International Conference “Andrei Volkonsky: at the Crossroads of Fate” (to the composer’s 90th anniversary)

Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory’s Department of, and Centre for, Contemporary Music invite to participate in the conference dedicated to the 90^th anniversary of Andrei Volkonsky, a composer, organist and harpsichordist.

As the leader of young Soviet non-conformists, Volkonsky had been setting the trend of development for the most important areas of music culture related to both contemporary and early music for almost as long as thirty years of his life in the USSR. An opponent of orthodoxy of any kind, the composer exercised his indisputable leadership in mastering the traditions of both serialism and historically informed performance by Soviet musicians through a prism of “personal usage” of techniques.

Volkonsky’s compositional concepts evolved from “radical analyticity” to “radical anarchy.” The title of his last piece, Carrefour (“Crossroads”), may be interpreted as a metaphor for the composer’s life and oeuvre, an allegory that helps accept the unexpected turns of the inner paths of his artistic personality, full of doubts and reflection.

This conference is not only an offering to the artist but also an attempt to create a portrait of his personality. The main topics are:

• Volkonsky’s musical legacy;
• Volkonsky and the Western avant-garde;
• Volkonsky and the Soviet avant-garde;
• The twelve-tone technique and the principles of its “personal usage” in Volkonsky’s oeuvre;
• Volkonsky as an anti-traditionalist;
• Volkonsky as an anti-avant-gardist;
• Volkonsky as a performer;
• Volkonsky’s colleagues and friends as his artistic circle.

The conference will be held at Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory (13 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street). The conference formats are to be both face-to-face and online ones.
Time limits: 20 minutes for presentation plus 10 minutes for discussion.
Participation in the conference is free, no fees are charged. The participants’ travel and accommodation expenses are not covered. Personal invitations will be forwarded upon request.

Applications for the participation in the conference are accepted no later than 6 September 2023 at: info@ccmm.ru