Leonid Bashmakov
Leonid Bashmakov
Genres: contemporary classical, instrumental, piano, experimental, composer
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About Leonid Bashmakov
Leonid Bashmakov, a Finnish composer, was born in 1927. Bashmakov’s stylistic roots are in the Neo-Classicism of the 1950s, which his dodecaphonic transition period distilled and concentrated into his later highly expressive free-tonal style. Bashmakov is occupied above all with absolute music — symphonies, concertos and chamber music — although he has also written a number of extensive vocal works, most significantly the Requiem (1988) for soloists, choir and orchestra. Bashmakov finds it inspiration in the work of composers such as Béla Bartók, Arthur Honegger and André Jolivet. Bashmakov’s Neo-Classical background is evident above all in his effective use of rhythm, approaching a dancelike idiom in the ballet "Tumma" (The Dark One, 1976), one of his principal works. Closely related to the ballet are his Fourth Symphony (1977) and Passacaglia (1977) for orchestra. His orchestral output also includes the Concerto for Orchestra (1969) and "The Three Tolls" (1993), a sort of modernized orchestral version of Rakhmaninov’s vocal symphony "The Bells". Alongside symphonic writing, Bashmakov has also written several concertos, most important among which are the Cello Concerto (1972) and the Second Violin Concerto (1983). He has written some fifteen concertos or soloist works, which show his interest in wind instruments, including works for flute ("Impressioni marini", 1974), clarinet (1990), piccolo trumpet (1992), horn (1992), bassoon (1993) and trombone ("Trombonidol", 1993). Some of his concertos are scored for a normal orchestra, others for strings; the Organ Concerto (1975) is scored for brass band. Bashmakov’s chamber music, like his concertos, display his penchant for using unusual instruments and ensembles. Although he has written two String Quartets (1972, 1974), it is more characteristic for him to use such ensembles as flute and percussion in "Neljä bagatellia" (Four Bagatelles, 1971), organ and percussion in "Dialogit" (Dialogues, 1971), accordion and harpsichord in "Seitsemän inventiota" (Seven Inventions, 1985), two accordions and percussion in "Kolmipeli" (Tripartite Game, 1990), four kanteles in "Nelinpeli" (Doubles, 1991) and a variety of ensembles with an emphasis on wind instruments, often also including percussion. A separate group consists of what could be described as chamber concertos: the Concerto da camera I (1972) for flute and string quartet; the Concerto da camera II (1977) for harp and string quartet; and the Concerto for harpsichord, two string quartets and percussion (1991). See also: Kari Turunen: A brief outline of Finnish choral music (FIMIC 2003)
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