Alexander Raskatov

About Alexander Raskatov

Alexander Raskatov was born on 9 March 1954 in Moskow and finished his studies at the local conservatotry in 1978. In 1990 he joined the Union Contemporary Music Russia. His major interests are focussing mainly vocal and instrumental chamber music and symphonic sounds. His outstanding skills find their output in his vivid fantasy and emotional language which he combines with distinct and elaborated structural processes. Alfred Schnittke was seeing in im "one of the most interesting composers of his generation".

The musical and biographical roots Alexander Raskatov has in the Russian-Sowjet culture are widely spread and grow hidden under the shivering surface of his music. The composer himself refers to his dialogue with Slawonic folk music like he learned to know in his early years with the Don-Cossacks. He found reminders of a Russian "Pro-Culture" which he followed in the tradition of Jewish music and the chants of the Russian-orthodox liturgy.

In 1990 Raskatov was appointed "composer in residence" at Stetson University and in 1998 in Lockenhaus. He was awarded numerous prizes and fellowships, e.g. in 1994 an invitation by foundations Arno Schmidt and later M. P. Belaiev for staying in Germany, in 1996 and 1998 a fellowship of the French-American foundation "la Napoule", was invited in 1997 to join the master couse of the "Cité de la musique" in Paris and in 1998 he received the composition award of the Salzburger Osterfestspiele, just to name a few. Raskatov received commissions for new works by the most renowned artists of the world such as Gidon Kremer, Sabine Meyer Wind Ensemble, Netherlands Blazers Ensemble, Hilliard Ensemble and the Schönberg Ensemble.