Edison Denisov - Quarter Tone Repertoire

Edison Denisov (1929-1996) is one of the leading figures in 20th century Russian music. After studying mathematics at university in his hometown of Tomsk, Siberia, where everything pointed to a brilliant career as a scientist, he embarked on a completely different path and entered the composition class at the Moscow Conservatory. The precepts of the exact sciences exerted their influence tirelessly on Denisovian art and he would later say: “Music is an art of logical thought”.

A leading figure of the Soviet avant-garde of the 1960s, he took on at the time of the stagnation of the ruling regime in Russia. Rebellious, incorruptible, conscientious and persevering, he remained true to himself through storms and trials. A rare, almost mystical force inhabited him and differentiated him from so many others.

Edison Denisov was a corresponding member of the Bavarian and Berlin Academies of Arts. In 1986, the French Ministry of Culture appointed him an Officer of Arts and Letters and in 1993 he was awarded the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris.

– edisondenisov.com