Edison Vasilievich Denisov (Russian: Эдисо́н Васи́льевич Дени́сов), born on April 6, 1929, and died on November 24, 1996, was a Russian composer who belonged to the "Underground," "alternative," or "nonconformist" music groups in the Soviet Union.

Biography

Denisov was born in Tomsk, Siberia. He studied mathematics before choosing to spend his life composing music. This choice was strongly supported by Dmitri Shostakovich, who taught him how to compose.

From 1951 to 1956, Denisov studied at the Moscow Conservatory. He learned composition from Vissarion Shebalin, orchestration from Nikolai Rakov, analysis from Viktor Tsukkerman, and piano from Vladimir Belov. Between 1956 and 1959, he composed an opera called Ivan-Soldat (Soldier Ivan), which has three acts and is based on Russian folk fairy tales.

He studied music that was hard to find in the USSR at that time, including works by composers such as Mahler, Debussy, Boulez, and Stockhausen. He wrote articles explaining details about modern musical techniques, while also experimenting with his own compositions to develop his unique style.

After finishing his studies at the Moscow Conservatory, Denisov taught orchestration and later taught composition there. His students included composers such as Dmitri Smirnov, Elena Firsova, Dilorom Saidaminova, Vladimir Tarnopolsky, Sergey Pavlenko, Ivan Sokolov, and Yuri Kasparov. He also supported and encouraged composers Dmitri Capyrin and Alexander Shchetynsky, even though they were not his students. See: List of music students by teacher: C to F#Edison Denisov.

In 1979, at the Sixth Congress of the Union of Soviet Composers, Denisov was blacklisted as one of "Khrennikov's Seven" for participating in Western festivals without approval.

Denisov became a leader of the Association for Contemporary Music, which was restarted in Moscow in 1990. Later, he moved to France, where he died in a Saint-Mandé hospital in 1996 after an accident and a long illness.

Music

Denisov composed a piece called Le soleil des Incas (1964) for a soprano and a small group of musicians. This work, which includes poems by Gabriela Mistral and is dedicated to Pierre Boulez, gained international attention after successful performances in Darmstadt and Paris (1965). Igor Stravinsky praised the piece, calling Denisov a "remarkable talent." However, the Union of Soviet Composers criticized it for its "Western influences," "focus on knowledge over creativity," and "complete control by the composer" (Tikhon Khrennikov). After this, many of Denisov's works were often banned in the Soviet Union.

Later, Denisov wrote a flute concerto for Aurèle Nicolet, a violin concerto for Gidon Kremer, and pieces for other musicians, including oboist Heinz Holliger, clarinetist Eduard Brunner, and saxophonist Jean-Marie Londeix. These works became very popular among saxophone players.

His serious and powerful Requiem, which uses texts in English, French, German, and Latin from Francisco Tanzer, was first performed in Hamburg in 1980.

Among his major works are the operas L'écume des jours (1981), based on a story by Boris Vian; Quatre Filles (1986), inspired by Pablo Picasso's art; and the ballet Confession, based on a work by Alfred de Musset.

Honours and awards

• People's Artist of Russia
• Honoured Artist of the RSFSR
• Knight of the Legion of Honour
• Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters

Selected works

• 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) 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—The Song of Birds) 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 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 for piano, string quartet and woodwind quartet
• 1996 Avant le coucher du soleil for alto flute and vibraphone

• 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'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

• 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

• 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 Boris Vian 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

• 1956–9 Soldier Ivan (Russian: Иван-солдат) 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 Boris Vian
• 1986 Quatre Filles (Четыре дев