Param Vir

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the Indian military decoration, see Param Vir Chakra.

Param Vir is a British composer originally from India.

Born in Delhi into a family life permeated with Indian classical music, Param Vir's strong interest in music developed as a teenager when attending a Roman Catholic secondary school and had informal lessons from composer Hans-Joachim Koellreutter, then resident in India.[1][2] With no prospects as a composer in India, he read history and philosophy at Delhi University, but returned to music on graduation in 1974 as a teacher.[2] From 1983 Vir studied composition at Dartington with Peter Maxwell Davies and at Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Oliver Knussen.[1][2] In 1986 Vir was a composition fellow at Tanglewood. The following year he was a featured composer in the Festival of India in Geneva.[3]

Career highlights

  • 1983 – attended Dartington International Summer School on a scholarship.
  • 1984 – moved to London to study with Oliver Knussen.
  • 1987 – awarded Benjamin Britten Composition Prize.
  • 1993 – Pierre Audi production of Broken Strings wins Ernst von Siemens Music Prize for young composers (Munich).
  • 2003 – first full production of ION tours Europe.
  • 2005 – Horse Tooth White Rock performed at the BBC Proms.
  • 2005 – Hayagriva commissioned and premiered by the Schoenberg Ensemble in Amsterdam
  • 2006 – Between Earth and Sky, inspired by Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate, premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London
  • 2008 – He Begins His Great Trance for the BBC Singers; Black Feather Rising for Stichting Octopus
  • 2010 – Constellations for the BCMG performed at the Barbican
  • 2013 – BBC Proms Commission Cave of Luminous Mind
  • 2014 – Raga Fields – co-commission from Klangforum Wien, Fulcrum Point Chicago, the BCMG
  • 2017 – international tour of A Kinsman to Danger
  • 2020 – awarded PRS Composer Award for portrait CD on NMC

Selected works

Stage works

Premiere Title Description Libretto and source
11 May 1992,
De Nederlandse Opera
, Amsterdam 		Snatched by the Gods Opera in one act, 55' William Radice, after the poem Debatar Gras by Rabindranath Tagore
11 May 1992,
De Nederlandse Opera
, Amsterdam 		Broken Strings Opera in one act, 60'. (revised 1995) David Rudkin, after an ancient Buddhist tale Guttil Jatak
09 Jun 2000, Aldeburgh Festival/ Almeida Opera ION Opera in 4 scenes with Prologue, 120' David Lan, after Euripides
24 Oct 2008, De Toneelschuur, Haarlem Black Feather Rising Music Theatre for 2 Singers and 6 Instrumentalists, 90' David Rudkin, after folklore collection Healers on the Mountain by Teresa Pijoan

Other

  • Before Krishna (1987; string orchestra)
  • Horse Tooth White Rock (1994; orchestra)
  • Ultimate Words: Infinite Song (1997; baritone, six percussion, piano)
  • The Theatre of Magical Beings (2003; large ensemble)
  • Hayagriva (2005; large ensemble)
  • Between Earth and Sky (2006; orchestra)
  • Cave of Luminous Mind (2013; orchestra) BBC commission for 2013 Proms
  • ABLAZE! (2014, soprano, piano)
  • Raga Fields (2014, sarod, mixed ensemble)
  • Drum of the Deathless (2017, percussion quintet or percussion duo)
  • A Kinsman to Danger (2017, baritone, piano)

Selected recordings

  • White Light Chorale – Metronome METCD1053
  • Video extracts on the Param Vir official website

References

  1. ^ a b "Param Vir". Novello & Co, London. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "RASALÎLA – Spiel der Gefühle" (in German). Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin. 2003. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Vir, Param". Malcolm Miller. "Vir, Param." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 11 Jan. 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.

External links

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