Igor Korneitchouk

IGOR KORNEITCHOUK COMPOSER

Biography: Born in Spain, of Russian and German descent, Igor Korneitchouk emigrated with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, when he was a small child. He received his Master's in composition from the Cleveland Institute of Music, not far from where he grew up. After which, he packed up all his belongings in a U-Haul towed by a compact car and headed west to attend University of California, San Diego where he earned his PhD. In 1989, he received a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to study Jazz at Yale University. He has been awarded grants from UC Regents and American Music Center for the performance of his Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, "Desert Flowers." On the Master Musicians Collective label he produced two recordings, one in Prague 1997 for his Viola Concerto, the other in the UK in January of 2002 where he oversaw the recording with Gerard Schwarz conducting the Royal Liverpool Orchestra. 2008 saw the release of two more CDs: a full album of his chamber music on the Centaur label, and his early Symphony "Passage" on the ERM Media label. From an American Record Guide review of his first CD by Old King Cole Productions, The Virtual Performer: "Korneitchouk writes with facility in such a dizzying variety of styles - tonal, serial, minimalist, and much else - that one can almost certainly find something to enjoy…. His style is as virtual as his method." Igor Korneitchouk is currently Professor of Music at San Diego Mesa College.In his spare time he plays in the La Jolla Symphony and is a founding member of the performance art group TOUCH ME HEAR, exploring the boundaries between music, art, drama, technology, performance and audience participation.

Artist Statement: "I identify my aesthetics as 'eclectic,' not a movement but an apt description. This description is personal: my wide palette is a result of the broad multi-culturally and -historically diverse musical universe I inhabit and the atomization of this rich experience by our modern media. I enjoy writing in various sonic worlds and media - minimalist, post-serial, Cage-inspired, electronic/spectral, jazz influenced, timbral-centric music with extended techniques, neo-classic and neo-romantic music. I've never championed a single cause; instead, I make a career as a music professor where my musical diversity also serves my students well."

Reviews: Reactions to Igor Korneitchouk's music that have appeared in print as well as anecdotal evidence, has been consistent. No matter what "style" (or "musical attitude") he chooses to write in, Korneitchouk's voice is yet distinctive, invariably described as having "formal strength" (Los Angeles Times), being "fascinating… [and] breaking new ground" (Avant magazine) and, as reported, having a personality which is full of whimsy, angular gestures, gentleness and delicacy, and tons of kinetic energy when needed.

From a review of the CD "The Virtual Performer. 'In the Kitchen at Night', a portrait of Korneitchouk's refrigerator going on and off at night, is sufficiently weird and surreal to suggest a new direction, perhaps toward a world where the computer will be more than a mere vehicle." - Jack Sullivan, American Record Guide November/December 2001