Nikolai Korndorf
Encyclopedia
Nikolai Sergeevich Korndorf ' onMouseout='HidePop("98075")' href="/topics/Moscow">Moscow
, USSR – May 30 , 2001 Vancouver
, Canada
) was a Russia
n and Canadian (from 1991) composer and conductor. He was prolific both in Moscow, Russia and in Vancouver, Canada.
(1965–1970). During these years wrote a one act opera A tale on… after Semyon Kirsanov. Korndorf completed post-graduate studies in 1973 with his opera Feast in the Time of Plague after Alexander Pushkin. He studied conducting with Leo Ginsburg from 1967 to 1979 and taught composition and orchestration at the Conservatory from 1972 to 1991. He became a member of the Union of Composers in 1973 and later a member of the Moscow Presidium of the Soviet Composers' Union. He was a co-founder and Deputy President of the New Association for Contemporary Music (ACM).
His early works were written in a traditional academic manner until he adopted an atonal post-expressionist style. Later he turned to a kind of minimalist
repetitive aesthetic already notable in his Confessiones (1979) for double bass and twelve wind instruments, and Jarilo (1981) an extensive piece for piano and tape. This line was developed in his large-scale works such as three Hymns (1987–1990), his 3rd and 4th Symphonies and an opera MR (Marina and Rainer)
based on correspondence between Marina Tsvetaeva
and Rainer Maria Rilke
.
In 1991, Korndorf left Russia for Vancouver
, Canada
, where he began experimenting with electro-acoustic media. In Canada he was an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre and an Associate of the Canadian League of Composers. He taught composition at the University of British Columbia
towards the end of his life.
A champion of Korndorf's music, Russian conductor Alexander Lazarev
, has performed and recorded most of Korndorf’s work.
"This gleaming piece [Hymn II] is recognizably minimalist in its radically reduced material, but the composer said that he had modeled it on the solemn doxologies of the Russian Orthodox Church. And its liturgical character derives not only from actual liturgical sources but also, and at least as much, from the familiar Russian glory-music of the concert and opera stages. (Imagine Górecki
arranged by Rimsky-Korsakov
, or a diatonic Poem of Ecstasy.) One can believe that such a synthesis would have occurred only to a Russian composer without buying into the biology-is-destiny mystique of nationalism." (Richard Taruskin
, New York Times)
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...
, USSR – May 30 , 2001 Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n and Canadian (from 1991) composer and conductor. He was prolific both in Moscow, Russia and in Vancouver, Canada.
Biography
He studied composition with Sergei Balasanyan at the Moscow ConservatoryMoscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
(1965–1970). During these years wrote a one act opera A tale on… after Semyon Kirsanov. Korndorf completed post-graduate studies in 1973 with his opera Feast in the Time of Plague after Alexander Pushkin. He studied conducting with Leo Ginsburg from 1967 to 1979 and taught composition and orchestration at the Conservatory from 1972 to 1991. He became a member of the Union of Composers in 1973 and later a member of the Moscow Presidium of the Soviet Composers' Union. He was a co-founder and Deputy President of the New Association for Contemporary Music (ACM).
His early works were written in a traditional academic manner until he adopted an atonal post-expressionist style. Later he turned to a kind of minimalist
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
repetitive aesthetic already notable in his Confessiones (1979) for double bass and twelve wind instruments, and Jarilo (1981) an extensive piece for piano and tape. This line was developed in his large-scale works such as three Hymns (1987–1990), his 3rd and 4th Symphonies and an opera MR (Marina and Rainer)
MR (Marina and Rainer)
MR is a chamber opera in one act by the Russian composer Nikolai Korndorf . The libretto by Yuri Lourié is in Russian, German, Ancient Greek and Japanese)...
based on correspondence between Marina Tsvetaeva
Marina Tsvetaeva
Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva was a Russian and Soviet poet. Her work is considered among some of the greatest in twentieth century Russian literature. She lived through and wrote of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Moscow famine that followed it. In an attempt to save her daughter Irina from...
and Rainer Maria Rilke
Rainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
.
In 1991, Korndorf left Russia for Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where he began experimenting with electro-acoustic media. In Canada he was an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre and an Associate of the Canadian League of Composers. He taught composition at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
towards the end of his life.
A champion of Korndorf's music, Russian conductor Alexander Lazarev
Alexander Lazarev
Alexander Lazarev is a Russian conductor. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and later at the Moscow Conservatory with Leo Ginsbourg. In 1971, he was the first prize winner in a national conducting competition in the USSR...
, has performed and recorded most of Korndorf’s work.
Principal works
- Concerto for viola and string orchestra (1970)
- Sonata for viola solo (1970)
- Feast in the Time of Plague one act opera after Alexander Pushkin (1972)
- Symphony No 1 for full symphony orchestra (1975)
- Confessiones for 14 players and tape (1979)
- Symphony No 2 for full symphony orchestra (1980)
- Movements for percussion ensemble (1981)
- Primitive music for twelve saxophones (1981)
- Yarilo for piano and tape (1981)
- Yes!!, ritual for three singers, chamber ensemble and tape (1982)
- Singing for mezzo-soprano and tape (1982)
- Tristful Songs for chamber choir and percussion (1 player) (1983)
- Con Sordino for 16 string instruments and harpsichord (1984)
- Lullaby for two pianos (1984)
- Brass-quintet for two trumpets, horn, trombone and tuba (1985)
- Concerto capriccioso for violoncello solo, string orchestra and percussion (1986)
- Amoroso for 11 players (1986)
- The Dance in Metal in Honour of John CageJohn CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
for one percussion player (1986) - In Honour of Alfred SchnittkeAlfred SchnittkeAlfred Schnittke ; November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony and First Concerto Grosso...
(AGSCH), string trio for violin, viola and violoncello (1986) - Hymn I Sempre Tutti for full symphony orchestra (1987)
- Hymn II for full symphony orchestra (1987)
- MR (Marina and Rainer)MR (Marina and Rainer)MR is a chamber opera in one act by the Russian composer Nikolai Korndorf . The libretto by Yuri Lourié is in Russian, German, Ancient Greek and Japanese)...
, chamber opera in one act after J. Lourié (1989) - Symphony No 3 for full symphony orchestra, boy's choir, men's choir, piano solo and narrator (1989)
- Hymn III In Honour of Gustav MahlerGustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
for full symphony orchestra and soprano (1990) - Mozart-Variations for string sextet (1990)
- Continuum for organ and tape (bells, gongs and tam-tams) (1991)
- The Magic Gift of Segnoro Luigi for percussion ensemble (1991)
- Prologue for full symphony orchestra (1992)
- Let the Earth Bring Forth for chamber ensemble (1992)
- String Quartet for two violins, viola and violoncello (1992)
- ...Si Muove!, play for instrumental ensemble, actors and dancers (1993)
- Epilogue for full symphony orchestra (1993)
- Victor (The Victor) for full symphony orchestra (1995)
- Welcome! for female choir and instruments played by singers themselves (1995)
- Get out!!! for any four or more instruments (1995)
- Welcome!, version for six female voices and instruments played by singers themselves (1995)
- Are You Ready, Brother?, trio for piano, violin, and violoncello (1996)
- Symphony No. 4 Underground music for full symphony orchestra (1996)
- Music for Owen Underhill and His Magnificent Eight for chamber ensemble (1997)
- Passacaglia for solo cello (1997)
- The smile of Maud LewisMaud LewisMaud Lewis was a Canadian folk artist from Nova Scotia. She remains one of Canada's best known and most loved folk artists.-Early life:...
for small symphony orchestra (1998) - Canzone triste for harp (1998)
- Musica Nominis Expers for full symphony orchestra (1998)
- In D for full symphony orchestra (1998)
- Lament, Response and Glorification for cello and piano (1998–1999)
- A Letter to V. Martynov and G. Pelecis for piano (1999)
- Echo for mixed choir and ensemble (1999)
- Merry Music for Very Nice People for violin, cello, clarinet, piano and percussion (2000)
Recordings
- CD Art and Electronics CD AED 68017
- CD Megadisc MDC 7817: Patricia Kopatchinskaya (violin), Daniel Raskin (viola), Alexander Ivashkin (cello), Ivan Sokolov (piano)
- CD Sony SK 66824: BBC SO, Alexander LazarevAlexander LazarevAlexander Lazarev is a Russian conductor. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and later at the Moscow Conservatory with Leo Ginsbourg. In 1971, he was the first prize winner in a national conducting competition in the USSR...
(conductor), Catherine BottCatherine BottCatherine Bott is a British soprano and a baroque specialist.Following her studies at The King's High School For Girls, and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with Arthur Reckless, she began her career as a member of the English baroque-jazz crossover group, The Swingle Singers...
(soprano) (1994)
Quotations
"My music usually relates to serious topics: philosophical, religious, moral, the problems of a personal spiritual life, of the relationship with the surrounding world, the problem of beauty and its relationship with a reality, as well as the problem of loftiness and meaning in human beings and in art, relationship of the spiritual and the anti-spiritual. All this means that most of my works were written not for fun and in no way can be classified as entertainment. As much as possible I strive to ensure that every one of my works contains a message to each listener and that my music leaves no one indifferent, but aroused with an emotional response. I even accept that at time my music arouses negative emotions - as long as it is not indifference." (Nikolai Korndorf)"This gleaming piece [Hymn II] is recognizably minimalist in its radically reduced material, but the composer said that he had modeled it on the solemn doxologies of the Russian Orthodox Church. And its liturgical character derives not only from actual liturgical sources but also, and at least as much, from the familiar Russian glory-music of the concert and opera stages. (Imagine Górecki
Henryk Górecki
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki was a composer of contemporary classical music. He studied at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice between 1955 and 1960. In 1968, he joined the faculty and rose to provost before resigning in 1979. Górecki became a leading figure of the Polish avant-garde during...
arranged by Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
, or a diatonic Poem of Ecstasy.) One can believe that such a synthesis would have occurred only to a Russian composer without buying into the biology-is-destiny mystique of nationalism." (Richard Taruskin
Richard Taruskin
Richard Taruskin is an American-Russian musicologist, music historian, and critic who has written about the theory of performance, Russian music, fifteenth-century music, twentieth-century music, nationalism, the theory of modernism, and analysis. As a choral conductor he directed the Columbia...
, New York Times)