover, Germany from 1 June to 31 October 2000. It was located on the Hanover Fairground (Messegelände Hannover), which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially, some 40 million people were ...

(Hanover). Her music is available through publishers

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British Music publisher (sheet music), music publisher, purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass instrument, brass, string instru ...

, London; Hans Sikorski, Hamburg; G. Schirmer, New York.

Works

Concerto

* Cello Concerto No. 1 (1973) * Chamber Concerto No. 1 for flute and strings (1978) * Chamber Concerto No. 2 (Cello Concerto No. 2, 1982) * Violin Concerto No. 2 (1983) * Chamber Concerto No. 3 (Piano Concerto No. 1, 1985) * Chamber Concerto No. 4 for horn and ensemble (1987) * Chamber Concerto No. 5 (Cello Concerto No. 3, 1996) * Chamber Concerto No. 6 (Piano Concerto No. 2, 1996)

Ensembles

* ''Odyssey'' for 7 players (1990) * ''Petrarch's Sonnets'' (translated by

) for voice and ensemble (1976) * ''Music for 12'' for ensemble (1986) * ''Insomnia'', for four singers (Pushkin, 1993) * ''The Night'' for voice and saxophone quartet (

, 1978) * ''Stygian Song'' for soprano and chamber ensemble (Mandelstam, 1989) * ''Before the Thunderstorm'', cantata for soprano and ensemble (Mandelstam, 1994) * ''Black Bells'' for piano and ensemble (2005) * Piano Trio, Op. 8 (1972) 9'. Trio, cl, vn, pfn, 1990, 9'.

Quartet

* '' Amoroso'', String Quartet No. 4 (1989) * ''Misterioso'', String Quartet No. 3 (1980) * ''Compassione'', String Quartet No. 7 (1995) * ''The Stone Guest'', String Quartet No. 8 (1995) * ''Purgatorio'', String Quartet No. 11, completed in 2008 * ''Silentium'' for voice and string quartet (Mandelstam, 1991) * ''The Door is Closed'', String Quartet No. 9 (1996) * '' La malinconia'', String Quartet No. 10 (1998) * ''Lagrimoso'', String Quartet No. 5 (1992) * String Quartet No. 6 (1994) * ''Farewell'', String Quartet No. 12 (2005)

Cantata

* ''The Stone'', cantata for voice and symphony orchestra (Mandelstam, 1983) * ''Earthly Life'', chamber cantata for soprano and ensemble (Mandelstam, 1984) * ''Forest walks'', cantata for soprano and ensemble (Mandelstam, 1987)

Orchestral

* ''Augury'' for chorus and orchestra (

1988) * ''Nostalgia'' for orchestra (1989) * ''Tristia'', cantata for voice and chamber orchestra (Mandelstam, 1979) * ''The River of Time'' for chorus and chamber orchestra in memory of

(

Gavrila Derzhavin Gavriil (Gavrila) Romanovich Derzhavin (, ; 14 July 1743 – 20 July 1816) was one of the most highly esteemed Russian poets before Alexander Pushkin, as well as a statesman. Although his works are traditionally considered literary classicis ...

, 1997) * ''Captivity'' for wind orchestra (1998) * ''Leaving'' for string orchestra (1998) * ''Cassandra'', for orchestra (1992) * ''Secret Way'' for voice and orchestra (Mandelstam, 1992) * ''Das erste ist vergangen (Christushymnus 2000)'' (The Former Things are Passed Away) for soprano, bass, mixed choir, and chamber orchestra (

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

, Bible, etc., 1999) * ''Requiem'' for soprano, chorus and orchestra (

, 2001) * ''The Garden of Dreams'', Homage to

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 ...

for orchestra (2004)

Opera

*''A Feast in Time of Plague'', chamber opera after

(1973) * '' The Nightingale and the Rose'', chamber opera after

and

(1991)

Vocal

*''Three Poems of Osip Mandelstam'', for voice and piano (1980) * ''Shakespeare's Sonnets'' for voice and organ (or saxophone quartet, 1981) * ''Seashell'' for soprano and ensemble (Mandelstam, 1991) * ''Whirlpool'' for voice, flute and percussion (Mandelstam, 1991) * ''Distance'' for voice, clarinet and string quartet (

, 1992) * ''No, it is not a Migraine'' for baritone and piano (Mandelstam, 1995) * ''The Scent of Absence'' for bass, flute and harp ( Oleg Prokofiev, 1998) * ''Winter Songs'' for soprano and cello (Mandelstam, 2003)

Solo

* Suite for viola solo, Op. 2 (1967) * Sonata for clarinet solo, Op. 16 (1976) * ''For Slava'' for solo cello (2007)

Discography

* ''Misterioso'', String Quartet No.3 Op.24 in: Lydian Quartet in Moscow: E. Firsova, Chaushian, Child, Lee Art and Electronics: AED 10108 Stereo * ''Amoroso'', String Quartet No.4 Op.40 in:

Chilingirian Quartet The Chilingirian Quartet is a British string quartet. It gave its first public concert in Cambridge in 1972. By the time the quartet celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, there had been various changes in the line-up. However, it has continued t ...

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 composers of ...

, Schnittke,

Smirnov Smirnov (masculine, ) or Smirnova (feminine, ) is one of the two most common surnames in Russia. ''Smirnov'' () is derived from an adjectival nickname (; in archaic form , ), meaning 'quiet, still, peaceful, gentle'. Smirnov * Aleksandr Smirnov ...

, Roslavets, E. Firsova: Music for String Quartet, Conifer Classics 75605 512522 * ''La Malinconia'', String Quartet No.10 Op.84 in: Brodsky Quartet:

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Op.18 and six more: Alvarez, Beamish, E. Firsova, Jegede,

, Tanaka, Vanguard Classics 99212 * ''Chamber Concerto No.1'' for Flute and Strings Op.19 in: Works by modern composers of Moscow: Smirnov, Bobilev, E. Firsova, Pavlenko, Artiomov, Mobile Fidelity MFCD 906 * ''Cassandra'' for symphony orchestra Op.60 (1992) together with

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (24 October 1931 – 13 March 2025) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Modernism (music), modernist Holy minimalism, sacred music. She was highly prolific, producing numerous Chamber music, chamber, Orchestra, orch ...

: Pro et contra BIS CD-668 STEREO * ''The Mandelstam Cantatas'' (''Forest Walks, Earthly Life, Before the Thunderstorm'') Studio for New Music Moscow, Igor Dronov, conductor; Ekaterina Kichigina, soprano Megadisc MDC 7816 * ''For Alissa'' Op. 102 (2002) in: RUSSIAN ÉMIGRÉS:

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

, E. Firsova, A. Firsova: Alissa Firsova, piano: Vivat 109 DDD ** ''Homage to Canisy'', Op.129 for Cello & Piano ** ''Lost Vision'', Op. 137 for Piano Solo ** ''A Triple Portrait'', Op.132, commissioned by Marsyas Trio (2011) ** ''Night Songs'', Op.125 for Mezzo-Soprano, Flute & Cello ** ''Spring Sonata'', Op.27 for Flute & Piano ** ''For Slava'', Op.120 for Solo Cello ** ''Meditation in the Japanese Garden'', Op.54 for Flute, Cello & Piano ** ''Three Poems of Osip Mandelstam'', Op.23 for Soprano & Piano ** ''Tender is the Sorrow'', Op.130 for Flute, String Trio and Piano in: A Triple Portrait. Chamber Music by Elena Firsova – Marsyas Trio, Meridian: CDE84635

Bibliography

* Elena Firsova: ''On Music''; in ''Sowjetische Musik im Licht der Perestroika,'' pp. 337–8, Laaber-Verlag, Germany, (German translation by Hannelore Gerlach and Jürgen Köchel) 1990

References

Sources

* Yuri Kholopov: ''Russians in England: Dmitri Smirnov, Elena Firsova.'' Article, in: Music From the Former USSR. Issue 2. Moscow: Composer, 1996, pp. 255–303; Ex oriente...: Ten Composers from the Former USSR. Berlin: Verlag Ernst Kuhn, 2002, pp. 207–266 *''Firsova, Yelena Olegovna'' by Stephen Johnson, in the ''

New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', ed.

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

(London, 1992)

External links

*
A Complete List of Works

Brief biography at Boosey & Hawkes site

Composer's home page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Firsova, Elena 20th-century Russian classical composers 21st-century Russian classical composers Russian women classical composers British women classical composers Soviet emigrants to the United Kingdom British opera composers 1950 births Living people Composers from Saint Petersburg 20th-century British composers 21st-century British composers Women opera composers 20th-century Russian women composers 21st-century Russian women composers