Alissa Firsova
Encyclopedia
Alissa Firsova is a Russian
and British
composer, pianist and conductor
.
Born in Moscow
to the composers Elena Firsova
and Dmitri Smirnov, she moved to the UK in 1991.
In 2001 she won the BBC
/Guardian/Proms Young Composer Competition with her piano piece “Les Pavots”.
She graduated from Purcell School
as a composer and pianist in 2004, and Royal Academy of Music
as a pianist in 2009, where she also developed her conducting studies with Paul Brough
.
In 2009 she entered the Conducting Postgraduate Course in Royal Academy of Music
under the tuition of Colin Metters
.
Her piano teachers included Tatiana Kantorovich, Valéria Szervánszky
, James Gibb, Simon Mulligan, Hamish Milne
, Ian Fountain, and Stephen Kovacevich
. Among her composition teachers were Jeoffrey Sharkey, Richard Dubugnon, Jonathan Cole
and Simon Speare. She also participated in workshops and master classes with composers Nicholas Maw
, Simon Holt
, Anthony Gilbert
, David Bedford
, David Matthews
, and Mark-Anthony Turnage
.
She had her Wigmore Hall
debut in May 2009, followed by a Royal Albert Hall
debut playing Stravinsky’s Les Noces
in the Proms festival in August. Her "Bach Allegro", commissioned by BBC
Proms, was premiered in Royal Albert Hall
in August 2010 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
under Andrew Litton
.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
and British
British nationality law
British nationality law is the law of the United Kingdom that concerns citizenship and other categories of British nationality. The law is complex because of the United Kingdom's former status as an imperial power.-History:...
composer, pianist and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
Born in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to the composers Elena Firsova
Elena Firsova
Elena Olegovna Firsova is a Russian composer.-Life:She was born in Leningrad into the family of physicists Oleg Firsov and Viktoria Lichko. She studied music in Moscow with Alexander Pirumov, Yuri Kholopov, Edison Denisov and Philip Herschkowitz...
and Dmitri Smirnov, she moved to the UK in 1991.
In 2001 she won the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
/Guardian/Proms Young Composer Competition with her piano piece “Les Pavots”.
She graduated from Purcell School
Purcell School
The Purcell School is a specialist music school for children, located in the town of Bushey, south Hertfordshire, England, and is the oldest specialist music school in the UK. The school was awarded the UNESCO Mozart Medal in 2003, which was received on behalf of the school by Prince Charles, who...
as a composer and pianist in 2004, and Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
as a pianist in 2009, where she also developed her conducting studies with Paul Brough
Paul Brough
Paul Brough is an English conductor, and a teacher of conducting. He began 2011 as the new Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers....
.
In 2009 she entered the Conducting Postgraduate Course in Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
under the tuition of Colin Metters
Colin Metters
Colin Metters, is an English conductor, orchestral trainer and conducting pedagogue and since 1983 the principal professor of conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London.-Biography:...
.
Her piano teachers included Tatiana Kantorovich, Valéria Szervánszky
Valeria Szervánszky
Valeria Szervánszky . Hungarian pianist, born in Budapest and now a resident of the United Kingdom. She is a classical pianist.-Biography:...
, James Gibb, Simon Mulligan, Hamish Milne
Hamish Milne
Hamish Milne is a British pianist known for his advocacy of Nikolai Medtner.Milne studied at Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury and then at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he now teaches, and later in Italy under Guido Agosti...
, Ian Fountain, and Stephen Kovacevich
Stephen Kovacevich
Stephen Kovacevich , who has also been known as Stephen Bishop and Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich is an American classical pianist and conductor.-Biography:...
. Among her composition teachers were Jeoffrey Sharkey, Richard Dubugnon, Jonathan Cole
Jonathan Cole
Jonathan Cole is a British composer and professor of composition at the Royal College of Music.-Biography:...
and Simon Speare. She also participated in workshops and master classes with composers Nicholas Maw
Nicholas Maw
John Nicholas Maw was a British composer.-Biography:Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Maw was the son of Clarence Frederick Maw and Hilda Ellen Chambers. He attended the Wennington School, a boarding school, in Wetherby in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was 14...
, Simon Holt
Simon Holt
Simon Holt is a British composer.-Biography:Holt was educated at Bolton School. Shortly after graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music, he became firmly established on the new music circuit with a series of commissions and fruitful collaborations with the London Sinfonietta and the Nash...
, Anthony Gilbert
Anthony Gilbert (composer)
Anthony Gilbert is a British composer.-Biography:Gilbert, who was born in London, trained initially as a translator, then studied composition with Mátyás Seiber privately, and with Alexander Goehr and Anthony Milner at Morley College . He also studied with Gunther Schuller...
, David Bedford
David Bedford
David Vickerman Bedford , was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music....
, David Matthews
David Matthews (composer)
David Matthews is an English composer of mainly orchestral, chamber, vocal and piano works.- Life :He was born in London into a family that was 'not especially' musical; the desire to compose did not manifest itself until he was sixteen, and for a time he and his younger brother Colin Matthews,...
, and Mark-Anthony Turnage
Mark-Anthony Turnage
Mark-Anthony Turnage is a prolific English composer of classical music. His initial musical studies were with Oliver Knussen, John Lambert, and later with Gunther Schuller...
.
She had her Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
debut in May 2009, followed by a Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
debut playing Stravinsky’s Les Noces
Les Noces
Les noces by Igor Stravinsky, is a dance cantata, or ballet with vocalists.-History:The ballet was premiered on June 13, 1923 at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, by the Ballets Russes with choreography by Bronislava Nijinska...
in the Proms festival in August. Her "Bach Allegro", commissioned by BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Proms, was premiered in Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in August 2010 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
under Andrew Litton
Andrew Litton
Andrew Litton is an American orchestral conductor. Litton is a graduate of The Fieldston School, and holds both undergraduate and Masters degrees in music from Juilliard....
.
Works
- Op.1 “Les Pavots” for Solo Piano
- Op.2 “Strength Through Joy” for Symphony Orchestra
- Op.3 “Three Pieces” for Cello and Piano
- Op.4 ”The Entire City” for String Quintet.
- Op.5 “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in heaven” for Wind and String Ensemble.
- Op.6 “Rhapsody” for Solo Violin
- Op.7 “Lyrisches Stuck” for Viola and Piano
- Op.8 “Prophet” for Mixed Chorus
- Op.9 “Expressions” for Clarinet and Piano
- Op.11 “The Endless Corridor” for Piano
- Op.12 “Birth of Remembrance” for Flute, Clarinet, Violin and Cello
- Op.13 “Lune Rouge” for Piano
- Op.14 “Age of Reason” for String Quartet
- Op.15 “Celebration” for Clarinet, Flute, Violin and Cello
- Op.16 “Tamaris” for two cellos
- Op.17 “Bluebells” for piano solo, clarinet, horn, string quartet and percussion (3rd mov of Family Concerto, In memory of Dmitri ShostakovichDmitri ShostakovichDmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
– family project) - Op.18 “Paradiso” for String Quartet (3rd mov of “Divine Comedy” – family project)
- Op.19. “Freedom” (Clarinet Concerto)
- Op.20. “Zhivago Songs” to Boris PasternakBoris PasternakBoris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian language poet, novelist, and literary translator. In his native Russia, Pasternak's anthology My Sister Life, is one of the most influential collections ever published in the Russian language...
's poems for voice and piano - Op.21 "Moonlight over the Sea" based on Munch's painting for Solo Violin
- Op.22 "Chateau de Canisy" for Voice and Piano"
- "Bach Allegro" for Large Symphony Orchestra (transcription of the 3rd mov of Bach's 3rd Viola da Gamba Sonata BWV 1029). Proms Commission 2010.