Leonid Desyatnikov


Leonid Arkadievich Desyatnikov. He is a member of the St. Petersburg Union of Composers. Desyatnikov is the author of multiple operas, cantatas and compositions. His best known works are The Children of Rosenthal, his score for the ballet Lost Illusions, the opera Poor Liza; 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 and instruments on the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins; The Rite of Winter 1949, a symphony for choir, soloists and orchestra; and Songs of Bukovina for piano.

Life and career

Leonid Desyatnikov was born on October 16, 1955 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. He studied composition and instrumentation at the Leningrad Conservatory in St. Petersburg.
He has written four operas, several cantatas and numerous vocal and instrumental compositions. His principal compositions include: The Children of Rosenthal, commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre; Poor Liza ; Gift ; The Leaden Echo ; and The Rite of Winter 1949.
Desyatnikov has been collaborating with Gidon Kremer since 1996 as a composer 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, Lost in Siberia, Hammer and Sickle, Moscow Nights, Giselle’s Mania, Prisoner of the Mountains, All That Is Tender, Moscow, His Wife’s Diary and The Target, "Trompe-loeil" for piano four hands, Aldeburgh, "Reflections on the Folk Song" for 19 strings and viola obbligata, Stockholm, "Saint Petersburg, Florida", barcarola for two pianos, Padova.
Leonid Desyatnikov left St. Petersburg in March 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the present time, he lives in Haifa, Israel.

Awards

Desyatnikov 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.

Works

Desyatnikov 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

  • Poor Liza one-act chamber opera, libretto by Leonid Desyatnikov after Nikolai Karamzin's novel
  • Nobody Wants to Sing or Bravo-bravissimo, Pioneer Anisimov
  • Vitamin of the Growth one-act classical opera for children, for the soloists and piano after the poem by Oleg Grigoriev
  • The Children of Rosenthal opera in two acts, libretto by Vladimir Sorokin. Commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre, premiered 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

Music for symphony orchestra

  • , a symphony for chorus, soloists and orchestra.
  • ''Sketches to Sunset for orchestra''

Film music