British composer originally from India
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
^ a b "Param Vir" . Novello & Co, London. Retrieved 25 August 2013 .
^ a b c "RASALÎLA – Spiel der Gefühle" (in German). Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin. 2003. Retrieved 25 August 2013 .
^ "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
International National Artists