Andrey Kasparov

Vorlage:AFC submission Andrey Rafailovich Kasparov (April 6, 1966, Baku, former Azerbaijan SSR) Armenian pianist, composer and academician, holding both Russian and American citizenship.

Biography

Andrey Kasparov was born in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan, to a family of Armenian descent. He began his musical studies at the age of six. At fifteen, he moved to Moscow, Russia, where he later entered the Moscow State Conservatory, graduating with honors in Music Composition and Piano, in 1989 and 1990, respectively. Early studies in harmony and counterpoint were with Dr. Yuri Kholopov. Among his keyboard instructors were Nina Emelianova, Vladimir Bunin, Sergei Dizhur, Dmitri Sakharov and Victor Merzhanov. His composition studies began with Alexandr Chaikovsky. As an aspirant composer in the former Soviet Union, he was awarded a Third Prize (1985) for his [[#Noteworthy Compositions|Toccata]] for piano, and a Second Prize (1987) for his Six Aphorisms for flute, violin and cello, at the All-USSR Composition Competition. Kasparov pursued subsequent post-graduate studies in composition at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana, with Claude Baker, Wayne Peterson, Harvey Sollberger and Eugene O'Brien; conducting instructor, Thomas Baldner. He also participated in Courses for New Music in 1996, in Darmstadt, Germany. In 1997 he was awarded Second Prize at the Prokofiev International Composers Competition for his Piano Sonata No. 2, a twelve tone work inspired by the piano music of Pierre Boulez. Andrey Kasparov earned his D.M. in Music Composition from Indiana University in 1999.

Presently, Dr. Kasparov serves as Associate Professor of Music at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate Music Composition, Piano, all levels of undergraduate Music Theory, and the New Music Ensemble. At Old Dominion University, Dr. Kasparov participated in the 2001 Region III Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI), Conference. Among the works showcased at the event was his piece for solo clarinet, Michal. In June, 2003, he was appointed Music Director of a concert entitled, "A Representation of the New Music Performance Collection." Intended to highlight original compositions by actively working composers, featuring all musical genres since 1970, works for the event were solicited from some of the composers at the 2001 Region III SCI Conference. Between 1998 and 2008, Dr. Kasparov led Creo, Old Dominion University's resident ensemble for contemporary music. The group's final performance in March, 2008, featured Andrey Kasparov's landmark composition, Tsitsernakabert, for modern dance and five musicians, including violin, percussion, and mezzo-soprano.

Besides his career as a composer and academician, Andrey Kasparov is a noted recording artist and concert pianist. In 1994 he was soloist with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic in the world premiere of the then newly discovered revised edition of Béla Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 3. Since 2009, he has shared the Artistic Directorship of the Norfolk Chamber Consort with fellow pianist, Oksana Lutsyshyn. Together, they are co-founders of the Invencia Piano Duo.

Awards

• Third Prize, All-USSR Composition Competition (1985).
• Second Prize, All-USSR Composition Competition (1987).
• Second Prize, Prokofiev International Composers Competition (1997).
• Albert Roussel Prize at the Orléans International Piano Competition for 20th-Century Music (1998).
• Contemporary Record Society Prize-Winner, National Competition for Composers.

Noteworthy Compositions

• Toccata for piano.
• Piano Sonata No. 2.
• Six Aphorisms for flute, violin and cello.
• Michal for solo clarinet.
• Perestroika for orchestra.
• Tsitsernakabert for modern dance and five musicians, including violin, percussion, and mezzo-soprano.

Reflective of the composer's Armenian heritage, the work was inspired by the memorial of the same name: dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, the collective atrocities – committed during WWI by the Ottoman Empire – against Turkey's Armenian population. Situated in Yerevan, capital of Armenia, the monument was designed by the architects Sashur Kalashyan and Arthur Tarkhanyan.

• Fantasy on Lutheran Chorales for piano four hands.

Selected Discography

As Composer

• Vienna Modern Masters:
  • On and Off the Keys: Music for Solo Instruments and Small Ensemble (Distinguished Performers Series IV)

• Andrey Kasparov, Piano Sonata No. 2

• Twentieth Century Classics: Music for Piano and Strings (Distinguished Performers Series III)

• Andrey Kasparov, Toccata for piano

• Music from Six Continents (1999 Series)

• Andrey Kasparov, Perestroika for orchestra

• Contemporary Record Society:

• Four Paintings: Contemporary American Composers

• Andrey Kasparov, Toccata for piano

As Performing Artist

• Columbus Indiana Philharmonic:
  • Rachmaninoff by Kasparov (9 October, 2004)

• Sergei Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18
• Sergei Rachmaninoff/ Franz Behr, Polka on a Theme of W.R., Op. 303 (Encore)

• Albany Records:
  • Hommages Musicaux (Invencia Piano Duo)

Two collections of compositions honouring the memories of Claude Debussy and Gabriel Fauré:

• Tombeau de Claude Debussy

1. Paul Dukas, La plainte, au loin, du faune
2. Albert Roussel, L'Accueil des Muses
3. Gian Francesco Malipiero, A Claudio Debussy
4. Eugene Goossens, Hommage à Debussy
5. Béla Bartok, Improvisation on a Hungarian Peasant Song
6. Florent Schmitt, Et Pan, au fond des blés lunaires, s'accouda
7. Igor Stravinsky, Fragment des Symphonies pour instruments à vent à la mémoire de C.A. Debussy
8. Maurice Ravel, Duo pour Violine et Violoncelle
9. Manuel de Falla, Homenaja
10. Erik Satie, Que me font ses vallon

• Hommage à Gabriel Fauré, Seven Pieces on the Name of Fauré (Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré)

1. Maurice Ravel
2. George Enescu
3. Louis Aubert
4. Florent Schmitt
5. Charles Koechlin
6. Paul Ladmirault
7. Jean Roger-Ducasse

• Ignis Fatuus (Invencia Piano Duo)

Works by Adolphus Hailstork:

1. Two Scherzos
2. Trio Sonata
3. Ignis Fatuus
4. Eight Variations on Shalom Chaverim
5. Piano Sonata No. 2
6. Sonata for Two Pianos

• Naxos Records:
  • Florent Schmitt: Complete Original Works for Piano Duet and Duo – Vol. 1 (Invencia Piano Duo)
  • Florent Schmitt: Complete Original Works for Piano Duet and Duo – Vol. 2 (Invencia Piano Duo)