Georgian composer (1935–2019)
Musical artist
Gia Kancheli (
Georgian : გია ყანჩელი ; 10 August 1935 – 2 October 2019)
[1] was a
Georgian
composer .
[2] He was born in
Tbilisi , Georgia but resided in
Belgium .
After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kancheli lived first in
Berlin , and from 1995 in
Antwerp , where he became composer-in-residence for the
Royal Flemish Philharmonic .
[3] He died in his home city of Tbilisi, aged 84.
Work
In his symphonies, Kancheli's musical language typically consists of slow scraps of minor-mode melody against long, subdued, anguished string discords.
Rodion Shchedrin referred to Kancheli as "an
ascetic with the temperament of a
maximalist ; a restrained
Vesuvius ".
[4]
Kancheli wrote seven
symphonies , and what he termed a
liturgy for
viola and
orchestra , called Mourned by the Wind . His Fourth Symphony received its American premiere, with the
Philadelphia Orchestra under
Yuri Temirkanov , in January 1978, not long before the cultural freeze in the United States against
Soviet culture.
Glasnost allowed Kancheli to regain exposure, and he began to receive frequent commissions, as well as performances within Europe and North America.
[5]
Championed internationally by
Lera Auerbach ,
Dennis Russell Davies ,
Jansug Kakhidze ,
Gidon Kremer ,
Yuri Bashmet ,
Kim Kashkashian ,
Mstislav Rostropovich , and the
Kronos Quartet , Kancheli saw world premieres of his works in Seattle, as well as with the
New York Philharmonic under
Kurt Masur . He continued to receive regular commissions. Recordings of his recent works are regularly released, notably on the ECM label.
[6]
His work Styx is written for solo viola, chorus and orchestra. It is a farewell to his friends
Avet Terterian and
Alfred Schnittke , whose names are sung by the choir at certain points.
[7]
For two decades, he served as the music director of the
Rustaveli Theatre in Tbilisi. He composed an opera Music for the Living , in collaboration with Rustaveli director
Robert Sturua , and in December 1999, the opera was restaged for the Deutsches National Theater in
Weimar .
[8]
He wrote music for films such as
Georgiy Daneliya 's science fiction film
Kin-dza-dza! (1986) and its
2013 animated remake .
[9]
Filmography
Played in films
Works
Orchestral
Symphonies
Symphony No. 1 (1967)
Symphony No. 2 "Songs" (1970)
Symphony No. 3 (1973)
Symphony No. 4 "To the Memory of Michelangelo" (1974)
Symphony No. 5 "To the Memory of My Parents" (1977)
Symphony No. 6 (1978–1980)
Symphony No. 7 "Epilogue" (1986)
Concerto for Orchestra (1961)
Mourned by the Wind (Vom Winde beweint ), liturgy for viola (or cello) and orchestra (1989)
Evening Prayers (Abendgebete) from "Life Without Christmas" (1991)
Abii ne viderem ("I turned away so as not to see") for alto flute / viola, piano and string orchestra (1992–1994)
Another Step... (Noch Einen Schritt...) (1992)
Wingless (1993)
Magnum Ignotum (1994)
Trauerfarbenes Land (1994)
Lament, Music of Mourning in Memory of Luigi Nono (1994)
Simi, "Joyless Thoughts" , for cello and orchestra (1995)
...à la Duduki (1995)
V & V (1995)
Valse Boston (1996)
Diplipito (1997)
Childhood Revisited (Besuch In Der Kindheit) (1998)
Sio (1998)
Rokwa (1999)
And Farewell Goes Out Sighing... (1999)
A Little Daneliade (2000)
...al Niente (2000)
Ergo (2000)
Don’t Grieve (2001)
Fingerprints (2002)
Lonesome – 2 great Slava from 2 GKs (2002)
Warzone (2002)
Twilight (2004)
Ex Contrario (2006)
Kapote (2006)
Silent Prayer (2007)
Broken Chant (2007)
Ilori (2010)
Lingering for large orchestra (2012)
Nu.Mu.Zu (I don't know , 2015), premiered by the
National Orchestra of Belgium
[10]
Letters to Friends (2016)
Chamber music
Woodwind Quintet (1961)
Morning Prayers for chamber orchestra and tape (1990; 1st work from the 1990–95 four-part cycle A Life without Christmas )
Midday Prayers for soprano, clarinet and chamber orchestra (1990; 2nd work from the cycle A Life without Christmas )
Night Prayers for string quartet (1992–1995; 4th work from the cycle A Life without Christmas )
Caris Mere (After the wind ) for soprano and viola (1994)
Magnum Ignotum for wind ensemble and tape (1994)
Valse Boston for piano and strings (1996)
Instead of a Tango for violin,
bandoneon , piano and double bass (1996)
Time... and Again (1996)
In L'Istesso Tempo for piano quartet (1997)
Sio for strings, piano and percussion (1998)
Ninna Nanna for flute and string quartet (2008), commissioned by the National Flute Association
Chiaroscuro for string quartet (2011)
Woodwind Quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon (2013)
Choral/opera
Music for the living , opera in two acts (1982–1984)
Light Sorrow , music for orchestra, boys' choir and two boy sopranos (for the 40th anniversary of the victory over fascism) (1984)
Evening Prayers , for eight alto voices and chamber orchestra (1991; 3rd work from the 1990–95 four-part cycle A Life without Christmas )
Psalm 23 , for soprano and chamber orchestra (1993)
Lament , concerto for violin, soprano and orchestra (1994)
Diplipito , for cello, counter-tenor and chamber orchestra (1997)
And Farewell Goes Out Sighing... for violin, countertenor and orchestra (1999)
Styx , for viola, mixed choir and orchestra (1999)
Little Imber (Kancheli) , for solo voice, children's and men's choirs and small ensemble (2003)
Amao Omi , for SATB choir and saxophone quartet (2005)
Lulling the Sun , for six-part mixed choir and percussion (2008)
"Dixi", for mixed choir and orchestra (2009)
References
Sources
External links
Interviews
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