Composer, RAO Authors’ Council member, Viktor Ekimovsky passed away

07.01.2024

On January 6, 2024, at the age of 76, composer, musicologist, secretary of the Union of Composers of Russia, member of the Board of the Union of Moscow Composers, chairman of the Association of Contemporary Music, Authors’ Council member in Russian Authors’ Society, Honored Artist of Russia, Viktor Alekseevich Ekimovsky, passed away.

Viktor Ekimovsky was born in 1947 in Moscow. After graduating from the Gnessin School with honors, he entered the Gnessin Institute in the historical-theoretical-composition department. He taught at GITIS for several years, defended his thesis for PhD of Art History at the Leningrad Conservatory.

Viktor Ekimovsky created about a hundred symphonic and chamber-instrumental works. He considered the principle of uniqueness the most important, and sought to create his own style. He was one of the most performed contemporary composers and one of the most prominent representatives of the Russian composition school of the late 20th century and early 21st century. The composer’s works are widely recognized by Russian and foreign audiences, they are performed by famous Russian and European soloists, ensembles and orchestras.

The composer considered the beginning of his “great fame” November 16, 1993, when his “Moonlight Sonata” was performed at a concert as part of the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Moscow Autumn”. It was during those years that established Ekimovsky’s reputation as one of the most prominent representatives of the experimental wing of Russian music.

In 1990 twelve composers proclaimed the restoration of the “elite division” of Moscow composers, the historically famous ACM (Association of Contemporary Music, known since 1923 and also associated with the names of Mosolov, Roslavets, Deshevov, Shostakovich and Shcherbachev). From the very beginning of the re-establishment of ACM, Ekimovsky became an active participant, and after the death of Edison Denisov in 1996, he headed the association.

At the same time, he carried out extensive musicological work: over a hundred of his articles on 20th-century music were published in Russia and Europe, and he was also involved in teaching – he held creative seminars for young composers. Ekimovsky was a regular participant in almost all domestic music festivals as well as many foreign ones. First of all, his symphonic and chamber instrumental works are known. It is in them that the composer acts as a serious conceptual artist and, at the same time, a seeker of a new musical language.

Viktor Alekseevich’s main literary work – his “Automonograph” – was first published in 1997. Ten years later, in 2008, the second, the expanded edition was published.

“My “Automonograph” is a book, of course, about my own creative work, but against the background of our domestic musical history of the second half of the 20th century. My generation was destined to live in an amazing time – complex and difficult, sometimes complex and even scary. But confidence in the correctness of our musical convictions helped us survive and sometimes created serious and large works. Memories of these times go through the entire book like a crucial one, and perhaps this information will be new to the younger generation and, I hope, will be interesting and useful – we must not forget our history … ” – said the composer in his interview.

In the memory of his friends and colleagues, Viktor Alekseevich will remain as one of the most talented man of his time, a tireless seeker and musical experimenter, who retained a young and inquisitive character throughout all his life, always keenly interested in music and literature.

We express our sincere condolences to Viktor Alekseevich’s loved ones and relatives.