2008 ISCM-IAMIC Young Composer Award – Diana Rotaru

Diana Rotaru (1981, Romania) received the Prize for Shakti” (or Sakti) concerto for saxophone and orchestra performed on October 27 by Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra.
The award was inaugurated in 2002 and will be presented each year to a selected composer under 35 whose work is featured in the annual ISCM World Music Days.
The award consists of a special commission (5000 Euro) to write a chamber ensemble piece to be premiered during the International Gaudeamus Music Week in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

With this initiative the ISCM and IAMIC foster the development of contemporary music through the promotion of young talents in the contemporary music field. For four years in a row the ISCM Young Composer Award was generously supported by CASH, the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong. In 2002 the British composer Thomas Adès was honored for his string quartet “Arcadiana” while runner-up Martijn Voorvelt (Netherlands) was given the commission for a new piece which was premiered by the Axyz Ensemble in the International Gaudeamus Music Week 2004. In 2003 the Australian composer Matthew Bienik won the Award for his clarinet piece “Fleshold – at the crossing over”; he wrote a new work for the Asko Ensemble which was premiered in the International Gaudeamus Music Week 2005. In 2004 the Chinese composer Leilei Tian won the Award for her orchestra piece “Sâdhana”; she wrote a new piece for the Nieuw Ensemble which was premiered in 2006. In 2005 the Finnish composer Sampo Haapamäki won the award for his piece “Signature”; he is writing a new work for the ensemble Insomnio for a premiere in 2008. In 2006 the Estonian composer Helena Tulve won the award for her work “Sula” for didgeridoo and orchestra. Nicholas Casswell (1974, UK) received the Prize for Triplicityduring the ISCM-ACL World Music Days 2007 in Hong Kong.

The 2008 ISCM-IAMIC Young Composer Award was judged by a distinguished panel of international composers appointed by the ISCM. Announcement of the Winner and prize took place in the intermission of the concert at the National Philharmonic Hall 30th October by Olga Smetanova, President of the IAMIC and Henk Heuvelmans, Secretary General of the ISCM and head of the contemporary music department of the Music Center the Netherlands in Amsterdam.

Shakti symbolizes, in the Indian art and philosophy, the Cosmic energy, the latent force and dynamics, and also the feminine element of every being. In this case, the saxophone is the one that “gives energy” to the orchestra- that takes over and develops its most striking elements-, thus being created the universe of the piece. It is also the saxophone that presents the two thematic elements that are developed in the four main sections of the work (the first element, in the Ist and IIIrd section, the second one, in the IInd and the IVth section). 
The work tries to create a synthesis between the “usual” contemporary musical language and the archaic one – by using the idea of “imaginary folklore” (as an atmosphere, as an expression and also as a type of musical development, of music material, music figures etc.). The saxophone part also creates an opening to the techniques used in jazz improvisation – due also to the experience of Daniel Kientzy, the author of “Saxologie” (the treatise from which all the effects were taken). Daniel Kientzy is also the musician to whom this piece is dedicated and who performed it for the first time. 

DIANA ROTARU 
Born in Bucharest , 1981,she studied composition at the National University of Music in Bucharest with Stefan Niculescu and Dan Dediu. In 2006 she graduated the “master” course of “Compositional Style and Language” of the same University. During 2005-2006 she was an Erasmus student at the “Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris” where she attended the classes of F. Durieux, M. Levinas, Y.Geslin, L.Naon and T.Mays. She participated at different summer courses : Voix Nouvelles-Royaumont (2002 and 2006),the International Bartok Seminary-Szombathely (2003) and the Contemporary Music Summer Courses in Breaza (2003, 2004 and 2005) – thus studying with composers such as B. Ferneyhough, M. Jarrell, F. Paris, J.Harvey, T. Loevendie, M. Stroppa etc. 
She has won numerous prizes, among which the “George Enescu” Prize ex-aequo for chamber music in 2003 and for orchestral music in 2005 at the “George Enescu” International Competition (Bucharest); the IRINO PRIZE (Tokyo) for orchestral work in 2004 and the “Prometheus Prize-Opera Omnia” (Bucharest) in 2005. Her works have been performed in concerts in European countries as well as in Japan. In 2005, her work, “Shakti” was among the works recommended at the “International Rostrum of Composers”, Vienna. Three of her works have been so far included on CDs. Her creation includes chamber and orchestral music and a chamber opera. 

Eligible composers for the 2007 ISCM-IAMIC Young Composer Award were:
Erik Bünger (SWEDEN) – Dark was the night cold was the ground. Sound and light installation born 1976 
David Brynjar Franzson (ICELAND) – S-Be2. Autonomous live electronics born 1978 
Oscar Carmona (CHILE) – En dehors II born 1975 
Vytautas Jurgutis (LITHUANIA) – Sferos born1976
Matias Giuliani (ARGENTINA) – Semiotic Trash born 1975 
Hirano Ichiro (JAPAN) – Yume no matsuri for cello solo born 1974 
Ashley Rose Fure (USA) – Blush for large ensemble and live electronics born 1982 
Sungji Hong (KOREA) – Shades of Raindrops for flute, bass clarinet, piano, violin and cello born 1973 
David Coll (USA) – Inferno for amplified soprano, flute and trumpet born 1980
Vytautas Jurgutis (LITHUANIA) – Terra tecta born1976
Peter McNamara (AUSTRALIA) – Landscape of Diffracted Colours born 1980
Diana Rotaru (ROMANIA) – Shakti, concerto for saxophone and chamber orchestra born 1981 
Janis Petraskevics (LATVIA) – Arktos born1978 
Erel Paz (ISRAEL) – Muting Adolescence born 1974 
Kresimir Seletkovic (CROATIA) – DisOrder born1974
Raminta Serksnyte (LITHUANIA) – Volkano for symphony orchestra born 1975 
Mirjam Tally (ESTONIA) – Turbulence for amplified symphony orchestra and live electronics ad libitum born 1976 
Rafael Cendo (FRANCE) – Refontes born1975
Santa Ratniece (LATVIA) – Saline born1977 
Marius Baranaukas (LITHUANIA) – Trys vizijos pagal Tagore born1978

information on the program:
www.wmd2008.org/en/info/12

Shakti by dianarotaru

Composer’s info in Catalogue: Rotaru, Diana