Alexey Shmurak - last peaceful hours

Biography

Alexey Shmurak

Composer, pianist, multi-instrumentalist, art-manager of different musical and multidisciplinary projects (Ukraine).

Born 1986, Saint Petersburg, Russia. 

Lives and works in Kiev, Ukraine.

Graduated from the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music in Kiev in 2010.

Studied composition with Alla Zagaykevich and Yuri Ishenko. 

Piano lessons with Borys Arkhimovich. 

Also: masterclasses and lectures with Brian Ferneyhough, Georghis Aperghis, Gerhard Staebler, Vladimir Tarnopolski, Carola Bauckholt, Ivan Fedele, Yuval Shaked, EnnoPoppe, Liza Lim, Simon Steen-Andersen, Sergej Newski, Johannes Kreidler. Took part in reading sessions with Ensemble Recherche and the Arditti Quartet.  

Winner of several composition competitions, including

“Step to the left” (St.Petersburg 2009), 

“Convergence” (Switzerland 2011). 

Co-founder, art-manager, pianist and composer of Ensemble Nostri Temporis (since 2007). Coordinator of “COURSE” - Kiev international masterclasses for new music (since 2012) and Ukrainian Biennale for New Music (since 2013). Co-founder and coordinator of Kiev music festival “Gulfstream” (since 2012). Co-founder and piano/keyboard player of Kiev experimental music duo “Blook” (since 2013).

Participant in numerous festivals and projects in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany, including: 

“Another  Space”,

“Platform”,

“Moscow Forum”, 

“Lost in Translation” (Moscow);  

“Time of Music: Fin de siècle” (Saint Petersburg);  

“Dialogues” (Minsk, Belarus);  

“Contrasts”, ”Jazz  bez” (Lviv);

“Gogolfest” (Kiev);  

“Internationalen Ferienkurse für Neue Musik” (Darmstadt);

“Ensemble Europa” (Cologne); 

“John Cage Musicircus” (Lublin);

“aXes. Triduum muzyki nowej”  (Krakow);

“Warsaw autumn” (Warsaw);

“Two days and two nights of new music” (Odessa).

As a participant in ENT (Ensemble Nostri Temporis) has organised events, including:

“Chopin:  Transcriptions  for  Our  Time” (2010, 2011); 

“Small  Tragedies” (2011),

“AudioVisual Project” (2011),  

“ZvukoIzolyatsia” (2011, 2012),

“Transit” (2011, 2012, 2013), 

“Das musikalisches Opfer dem Mahler“ (2011).

 last peaceful hours

(by the composer himself)

I defined my task as creation the feeling so far from Philip Glass music as possible. 

I guess that is what Philip would like from me if he was a costumer. 

The title could be explaned in many senses, the main one is the expectation of something (in the same time) exciting and dangerous. The general listeners' impression should be intangible, unrealistic, elusive, perishable, sometimes with breaks of logic and unresolved intentions. The reception should be the following the change of episodes of different ephemerality and differentiation.