About author : GASPAROV Alexandre

Alexandre GASPAROV, composer and pianist, was born in Moscow. He starte studying the piano at the age of 5. While finishing his secondary studies, he learned harmony, musical theory and history at the Music Academy of the Moscow Conservatoire. At 21 he joinde the Tchaïkovski Conservatoire, where he attended N. Sidelnikov's composition course, while studying the piano with D. Sakharov, and chamber music with M. Milmann.

In 1987 he won first prizes in all three disciplines. A several-times winner of the USSR Composition Competition, he was awarded second prize for his Rhapsodie pour alto et orchestre in 1985; he also obtained prizes for his Sonate pour violoncelle et piano and his first Quatuor à cordes (String Quartet) in 1987.

He moved to Paris in 1990. There he pursued both his work as a composer and his carreer as a pianist. He is regular guest-appearance in festivals, and radio and television programmes. association with cellist Henri Demarquette and Xavier Phillips, not only earned him, as a performer, the first prize at the Concours International de Musique de chambre de Paris, but above all was an opportunity to explore all the more thoroughly the infinite range of expression and technical possibilities of the cello. He thus composed numerous pieces for this instrument, among which two Sonatas for cello and piano, a Nocturne for cello, a Quintet with two cellos, Musikalisches Opfer commissioned by the "Rencontres Internationales de Violoncelles de Beauvais" and a Cello Concerto first performed in 2001 by X. Phillips and the orchestre Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, conducted by Ph. Bender.

While he was in residence at the Abbaye de La Prée (2000-2002) (Center of France) he was able to compose some important works commissionned by such festivals as "Resonances" in Le Havre, the Festival des Forêts in Compiègne, the festival "La Dame des Aulnes" in Halsou, etc...

He has composed for chamber music ensembles as well as symphony orchestras, not overlooking melodies and chamber operas, and his works are often performed in France and abroad by such musicians as W. Warner, JM Phillips-Varjabedian, J. Hurel, L. Korcia, le Trio Wanderer, le quatuor Elysée, David grimal, Xavier Phillips...