(b. 1950)
Elena Firsova, the Leningrad-born, Moscow-trained composer, emerged in the 1970s as one of the most distinctive and imaginative Russian voices of her generation. Firsova's music reflects the influence of her mentor Denisov but transforms his expansive lyricism into something more personal, private and romantic. Her music is often set to the intimate and confessional poetry of Mandelstam, one of the greatest modern Russian poets, who died in the Stalinist camps in 1938. Elena Firsova's orchestral works and concertos incline to delicate chamber-music textures and singing melodic lines. Since the early 1990s, Firsova and her composer husband Dmitri Smirnov have lived in the UK.
Elena Firsova Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
Cassandra op. 60
Timpani + 2 percussion + celeste
Triangle, 3 bongos, 3 tom toms, suspended cymbal, gong, orchestral bass drum, tam tam, tambourine, glockenspiel, vibraphone, celeste
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Earthly Life op. 31
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Triangle, 2 wood blocks, sleigh bells, maracas, glockenspiel, vibraphone, wind chimes
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Secret Way op. 52
Timpani + 2 percussion + celeste
Triangle, sleigh bells, 5 x tom toms, 3 suspended cymbals, clash cymbals, gong bass drum, tam tam, glockenspiel, vibraphone, tubular bells, celeste
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