Kapyrin, Dmitry Yur'yevich

(b Moscow, 28 Feb 1960). Russian composer. He studied at the L'viv Conservatory under Leshek Mazepa. He later studied with Denisov and Ruders. His first acknowledged works date from 1986, when he had finished his military service and when Soviet culture embarked on a distinct liberalization. He lives in Moscow and works as a freelance composer.

One of the most prominent composers of the younger generation of Russians, Kapyrin uses various modes of limited transposition in combination with free 12-tone writing; these harmonic tendencies are incorporated into textures which, while relying on microthematic constructional techniques, can often be described as minimalist in the broadest sense. Works such as Snï (‘Dreams’; 1990) for orchestra possess a self-supporting musical fabric in which horizontal and vertical planes – some tonal, others 12-tone – are constantly changing and replacing each other. In the chamber work Zvuki i golosa (‘Sounds and Voices’; 1990) he manages to unify a considerable amount of thematic material; as always, the tone colours are skilfully and originally handled. Kapyrin's works have featured at international festivals such as the Moscow Autumn, the Music Biennial Zagreb, Resources g3 (Paris) and the Almeida (London). In 1994 he won second prize in the ICONS competition in Turin, and in 1995 received a scholarship from the Berlin Akademie der Künste and spent time in Germany writing his stage work Voploshcheniye tstveta (‘The Incarnation of colour’; 1995)

 

WORKS

GALINA GRIGOR'YEVA