Leonid Desyatnikov
Leonid Arkadievich Desyatnikov (Russian: Леонид Аркадьевич Десятников, born 16 October 1955 in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR). He is a graduate of the Leningrad Conservatory and a member of the Composers Union of St. Petersburg. Desyatnikov has written four operas, several cantatas and numerous vocal and instrumental compositions. His principal works include an opera The Children of Rosenthal (Vladimir Sorokin, libretto); ballets Lost Illusions and Opera, a chamber opera Poor Liza after Nikolay Karamzin; Gift, a cantata on poems by Gavriil Derzhavin; Dichterliebe und -leben, a vocal cycle on poems by Daniil Kharms and Nikolay Oleynikov; The Leaden Echo for voice(s) and instruments on the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins; The Rite of Winter 1949, a symphony for choir, soloists and orchestra; Songs of Bukovina for piano. Life and careerLeonid 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 opera, several cantatas and numerous vocal and instrumental compositions. His principal compositions include: The Children of Rosenthal (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, including the tango-operita María de Buenos Aires and the tango suite Cuatro 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),[1] "Trompe-loeil" for piano four hands, Aldeburgh (2023, June), "Reflections on the Folk Song" for 19 strings and viola obbligata, Stockholm (2024, August), "Saint Petersburg, Florida", barcarola for two pianos, Padova (2024, September). Leonid Desyatnikov left St Petersburg in March 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the present time, he lives in Haifa, Israel. AwardsDesyatnikov 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 The Children of Rosenthal received the special jury prize of The Golden Mask National Theatre Award. In 2003 Desyatnikov was awarded the State Prize of Russia. WorksDesyatnikov is the author of four operas, the symphony The Rite of Winter 1949, vocal cycles to the poems of Rilke and the OBERIU poets, and several instrumental transcriptions of themes by 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". Opera
Chamber music
Other genres
Music for symphony orchestra
BalletFilm music
References
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