Alexander Dmitriev

Composer

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Composer Alexander Dmitriev is a recipient of many awards and honors.  Among them is the First Prize at the Socrasong International Choir Festival in Krakow, Poland, for the chaconne for male choir Dies Irae. The Swiss label VDE-GALLO released a CD recording of his choral concerto Svetlana.  Another CD with his arrangements for a wind instrument orchestra was released by Olympia, London.  His music has been published by Oxford University Press, Moscow Publishing House Music, and Publishing House of the Belarussian Ministry of Culture.  He has been awarded multiple residencies at Yaddo (Saratoga Springs, New York). In November or 2003 and 2004 respectively the Naumburg Award winning American ensemble Da Capo Chamber Players presented his music at the Belarusian Musical Autumn international music festival in Minsk, Belarus, followed by the performances at Moscow Musical Autumn (Moscow) and Sound Ways (St. Petersburg) international music festivals in Russia.  After the premiere in 2005 by New Amsterdam Singers under the direction of Clara Longsthreth Mr. Dmitriev’s Two Songs for chorus, Anne Mignette of New York Times wrote: “one of the evening’s best pieces: Alexander Dmitriev’s “Two Songs on Poems of Joseph Brodsky,” a simple and lovely setting that echoed the rhymes of speech and breathed music into the words of two fine poems.”

Mr. Dmitriev’s compositions include Symphony for symphony orchestra opera Mitya’s Love (libretto by the composer, based on the Nobel Prize winning writer Ivan Bunin’s short story), Symphony and Suite for string orchestra, music for the wind instrument orchestra Reminiscence of a Waltz, Toccata and Choral, and The Call.  His choral music include three choral concertos The Tale of Evil and Misfortune, Svetlana, and The Ancient Mariner, compositions for children’s and SA chorus I Sing In the Choir and Little Boy Blue, and other works for mixed chorus, such as Three Alexandria Songs, Rosstan, 2 Songs on poems of Brodsky, and choral anthems. His chamber instrumental music includes sonatas for violin and piano, viola and piano, cello and piano, piano trio, brass quintet, and string quartet, Romance for five instruments, and Salieri Variations in three versions (for violin, viola, or cello solo). Among his compositions for piano are Ballade, Salon Music, Sovetskaya Fantasia, Rhapsody on a Theme of Rachmaninov and Yaddo Suite. His recent vocal works include Love-Songs, At Once Tender and Informative for tenor and piano (poems by Samuel Hoffenstein), Blagodat’ for high voice and piano (poems of Evgeny Nefyodov), and Chanson Russe for soprano, tenor, and piano (poems by Igor Severyanin). His music was performed by such American groups and the Da Capo Chamber Players, Euterpe Ensemble, New Amsterdam Singers, Kantorei Chorus, as well as Haydn Orchestra (Italy), Moscow Song and Dance Ensemble, Belorussian State Chamber Chorus, Graina Chamber Chorus, Minsk Chamber Chorus, Minsk Male Chorus, Yaroslavl Symphony Orchestra, Grodno Chamber Orchestra, Belarussian National Symphonic Band “Nemiga”, and Belarussian State Opera Theater.  Among the individual performers are the cellists Andre Emelianoff and Iosif Feigelson, violinists Sander Strenger and  Yevgenia Strenger, tenors Paul Sperry and James Rio. 

Alexander Dmitriev is a native of Lugansk, Ukraine, and grew up in Khabarovsk, the Far East of Russia. He holds the B.A., M.F.A. and D.M.A. diplomas in Composition from Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied composition with Evgeny Golubev and Albert Leman.  Before his arrival in the U.S. in 1993, Mr. Dmitriev was a Professor of Composition and Orchestration at the Minsk University of Culture and Belarussian Academy of Music.  He continued his teaching career as the Assistant Professor of Music/Choir Director at the St. Tikhon’s Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. He is also active as a pianist, conductor, and arranger for chorus, orchestra, and wind ensemble. He resides in Pelham, NY, with his wife, composer Alla Borzova.

"Love-Songs, At Once Tender and Informative", poems of Samuel Hoffenstein, music by Alexander Dmitriev; 
Brian Hunter, tenor, William McNally, piano 

Musicians Club of New York Member/Composers Concert, Saturday, March 12, 2016, Liederkranz Concert Hall, New York City. Video by Paula and Chris Argondizza.