Oleksandr SHCHETYNSKY (SHCHETINSKY)

composer

Ukrainian composer. Laureate of seven international competitions. 
Contemporary classical music for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, choir, voice.
Avant-garde, post-avant-garde, post-modern. 
 

 

Alexander Shchetynsky

ON HIS MUSIC

CDs

EDUCATION

TEACHING AND LECTURING

CONCERT AND  FESTIVAL ORGANIZATION ACTIVITY

COMPOSITION AWARDS

PERFORMERS

MAJOR PERFORMANCES

PUBLISHERS

OTHER WEB SITES ABOUT SHCHETYNSKY

CONTACT


List of works

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Born on June 22, 1960 in Kharkiv, Ukraine

ON HIS MUSIC

Zoran Minderovic. Web site http://www.allmusic.com
Alexander Shchetinsky is an important Ukrainian composer whose works, which include a variety of instrumental and vocal compositions, have been widely performed, to considerable acclaim, throughout Europe. Proficient in a variety of avant-garde modes of expression, Shchetinsky seeks, and attains, a personal synthesis of stylistic modalities, thereby transcending mere eclecticism.

Virko Baley. New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians
His style is essentially that of a structuralist, relying on a synthesis of a variety of modernist techniques and exploring in each piece a particular musical metaphor. This method explains his reliance on pieces with descriptive titles. The influence of an especially eastern European variety of minimalism (more meditative and less didactic) is also apparent in the carefully worked out relationship between different degrees of sound and silence, the predominance of soft dynamics, and in the smallest details and changes in pitch, timbre and rhythm.

Zoran Minderovic. Web site http://www.allmusic.com
For Shchetinsky, musical metaphor is the expressive formula which translates the composer's deepest intuitions into an intricately structured, subtle, sophisticated, enigmatic, but nevertheless essentially intelligible, sonic language, in which the common-sense boundaries between sound and silence remain fluid.

Allan Kozinn. The New York Times, September 21, 2004
...Face to Star (1991), a study in dark-hued, slow moving blocks of string, wind and percussion texture... Mr. Shchetynsky has created a harmonic mist, and the themes that emerge from it are sometimes angular, sometimes pointillistic and tactile...

from the booklet of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the concert series New Voices - New Choices
He is drawn to religious subjects. Glossolalie is based on a religious idea, as is The Preacher's Word, a powerful setting for soprano and string quartet of texts from the Old Testament. In 1992 this latter piece won First Prize at the Fourth Fribourg Sacred Music Competition in Switzerland.

Levon Hakopian. Muzykalnaya Akademiya, Moscow, 2000, #1
The chamber pieces by Alexander Shchetynsky (b. in 1960) - a composer from Kharkiv inclined to the "post-serial" idiom - testify his innate feeling for elegance and plasticity. His meticulously wrought Way to Meditation for five instruments (1990) is a kind of instrumental drama showing an interesting line of development; musical gourmets may enjoy it as a real delicacy.

Natalia Zimyanina. Vremya MN, Moscow, August 17, 2002
Some fragments [of the opera The Blind Swallow] will remain in memory forever.

Yulia Bederova. Vremya novostey, Moscow. August 19, 2002
The score plays with styles, speaks with either vanguard post-serialism, medieval plainchant or quasi-citations from Bizet and Stravinsky. However, its main advantage lies not in a number of reminiscences but their artistry and intelligence.

Alexey Parin. Program note on the performance of Annunciation at the Helikon Opera, 1999
Alexander Shchetynsky established himself as a consequent stickler for avant-garde... His spirituality reveals in strict, ascetically beautiful sounds that impress with their hermetism, within the context of up-to-date musical language."

 

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CDs

The Music of Alexander Shchetynsky

Annunciation, chamber opera (1998)
Prayer for the Cup for piano (1990)

Tatiana Kuindji, soprano
Yuri Polubelov, piano

order:
TNC
1350 E. Flamingo Road #308
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119, USA
Phone: +1 - 800 - 253 7675
           +1 - 702 - 457 3823
Fax: +1 - 702 - 457 0199
http://www.tncmusic.net

TNC 1460
Label: TNC, USA

CD: Annunciation

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Alexandre Chtchetinsky - Musique aujourd'hui

Sonata da camera for cello and ensemble (1998)
Aside for clarinet (1998)
The Preacher's Word for soprano and string quartet (1991)
Lento pensieroso for bassoon (1994)
Looking at the Sky for flute, clarinet and piano (1991/96)
Cryptogram for vibraphone (1989)
Face to Star for ensemble (1991)

Alexander Rudin, cello
Oleg Tantsov, clarinet
Valeri Popov, bassoon
Nikolay Lgovsky, vibraphone
Yekaterina Kichigina, soprano
Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble
conductor Alexei Vinogradov

order:
Le Chant du Monde éditions musicales
31/33, rue Vandrezanne
75013 Paris, France
Phone: +33 - 1 - 53 80 38 02
Fax: +33 - 1 - 53 80 12 18
e-mail: pianco[at]chantdumonde.com

LDC 2781123
Label: Le Chant du Monde, France

CD: Alexander Chtchetinsky - Musique aujourd'hui

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Alexandre Shchetynsky - New Sacred Music from Ukraine

Know Yourself (Uznay Sebe), symphony for mixed choir a cappella (2003)
Light to Lighten (Svit vo otkroveniye), sacred cantata for mixed choir and two bells (1989)
Requiem for mixed choir and string orchestra (1991/2004)

Cantus Chamber Choir
conductor Emil Sokach

Gloria Chamber Choir
Leopolis Chamber Orchestra
conductor Roman Rewakowicz

order:
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.579005

Physical Release: 03/2011

NAXOS 8.579005
Label: Naxos
Series: 21st Century Classics

CD: Alexander Shchetynsky - Choral Works

CD: Alexander Shchetynsky - Choral Works, back cover

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EDUCATION

1983
graduated from the Kharkiv Art Institute, Valentyn Borysov's composition class

1990, 1991
Summer Composer's Courses in Kazimierz Dolny, Poland (lectures of L. Andriessen, W. Lutoslawski, K. Penderecki, B. Schaeffer, M. Lindberg, a.o.)

1991
Course of Computer Music at the Kraków Music Academy, Poland

1992
Master classes with Edison Denisov and Poul Ruders in Lercherborg, Denmark

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TEACHING AND LECTURING

1982 - 1990
composition at a children's music school in Kharkiv (utilizing the innovative Brainin Teaching Method of music education)

1991 - 1995
composition, instrumentation, special course in techniques of contemporary composition at the Kharkiv Art Institute

1995
cycle of lectures on modern and contemporary music at the Ukrainian National Music Academy in Kyiv

1995 - 2010
lectures on new Ukrainian music, presentations of own works at symposia and conferences in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the USA 

1999, 2001
composition master classes in Ohrid, Macedonia

2018 -
composition, instrumentation, special course in techniques of contemporary composition at the I. P. Kotlyarevsky Kharkiv National University of Arts

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CONCERT AND FESTIVAL ORGANIZATION ACTIVITY

1989 - 1990
co-organizer of several contemporary chamber music festivals in Ukraine and Russia (together with Dmitri Capyrin, Roman Yakub, a.o.)

1995 - 2001
concert series New Music in Kharkiv

1997 - 2005
member of the Art Council of the International Contemporary Music Festival Contrasts, Lviv (Lemberg), Ukraine

2000
member of the Organizing Committee of the festival Ernst Krenek in Helikon Opera, Moscow

2001
program coordinator of the International Youth Music Forum, Kyiv, Ukraine

2008-2012
concerts of modern and contemporary music performed by the National Concert Band of Ukraine conducted by Petro Tovstukha (Kyiv, Lviv)

2008-2012
concerts of modern and contemporary music performed by the Ensemble Kyiv Sinfonietta conducted by Vitaly Protasov (Kyiv, Lviv)

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COMPOSITION AWARDS

1990
Main and Special prizes at the International Kazimierz Serocki Competition, Poland (for Glossolalie for orchestra).

1991
First Prize at the International Sacred Music Competition, Fribourg, Switzerland (for The Preacher's Word for soprano and String Quartet).

1995
Second Prize at the International Witold Lutoslawski Competition, Poland (for Flute Concerto).

1996
Second Prize at the International Henri Dutilleux Competition, France (for The Baptisme, Temptation and Prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ for bass, clarinet, trombone, viola, cello and double bass).

1998
Third Prize at the International Gustav Mahler Competition, Klagenfurt, Austria (for Sonata da camera for cello and chamber ensemble).

2000
Russian National Theatrical Prize Gold Mask, nomination Innovation, in frame of the performance of Voices of the Invisible at the Helikon Opera, Moscow (for chamber opera Annunciation).

2006
Second Prize at the International Composition Prize Luxembourg 2006, Luxembourg (for Chamber Concerto for piano and 12 instrumentalists).

2015
Lyatoshynsky State Prize, Ukraine (for symphony orchestra works written in 2011-2014).

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PERFORMERS (selection)

opera stage directors Dmitri Bertman, George Isaakyan, Armen Kaloyan, René Zisterer
conductors Andrzej Bauer, Hermann Bäumer, Yevgeny Brazhnik, Mykola Diadiura, Oleksiy Fartushka, Sylvio Gualda, Alexis Hauser, Huub Kerstens, Matthew Coorey, Teodor Currentzis, Igor Dronov, Sigvards Klava, Roman Kofman, Vincent Kozlowski, Wojciech Michniewski, Zsolt Nagy, Ivan Ostapovych, Tadaaki Otaka, Erki Pehk, Viktor Ploskina, Vitaly Protasov, Arild Remmereit, Joel Sachs, Volodymyr Sirenko, Andriy Syrotenko, Jean Thorel, Petro Tovstukha, Alexey Vinogradov, Marsel Wengler, Yuri Yakovenko, Yury Yanko, Andriy Yurkevych, Vladimir Yurovsky;
singers Mikhail Davydov, Alisa Gitsba, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Tatiana Kuingi, Nao Nigano, Natalia Zagorinskaya;
pianists Oleh Bezborodko, Denys Bocharov, Angelina Gadeliya, Timothy Hoft, Annie Kraus, Elena Letñanová, Yvar Mikhashoff, Jozsef Örmény, Yuri Polubelov, Denys Proshayev, Joel Sachs;
organists Hervé Désarbre, Nadia Velychko;
violinists Gabriele Brunner, Solomiya Ivakhiv;
cellists Zoltán Almashi, Anssi Karttunen, Martin Dörfler, Luzius Gartmann, David Hetherington, Oksana Lytvynenko, Paul Marleyn, Viktor Rekalo, Alexander Rudin, Rohan de Saram, Alexander Zagorinsky;
contrabassist Nazar Stets;
flutists Robert Aitken, Roman Iievsky, Jadwiga Kotnowska, Dmytro Medolyz;
clarinettists Gareth Davis, Rita Karin Meier, Oleg Tantsov;
bassoonists Valeri Popov, Jonny Reinhard, Otto Virtanen;
saxophonists Christoph Kirschke, Alfonso Padilla López, Marc Sieffert, Alexei Volkov;
trombonist Ivo Nilsson;
percussionists Jonny Axelsson, Nikolay Lgovsky, Mark Pekarsky, Gert Sørensen, Robert Sztorc;
guitarists Magnus Andersson, Reinbert Evers, Wolfgang Weigel, Janne Malinen;
accordionists Maciej Franckiewicz, Ruslan Horbachenko, Nenad Ljubenovic, Josif G. Purits, William Schimmel, Andrej Serkow, Roman Yusipey.

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MAJOR PERFORMANCES

Festivals & concert series

Concert performances

Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Finland, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Columbia, China, Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine.

Broadcastings

Radio France, BBC, Radio Suisse Romande, Danmarks Radio, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Austrian TV and Radio Service, Polskie Radio 2, Radio Echo of Moscow, Orphey (Moscow), Yoshlar (Uzbekistan), Radio Kyiv, Radio Kharkiv, Radio Svoboda a.o.

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PUBLISHERS

Acta Scientific Publisher

Kharkiv
Ukraine 

Phone: +38 057 751 2125
e-mail: info[at]acta.com.ua
http://www.acta.com.ua

Alain Van Kerckhoven Editeur

La Nouvelle Musique Consonante

avenue Broustin 110
B-1083 Bruxelles
Belgium 

Phone: +32 - (0)2 - 420 21 21
Fax: +32 - (0)2 - 420 05 05
e-mail: info[at]newconsonantmusic.com
www.newconsonantmusic.com

 

Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

295 Regent st.
London W1R 8JH
U.K.

Phone: +44 - (0)20 - 7580 2060
Fax: +44 - (0)20 - 7580 5815
e-mail: marketing.uk[at]boosey.com

 

Le Chant du Monde

31/33, rue Vandrezanne
75013 Paris
France

Phone: +33 - 1 - 53 80 12 30
Fax: +33 - 1 - 53 80 12 18
e-mail: pianco[at]chantdumonde.com
http://www.chantdumonde.com/

 

Chiola Music Press di Kamerton a.a.

CP 13
via Fontanelle, 6
I - 65131 Pescara
Italy

Phone/fax: +39 - 085 - 496 19 82
e-mail: cmp[at]kamerton.com
http://www.kamerton.com/cmp/

 

Gerard Billaudot Editeur S.A.

14, rue de l'Echiquier
75010 Paris
France

Phone: +33 - 1 - 47 70 14 46
Fax: +33 - 1 - 45 23 22 54
e-mail: info[at]billaudot.com
http://www.billaudot.com

 

Troppe Note Publishing, Inc.

1932 Howard Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada
USA

Phone: +1 - 702 - 457 3823
Fax: +1 - 702 - 457 0199
http://www.tncmusic.net

 

TNC Recordings

1350 E. Flamingo Road #308
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
USA

Phone: +1 - 800 - 253 7675
           +1 - 702 - 457 3823
Fax: +1 - 702 - 457 0199
http://www.tncmusic.net

 

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WEB SITES ABOUT SHCHETYNSKY

http://www.shchetynsky.ho.ua (official site)

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002146392914

http://alexandershchetynsky.brandyourself.com/ (brief information)

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=41:101541~T1 (brief essay by Zoran Minderovic)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Shchetynsky (biography)

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CONTACT

Oleksandr Shchetynsky
Tyraspilska St. 43A - 80
Kyiv 04079
UKRAINE

Phone: +38 050 532 48 96

E-mail: shchetynsky[at]gmail.com

List of works

Last revised on November 30, 2023

© 2000-2023 by Oleksandr Shchetynsky