(Photo : ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Composer Alexander Knaifel, one of his generation's most prominent Russian composers at home and in the West, has died in St. Petersburg. He was 80.
He played a significant role in reshaping Russian contemporary music by elevating religious themes to the forefront and establishing a radical, minimalist, contemplative sound in the years following the fall of the Soviet Union.
Knaifel trained under Mstislav Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatory in the early 1960s to become a cellist. As a composer, he quickly formed friendships with members of the emerging Soviet avant-garde, such as Schnittke, Pärt, Gubaidulina, and Silvestrov.
Like all other composers, he eventually came to a more intimate style. He referred to his compositions, which often have a slow, growing pace and are characterized as "quiet giants" because they frequently have a spiritual or philosophical component to their pursuit of beauty.
'Lux Aeterna' for two cellists as "psalm singers" was the first composition by Knaifel to be heard on ECM, as the 23-minute title track of a recital album featuring Patrick and Thomas Demenga. The next release was an album called 'Svete Tikhiy,' which had two tracks, including the remarkable Svete Tikhiy/O Gladsome Light, in which Andrei Siegle processed Tatiana Melentieva's voice, and the rarefied piano quintet 'In Air Clear and Unseen,' which featured Oleg Malov and the Keller Quartet.
'Amicta Sole' includes a reunion with Rostropovich in Psalm 51 (50). According to Knaifel, only the experienced cellist could properly 'express' the lyrics embedded in the composition. Ivan Monighetti was given a prominent part in Blazhenstva and performed as a solo cello, pianist, and conductor.
Among Knaifel's most eclectic albums, 'Lukumoriye' was recorded in St. Petersburg and released in 2018. It drew inspiration from several sources, including Pushkin, Lewis Carol, and the Gospel of St Luke. Knaifel's fan base had now grown outside contemporary music, and the songs were heard in various genres.
Electronic artists Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbaurer rearranged and rebuilt four of Knaifel's works into new 'sound structures' for their Re: ECM collection. Pop group the 'Pet Shop Boys' sampled Svete Tikhiy in their song 'Psychological.'
A release on ECM New Series is planned for Knaifel's Chapter Eight, featuring Patrick Demenga and three choirs, including the Latvian State Academic Choir, Youth Choir Kamđr, and Riga Cathedral Boys Choir.
