April 6, 1929
Born in Tomsk Edison Denisov — composer, "Mozart of the 20th century".
I can't stand "scholarly" music. Music should be alive, not scholarly.
Mother, Antonina Titova - a phthisiologist. Father, Vasily Denisov — a radiophysicist. When their first child was born, Antonina asked her husband to register him under the name Igor. But Denisov Sr. found the name boring, so he named his son Edison, after the inventor of the light bulb. The name is almost an anagram of his last name (if you don't count the extra "v"): Edison Denisov.
Music is the art of logical thinking
Edison excelled in physics and mathematics from childhood. He initially rejected his parents' attempts to enroll him in music school, dismissing it as "a girl's hobby." But one day, as a teenager, he heard a neighbor playing the mandolin. He began taking lessons. Then he mastered the clarinet and guitar using a self-study book. He attended classes at a music school. He didn't have a piano at home, so he honed his technique in the evenings on an instrument at a kindergarten.
In 1946, he entered the physics and mathematics department of Tomsk State University. He also attended the Tomsk College of Music. He is a professor at TSU. Zakhar Klementyev predicted a brilliant future in mathematics for the guy who easily grasped abstract theories:
I have dealt with many mathematically gifted people, but Edison's abilities seemed to me exceptional.
Edison, in turn, was delighted by the logical connections the professor made between mathematics and other fields of knowledge, including art.
Relatives joked that the outstanding mathematician was “stolen” from the world. Shostakovich — but he also gave modern times an outstanding composer. In 1950, Denisov won a student composition competition and sent his work to the master. And he was very surprised:
Dear Edik, your compositions have amazed me. If you don't have a basic musical education, it's simply amazing how you can compose so compellingly, so professionally.
After graduating with honors from Tomsk State University, Denisov moved to Moscow. He studied for eight years at the conservatory (including his postgraduate studies) and also taught there.
In 1956, on Shostakovich's recommendation, he was accepted into the Composers' Union. His works became popular and were eagerly performed in the West, earning Denisov the nickname "the Mozart of the 20th century."
Secret doors open by themselves, and I see what only I am given to see behind them.
His first major success came with the cantata "The Sun of the Incas," in which Denisov found his signature style and from then on "was responsible for every note written." The premiere took place in Leningrad in 1964 and caused a stir—the composer and performers were invited back on stage more than ten times.
The Soviet Union can produce not only spaceships… but also composers who can write in a variety of modern styles
(Sunday Times)
Just think – a Soviet musician writes serial music!
(from the review)
Serial music is a compositional method based on a strict sequence of sounds ("series") that determines the melody and harmony of a piece. It emerged in the 20th century thanks to the reforms of the "New Viennese" composers, who abandoned the tonal basis of music in favor of atonal techniques.
The main task of technology is to give freedom. Only such technology helps to hear the unique
In Denisov's music, scholars have noted the interplay of light, shadow, and mystery. Symbolically, the composer's monogram, ED-Es (E-D-E-flat), often became a motif in his compositions.
He created about 140 works—operas, ballets, oratorios, and concertos. He considered the opera "Foam of the Days," based on the novel, to be his best. Boris Vian.
In 1979, the first secretary of the Union of Composers Tikhon Khrennikov Denisov's "avant-garde" music was harshly criticized. His name was included in the "Khrennikov Seven": seven composers blacklisted by radio, television, and concert organizations before perestroika. By 1991, four of the seven had left the USSR.
Denisov was taken abroad in 1994 for treatment after a terrible accident in Old Ruza. He spent his last two years in France, becoming an honorary citizen of Paris. He died in 1996.
I'm just now starting to become a composer. And I'm running out of time.
