Leonid Desyatnikov
Encyclopedia
Leonid Arkadievich Desyatnikov ' onMouseout='HidePop("23887")' href="/topics/Kharkiv">Kharkiv
) is a Russian composer.
Leonid Desyatnikov was born in 1955 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. He is a graduate of the Leningrad Conservatory
, where he studied composition and instrumentation. Desyatnikov has penned four operas, several cantatas and numerous vocal and instrumental compositions. His principal compositions include: Rosenthal’s Children (an opera in two acts; libretto, Vladimir Sorokin), commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre
; Poor Liza (a chamber opera in one act; libretto, Leonid Desyatnikov, after the novel by Nikolai Karamzin); Gift (a cantata based on the verses of Gavrila Derzhavin); The Leaden Echo (a work for voice(s) and instruments based on the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins); and The Rite of Winter 1949 (a symphony for chorus, soloists and orchestra).
Desyatnikov has been collaborating with Gidon Kremer
since 1996 as a composer (Wie der Alte Leiermann...; the chamber version of Sketches to Sunset; Russian Seasons) as well as arranging the works of Astor Piazzolla, among which is the tango-operita Maria de Buenos-Aires and Quatro Estaciones Porteñas.
Desyatnikov wrote the scores for the films Sunset (1990), Lost in Siberia (1991), Hammer and Sickle (1994), Moscow Nights (Katya Izmailova) (1994), Giselle’s Mania (1995), Prisoner of the Mountains (1996), All That Is Tender (1996), Moscow (2000), His Wife’s Diary (2000) and The Target (2010).
He was awarded a Golden Ram prize and the Grand Prix of the IV International Cinema Music festival in Bonn for his score for Moscow and the special prize of the Window to Europe Cinema Festival in Vyborg.
In 2006 the opera Rosenthal’s Children received the special jury prize of The Golden Mask National Theatre Award. In 2003 he was awarded the State Prize of Russia.
poets, and several instrumental transcriptions on the themes of Ástor Piazzolla
.
The style of his music is defined by the composer himself as “an emancipation of consonance”, transformation of banality and ‘minimalism’ with a human face”. His favourite genre is “a tragically naughty bagatelle”.
"Leonid Desyatnikov's Rosenthal's Children, composed to a libretto
by the highly controversial fiction writer Vladimir Sorokin
, has just opened at the Bolshoi Theatre
. The production is arguably the season's most provocative. Here, Mozart is a clone brought to life at Doctor Rosenthal's laboratory. With the government subsidies for cloning and stem cell exploration, as well as for other areas of basic research, cut off during Boris Yeltsin
's presidency in the early 1990s, clones of Mozart and other great composers-such as Giuseppe Verdi
, Richard Wagner
, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky - find themselves loose on Moscow's streets, exposed to the murky post-Soviet reality, memories whereof are still fresh for many Muscovites." (Dmitry Kosyrev, RIA Novosti, political commentator, Saturday, June 10, 2006)
"The Bolshoi was nominated for Leonid Desyatnikov's new Rosenthal’s Children, which was accused of being "pornographic" and prompted an investigation by the Russian State Duma when it opened last year..." (By Ben Mattison, March 24, 2006)
"Gold Mask 2006: Special Awards of the Musical Theatre Jury. Bolshoi Theatre
– for the initiative of developing contemporary Russian opera with Rosenthal’s Children by Leonid Desyatnikov and Vladimir Sorokin
." (Official announcement)
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
) is a Russian composer.
Leonid Desyatnikov was born in 1955 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. He is a graduate of the Leningrad Conservatory
Saint Petersburg Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory is a music school in Saint Petersburg. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members and 1,400 students.-History:...
, where he studied composition and instrumentation. Desyatnikov has penned four operas, several cantatas and numerous vocal and instrumental compositions. His principal compositions include: Rosenthal’s Children (an opera in two acts; libretto, Vladimir Sorokin), commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
; Poor Liza (a chamber opera in one act; libretto, Leonid Desyatnikov, after the novel by Nikolai Karamzin); Gift (a cantata based on the verses of Gavrila Derzhavin); The Leaden Echo (a work for voice(s) and instruments based on the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins); and The Rite of Winter 1949 (a symphony for chorus, soloists and orchestra).
Desyatnikov has been collaborating with Gidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer is a Latvian violinist and conductor. In 1980 he left the USSR and settled in Germany.-Biography:Kremer was born in Riga to parents of German-Jewish and Latvian-Swedish origins. He began playing the violin at the age of four, receiving instruction from his father and his grandfather,...
since 1996 as a composer (Wie der Alte Leiermann...; the chamber version of Sketches to Sunset; Russian Seasons) as well as arranging the works of Astor Piazzolla, among which is the tango-operita Maria de Buenos-Aires and Quatro Estaciones Porteñas.
Desyatnikov wrote the scores for the films Sunset (1990), Lost in Siberia (1991), Hammer and Sickle (1994), Moscow Nights (Katya Izmailova) (1994), Giselle’s Mania (1995), Prisoner of the Mountains (1996), All That Is Tender (1996), Moscow (2000), His Wife’s Diary (2000) and The Target (2010).
He was awarded a Golden Ram prize and the Grand Prix of the IV International Cinema Music festival in Bonn for his score for Moscow and the special prize of the Window to Europe Cinema Festival in Vyborg.
In 2006 the opera Rosenthal’s Children received the special jury prize of The Golden Mask National Theatre Award. In 2003 he was awarded the State Prize of Russia.
Work
He is the author of four operas, the symphony The Rite of Winter 1949, vocal cycles to the poems of Rilke and the OBERIUOberiu
OBERIU was a short-lived avant-garde collective of Russian Futurist writers, musicians, and artists in the 1920s and 1930s...
poets, and several instrumental transcriptions on the themes of Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music...
.
The style of his music is defined by the composer himself as “an emancipation of consonance”, transformation of banality and ‘minimalism’ with a human face”. His favourite genre is “a tragically naughty bagatelle”.
Operas
- Poor Liza (Бедная Лиза) one-act chamber opera, libretto by Leonid Desyatnikov after Nikolai Karamzin (1976; 1980)
- Nobody Wants to Sing or Bravo-bravissimo, Pioneer Anisimov (Никто не хочет петь, или Браво-брависсимо, пионер Анисимов a comic opera for children in two acts, libretto by B. Chaban (1982)
- Vitamin of the Growth (Витамин роста) one-act classical opera for children, for the soloists and piano after the poem by Oleg Grigoriev (1985)
- Rosenthal's Children (Дети Розенталя) opera in two acts, libretto by Vladimir SorokinVladimir SorokinVladimir Georgievich Sorokin is a contemporary postmodern Russian writer and dramatist, one of the most popular in modern Russian literature.-Biography:...
. Commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre, premiere March 23, 2005
Chamber music
- Variations on the Obtaining of a Dwelling for violoncello and piano.
- Wie Der Alte Leiermann for violin and piano
- Du côté de chez Swan for two pianos
- Sketches to Sunset, quintet for flute, clarinet, violin, double bass and piano
- Return for oboe, clarinet, two violins, viola, cello and tape
Other genres
- Gift (Dar), after Gavrila Derzhavin
- Liebe und Leben des Dichters, a vocal cycle to the poems by Daniil KharmsDaniil KharmsDaniil Kharms was an early Soviet-era surrealist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist. One of his pseudonyms, which was signed in Latin alphabet, was Daniel Charms.- Life :...
and Nikolay Oleynikov - The Leaden Echo, for voice(s) and instruments after Gerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
, - Russian Seasons for voice, solo violin and strings
Music fo symphony orchestra
- The Rite of Winter 1949, a symphony for chorus, soloists and orchestra.
- Scetches to Sunset for orchestra
Film music
- Lost in Siberia ("Затерянный в Сибири", 1991, Mitta)
- Katia Izmailova (Moscow nights) ("Подмосковные вечера",Todorovsky, 1994)
- Hammer and Sickle ("Серп и молот", Livnev, 1994)
- Giselle's Mania ("Мания Жизели", Uchitel, 1995)
- The Prisoner of the Mountains ("Кавказский пленник", Bodrov, 1996)
- His Wife's Diary (Uchitel, 2000)
- Sunset ("Закат", Zeldovich, 1990)
- Moscow ("Москва", Zeldovich, 2000)
- Target ("Мишень", Zeldovich, 2011)
Quotations
"A farce, a popular opera, a folk play or a parable - all of these descriptions are valid for the bright, joyful production of Tsar Demyan which premiered on the stage of the Maly Drama Theatre on June 20 and 23 as part of the "White Nights" Festival. The folklore play about the apostate Tsar and his martyred son has its roots in the persecution of the first Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and was extremely popular in factories and villages alike, even gaining popularity among the military. Essentially, the play was a true piece of folk theater - and folklore, as we know, is always anonymous. It was decided to write the music for this play in the spirit of folk primitivism." (Giulara Sadykh-zade in St. Petersburg Times Issue No. 682 (49), Friday, June 29, 2001)"Leonid Desyatnikov's Rosenthal's Children, composed to a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by the highly controversial fiction writer Vladimir Sorokin
Vladimir Sorokin
Vladimir Georgievich Sorokin is a contemporary postmodern Russian writer and dramatist, one of the most popular in modern Russian literature.-Biography:...
, has just opened at the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
. The production is arguably the season's most provocative. Here, Mozart is a clone brought to life at Doctor Rosenthal's laboratory. With the government subsidies for cloning and stem cell exploration, as well as for other areas of basic research, cut off during Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
's presidency in the early 1990s, clones of Mozart and other great composers-such as Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky - find themselves loose on Moscow's streets, exposed to the murky post-Soviet reality, memories whereof are still fresh for many Muscovites." (Dmitry Kosyrev, RIA Novosti, political commentator, Saturday, June 10, 2006)
"The Bolshoi was nominated for Leonid Desyatnikov's new Rosenthal’s Children, which was accused of being "pornographic" and prompted an investigation by the Russian State Duma when it opened last year..." (By Ben Mattison, March 24, 2006)
"Gold Mask 2006: Special Awards of the Musical Theatre Jury. Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
– for the initiative of developing contemporary Russian opera with Rosenthal’s Children by Leonid Desyatnikov and Vladimir Sorokin
Vladimir Sorokin
Vladimir Georgievich Sorokin is a contemporary postmodern Russian writer and dramatist, one of the most popular in modern Russian literature.-Biography:...
." (Official announcement)