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History In the summer of 2008, in Moscow, Vladimir Oboronko and Alexander Cheparukhin (both of GreenWave Music), approached a renowned Russian composer Vladimir Martynovwith idea of creating a 70 minute long composition that would blend ancient instrumental and throat-singing sound of Tuvan ensemble Huun Huur Tu with a sound of contemporary chamber orchestra. Without hesitation, Mr. Martynov, who had already been familiar with Huun Huur Tu and their music, agreed to participate in the project. By late summer of 2009 the composition had been mostly ready. It came out combining music from Huun Huur Tu repertoire with original music written by Mr. Martynov specially for the project; the composer also decided to introduce academic choir singing the poetry of the famous Russian avant-garde poet Velimir Khlebnikov (1885-1922). The project was named “Children of the Otter” after the eponymous poem by Khlebnikov The timing for the completion of the project was perfect because earlier in the summer of 2009 Mr. Cheparukhin, well-known music promoter in Moscow, had been invited to participate in the cultural initiative of the city of Perm’. A provincial city, although “strategically” located nearby Urals Mountains separating subcontinents of Europe and Asia, Perm’ had decided to become a cultural capital of Russia. So far, Russia had two cultural capitals: Moscow and St. Petersburg - Perm’ decided to become a third capital. Invited by the city and region’s authorities to join the cultural initiative and develop and supervise musical events in Perm’, Mr. Cheparukhin decided that “Children of the Otter”, combining ancient Asian music with contemporary European composing and performing practices, would be a perfect composition to be produced and premiered in Perm’. By early September 2009, Vladimir Martynov (Moscow), Huun Huur Tu (Kyzyl, Tuva), chamber orchestra Opus Posth (Moscow), singer Mikhail Stepanitch (Moscow) , choir Mlada (Perm’) gathered in Perm’. After several weeks of rehearsals, “Children of the Otter” was premiered in Perm’ on September 17, 2009. The production and premiere of “Children of the Otter” was made possible through a generous support by Perm’ regional Ministry of Culture, Perm’ Philharmonia, and Perm’ Governor office.
Bios Vladimir Martynov is a renowned Russian composer, philosopher, writer, ethnomusicologist, historian and theoretician of music. Known for his work in the Concerto, Orchestral Music, Chamber Music and Choral Music genres, Martynov has experimented with rock and electronica, worked with avant-garde, minimalism, and “New Simplicity” music. His work has been performed around the world Tuvan quartet Huun Huur Tu is a world-known ensemble of ethnic music. Being the leader of “Tuvan Folklore Renaissance”, Huun Huur Tu does not limit itself with demonstrating various throat-singing styles, but creatively interprets and develops traditional music of Tuvan heritage while performing around the globe Tatyana Grindenko is a celebrated Russian musician, violinist, winner of numerous domestic and international competitions (including Tchaikovsky Competition). Her performing experience spans through rock, electronica, all periods of European “classical” music. She has collaborated with famous musicians and collectives, and directors both in Russia and abroad. The chamber orchestra Opus Posth was formed by Tatyana Grindenko in 1999. The orchestra’s choice of repertoire and performance style has been influenced by Vladimir Martynov’s ideas on postmodern composing: it guides a listener to enter into the everflowing Stream of Music rather than creates highly individualistic musical fountains as classical composing used to do. Michail Stepanitch was trained as a classical pianist, later became interested in singing; sang in Moscow Armenian Choir, then with a famous ensemble of early Russian music Sirin ; has participated in recordings of Vladimir Martynov’s work. Choir Mlada is one of the most well-known collectives in the city of Perm’, laureate of many competitions in Russia and abroad. Over sixteen years of its existence, the collective has toured extensively in Russia and in Europe.
Credits Vladimir Martynov: conception and music Produced by: Vladimir Oboronko & Alexander Cheparukhin Audio Recording: Nikolai Kozyrev Video Crew: Anna Rozhdestvenskaya: graphic design
Thank You Vladislav Efimov, Mark Governor, Irina Surikova, Timur Mukhanov - for your help Special thank you: |
Vladimir Martynov talks about "Children of the Otter" project.
Excerpts from the Perm' premiere of "Children of the Otter" |
The DVD of the Perm' Premiere of "Children of the Otter" is scheduled to be released in Spring 2010.