Dmitri Nikolayevich Smirnov

Dmitri Nikolajewitsch Smirnow (2006)

Dmitri Nikolajewitsch Smirnow ( Russian Дми́трий Никола́евич Смирно́в ; born November 2, 1948 in Minsk ; † April 9, 2020 in Watford ) was a Russian composer .

Life

Dmitri Smirnov was born the son of opera singers. The family first moved to Ulan-Ude , Buryat Republic (Central Asia), then to Frunze , Kyrgyzstan , where Smirnov spent his childhood. In 1967 he began studying music at the Moscow Conservatory . There he learned composition with Vladimir Fere and Nikolai Sidelnikow , instrumentation with Edison Denisov and analysis with Yuri Cholopow . In 1970 he made the acquaintance of Philip Herschkowitz , the Webern student who had moved from Vienna to Moscow . In 1972 Smirnov finished his studies and from 1973 worked as an editor at the Sowetski Kompositor publishing house . In 1976 his solo for harp won first prize at the Maastricht International Harp Week competition and he became internationally known. From 1981 to 1993 Smirnow worked as a freelance composer. During this time, in 1991, he moved to Great Britain. In 1992 he received a scholarship from St. John College and was visiting professor at Keele University from 1993 to 1997, as was his wife, the composer Jelena Olegowna Firsowa . There he was also composer in residence . From 1998 Dmitri Smirnow worked freelance again.

He died of COVID-19 in Watford in April 2020 .

Work (selection)

Opera

• Tiriel (1989)

Opera in 3 acts based on a poem by William Blake , German text: Paul Esterházy

Choral work

• Two choirs based on Alexander Blok

for choir a cappella

Orchestral music

• Mozart variations
• Pastoral
• Symphony No. 1 "The Seasons"
• Tiriel

Symphonic prologue

• Between Scylla and Charybdis

for string orchestra

Concert work

• Concert No. 2

for piano & string orchestra

• Triple concert

for alto saxophone, piano, double bass, strings & percussion

ensemble

• Elegy in memoriam Edison Denisov

for 16 players

• portrait

for wind ensemble

• Mourning canons "In memoriam Igor Stravinsky"

for 13 players

Solo work

• The seven angels of William Blake

for piano

• Three dances

for xylophone solo

• monologue

for clarinet

• Solo for harp
• Solo for trumpet
• Music of the spheres

for piano

• Two magic squares

for piano

Vocal symphonic

• The Song of Songs

Cantata for soprano, tenor, choir & orchestra, Bible text

• Symphony No. 2

for solos, choir & orchestra, text: Friedrich Hölderlin

Chamber music

• Farewell song

for viola & harp

• The Flow of Life (Blake Picture IV)

for 14 players

• The seasons

for soprano, flute, viola & harp

• Three dances

for xylophone

• epitaph

for piano

• Fantasia

for saxophone quartet

• Piano trio 1 & 2
• Lyric composition

for flute, oboe, violin, violoncello & harpsichord

• Six poems by Alexander Blok

for mezzo-soprano & piano

• Six poems by William Blake

for high voice & organ

• serenade

for oboe, alto saxophone & violoncello

• String Quartet No. 2
• Sonata for bassoon & piano
• The Visions of Coleridge

for mezzo-soprano & 10 players

• Trio sacrum

for 3 percussionists

• Wonderful stories

11 children's songs for soprano & 5 instruments

Web links

Commons : Dmitri Smirnov  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Dmitri Nikolajewitsch Smirnow in the catalog of the German National Library
• Dmitri Nikolayevich Smirnov in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Brief biography at Sikorski
• List of his works

Individual evidence

1. ^ Levon Hakobian: Music of the Soviet Era: 1917-1991 . 2nd Edition. Routledge, London, New York 2017, ISBN 978-1-4724-7108-6 , pp. 289 .
2. ↑ Скончался композитор Дмитрий Смирнов. Retrieved April 9, 2020 (Russian). 
3. ↑ Композитор из Беларуси Дмитрий Смирнов умер от коронавируса в Великобритании. In: belnovosti. April 10, 2020 (Russian).