XV International Festival of Contemporary Music
MOSCOW FORUM
Marking the 150th anniversary of the Moscow Conservatory
13–16 October 2016
Rachmaninoff Hall of the Conservatory
The XV International Festival of Contemporary Music “Moscow Forum” is timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of its alma mater, the Moscow Conservatory — the institution from which the overwhelming majority of Russia’s leading composers graduated, and whose venues have hosted more than a hundred concerts and some five hundred premieres in the course of the previous fourteen Forums.
The informal theme of the fifteenth Forum may be taken to be the question “And how are we today?”, borrowed from the title of one of the pieces in the closing concert. The festival programme is an attempt to present a current cross-section of avant-garde music through the prism of the history of the Moscow Conservatory and its different generations (45 participating composers in all) — from a sensational Shostakovich premiere delayed by almost a century and other premieres by classic composers to the best pieces by young composers, from works by the Conservatory’s internationally known avant-garde composer-professors to the music of the Russian emigration. Alongside them, new works will be heard by leading foreign composers who have been guests of the Conservatory over the years.
Vladimir Tarnopolsky, artistic director of the festival
The festival is held with the support of Statoil
LIST OF EVENTS
Thursday, 13 October
18:00
Levon Hakobian. On the Newly Discovered Shostakovich Manuscripts
19:00
Festival Opening
opening remarks: Alexander Sokolov, Vladimir Tarnopolsky
Concert 1. Premieres of the Classics
Dmitri Shostakovich Fragments from the opera “The Nose” (1927–1928) WP
Entr’acte to Scene 6 of the opera “The Nose” (1927–1928)
Sofia Gubaidulina The Pilgrims for violin, double bass, piano and percussion (2014)*
Edison Denisov Wishing Well for voice, clarinet, viola and piano to poems by Franz Tanzer (1985) RP
Edison Denisov Hymn for 8 cellos (1995) RP
Ekaterina Kichigina, soprano
Moscow Conservatory Cello Ensemble directed by Olga Galochkina
Studio for New Music ensemble
Conductor — Honoured Artist of Russia Igor Dronov
20:30
Concert 2. A priori / A posteriori — Premieres by Young Composers
Marina Khorkova a priori for flute and cello (2013) RP
Balasagyn Musaev Scales for 5 performers (2016) WP*
Andrey Besogonov The Universe 26 for 6 performers (2016) WP*
Georgy Dorokhov Nazino Island for ensemble (2011) WP
Elena Rykova You exist and I’m an illusion for cello and percussion (2016)*
Nikolai Popov Biomechanics for bayan and electronics (2014)
Alexander Khubeev a posteriori for ensemble (2015) RP
Andrey Nikitin, percussion
Studio for New Music ensemble
Conductor — Honoured Artist of Russia Igor Dronov
22:00
Night Concert I. Call to Studio / Play with Studio
Alexey Nadzharov Call to Studio for audience, ensemble, live electronics and video (2016) WP
Yaroslav Sudzilovsky Chaikolossus for cello and percussion (2011)
[-] Play with Studio a collective improvisation by composers who graduated from the Moscow Conservatory and the soloists of the Studio for New Music
Alexey Nadzharov, live electronics
Yaroslav Sudzilovsky, cello
Andrey Nikitin, percussion
Friday, 14 October
11:00–15:00
Discussion: The Reception of Contemporary Music in the History of the Moscow Conservatory (1866–2016)
19:00
Concert 3. The Conservatory Today — Premieres by Faculty Members
Faraj Karaev The Tale of Tales, or Yesterday’s Tomorrow for soprano and chamber ensemble (2012) RP
Yuri Kasparov A Vanishing World, Chamber Symphony No. 4 for 8 performers (2010) RP
Alexey Sioumak Aria for soprano and accordion (2014)
Yuri Vorontsov 32 for violin, clarinet and piano (2012)
Olga Bochikhina New Piece for double bass and electronics (2016) WP
Vladimir Gorlinsky The Cause for ensemble, electronics and video (2014) RP
Igor Kefalidi apophonie for 2 pianos and electronics (2016) WP*
Ekaterina Kichigina, soprano
Olga Vlasova, soprano
Sergey Chirkov, accordion
Mona Khaba, piano
Natalia Cherkasova, piano
Studio for New Music ensemble
Conductor — Honoured Artist of Russia Igor Dronov
20:30
Concert 4. The Conservatory Diaspora — Composers of the Northern Capital and the Russian Emigration
Alexander Knaifel (St Petersburg) A prima vista for 4 performers on five groups of percussion (1972)
Dmitri Smirnov (United Kingdom) Three Quarks for King Mark for percussion (1999)Sofia Gubaidulina (Germany) Hörst du uns, Luigi? Schau mal, dies ist der Tanz, den eine gewöhnliche Holzratsche für dich vollführt, for percussion (1991)
Edison Denisov (France) Black Clouds for percussion (1989)
Alfred Schnittke (Germany) Quartet for percussion (1994)
Alexander Raskatov (France) Madrigal in Metal for 5 percussionists (1993)
Andrei Volkonsky (France) Replica, a happening for chamber ensemble (1969)
Nikolai Korndorf (Canada) Get out!!! for four or more performers (1995)
Mark Pekarsky Percussion Ensemble
Saturday, 15 October
15:00–18:00
Discussion on contemporary music today: “And how are we today?”
19:00
Concert 5. Line of the Horizon — Premieres by Foreign Composers, Guests of the Conservatory
Helmut Lachenmann (Germany) temA for soprano, flute and cello (1968)
Beat Furrer (Switzerland–Austria) linea dell’orizzonte for 10 performers (2012) RP
Mark Andre (Germany) …In… for bass clarinet (2002) RP
Georg Friedrich Haas (Austria) String Quartet No. 2 (1998)
Philippe Hurel (France) Trait d’union for violin and cello (2013) RP
Francesco Filidei (Italy) Ballata No.2 (2012) for ensemble (2009) RP
Michel van der Aa (Netherlands) And how are we today? for mezzo-soprano, double bass and piano (2012) RP
Ekaterina Kichigina, soprano
Marina Rubinstein, flute
Olga Galochkina, cello
Sergey Chirkov, accordion
Studio for New Music String Quartet
Stanislav Malyshev, violin
Inna Zilberman, violin
Anna Burchik, viola
Olga Kalinova, cello
Studio for New Music ensemble
Conductor — Honoured Artist of Russia Igor Dronov
21:00
Concert 6. Maps of Non-Existent Cities
Dmitri Kourliandski Maps of Non-Existent Cities: Paris for contrabass clarinet and accordion (2014) RP
Sergey Chirkov, accordion
Evgeny Barkhatov, contrabass clarinet
22:00
Night Concert II.
Vladimir Martynov Work to be announced
Sunday, 16 October
4:33 p.m., Room 433
music by students of the Moscow Conservatory
19:00
Concert 6. A Full-Moon Premiere
Alexey Sysoev Selenology for two pianos (2013) WP
Natalia Cherkasova, piano
Yuri Favorin, piano