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‘… extremely original and rare music…’
John Adams, composer
‘The term "avantgarde" is changing and Dobrinka is one of those lending it a new meaning. Her credo… consists of a simple basic idea: That something new can always be found, even in the most familiar places. Her music, therefore, sets out to explore this zone of familiarity and the unknown, never drawing any
borders…’
Tobias Fischer, music writer and
broadcaster, www.tokafi.com
Still in her twenties, Dobrinka Tabakova is making a strong impact on performers and audiences alike, with her striking compositional style. Idiosyncratic rhythms, memorable melodies, post-tonal/modal harmonies and distinct orchestration all form her musical language. She is sought after by many of today’s leading musicians including Nick Daniel, Janine Jansen, Gidon Kremer, Julian Rachlin and Maxim
Rysanov. |
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Dobrinka has won a number of prizes for her work, including the Jean-Frederic Perrenoud Prize and Medal at the 4th Vienna International Music Competition (1995), the GSMD Lutoslawski Composition Prize (1999), the prize for an anthem for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002 (performed at St. Paul’s Cathedral) and the 2007 Adam Prize of King’s College London for the song cycle
Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music. Her works feature on a number of record labels- the anthem
Praise on Hyperion (‘startlingly original- immediately appealing’, BBC Music Magazine) and
Whispered Lullaby on the Avie label (Gramophone and BBC Music magazines Editor’s Choice June/August 2007).
Performances of Dobrinka’s works have been heard around the UK, Europe and USA. Concerts in the UK include performance of her orchestral work
Thrace at the Barbican, frequent performances at the Cheltenham International Festival of Music, Bath Festival, Wigmore Hall and The South Bank Centre. In 2001 she was chosen to represent British young composers at the Paris Conservatoire’s International Composition Festival. In 2005 her Concerto for Viola and Strings (written for Maxim Rysanov) was presented at the International Rostrum of Composers in Vienna and subsequently broadcast in Europe and North America. In the same year she presented her work at the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Music of Today series at the Royal Festival Hall and received performances at the Lockenhaus Festival. More recently she was a selected composer for the Austrian Cultural Forum’s Soundings III series and appointed Composer- in- Residence at the 2007 Leicester International Festival of Music.
Commissions include two chamber operas- Midsummer Magic for the Guildhall School of Music, and
The Custard Tart Opera performed at the international ‘Profile Intermedia’ design conference in Bremen; the finalé piece for Moscow’s ‘Homecoming’ Festival 2003; and the Concerto for Viola and Strings
The Song of the Enchanting Viola. After the success of her commission for the Orchestra of the Swan as part of Sir Michael Tippett's centenary celebrations in 2005, they premiered her settings of four Shakespearean sonnets for soprano and orchestra in 2006, with Claire Booth as soloist. In 2007 she was invited to write for the alternative Dutch orchestra- Ricciotti Ensemble, resulting in
Three Comic Sketches, which was toured around Europe. Her
Suite in Old Style 'The Court Jester Amareu' for viola, strings and harpsichord has received rave reviews and is to be performed in Holland, Sweden and Denmark.
During 2008 Dobrinka will be working on a violin, cello and string orchestra triptych for Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica; a string septet for Janine Jansen to be performed at Spectrum Concerts, Berlin in January 2008; a Sun Anthem for the Latvian choir Kamer…’s large project of ‘World’s Sun Songs’ and a cello concerto for Kristina Blaumane and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
Growing up in London, Bulgarian-born Dobrinka Tabakova (b. 1980) attended Alleyn’s School and the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department, specialising in composition and piano. She graduated with distinction BMus and MMus in composition at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (GSMD) and was then appointed composition fellow there. She was recently awarded a doctorate in composition from King’s College, London (KCL). Her composition teachers have included Simon Bainbridge, Diana Burrell, Robert Keeley and Andrew Schultz as well as masterclasses with John Adams, Louis Andriessen, Alexander Goehr, Marek Kopelent, Philip Manoury, Alessandro Solbiati, Olav-Anton Thommassen and Iannis Xenakis.
Please check the Concerts page for forthcoming performances.
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