 WALTMANSEARLY AND CONTEMPORARY MUSIC |
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ELIA KOUSSA (LB) My music is partly influenced by traditional Arabic music. It was not until recently that I started to use the Arabic modes (maqamat) and rhythms (awzan) in my works. Arabic music has a very rich tradition, but I have only come to discover this relatively late, as I had been more involved in European music. I do not regret this though, because the European musical tradition gave me the grounding necessary for my work. My knowledge of structure, form and harmony, the use of noise or even extra-musical influence or any kind of reflection which composition may require, would not be possible without this grounding. However, I would not say that I compose Arabic music, not only because this would provoke many people in the Arab world, to whom my claim could come as a shock, but also because I believe that I am between two worlds which I am trying to keep separate. For example, when it comes to the ambiance of an Arabic maqam, I try to be as true as possible to the character and essence of this maqam. I believe that this music must stay pure. In my work, I use the European technique of composition. So far, I have used the more known instruments. ELIA KOUSSA: I began taking piano lessons with my mother, Marie Sfeir Koussa, when I was 7, and later enrolled at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Tripoli (Lebanon)/ Beirut. In 2000 I was awarded a diploma in piano playing with a distinction. I participated both as a pianist and as a composer in a number of concerts and workshops including the West Eastern Divan Workshop with Daniel Barenboim in Weimar in 1999. In 2000 I moved to Berlin where I took piano lessons with prof. Dieter Zechlin as well as my first composition lessons with Helmut Zapf. Until that time, I had not had the opportunity to receive any tuition in composition. In Berlin, new horizons were opened to me, and in 2002 I enrolled at the Franz Liszt Hochschule fuer Musik in Weimar where I studied composition with Prof. Reinhard Wolschina, and theory with Prof. Wolf-Guenther Leidel. In 2005, I was awarded a scholarship from the "Dr. Dr. Gerda von Mach Gedaechtnisstiftung", and in 2006, I joined the Hochschule fuer Musik Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig where I studied with Prof. Dr. Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf. I finished my studies in 2008 with distinction. I also had many masterclasses, with Dan Dediu, Reinhard Febel and Wolfgang Rihm among others. I am a member of the Deutsche Komponistenverband. Many of my pieces have been performed in different countries in Europe, and I have been repeatedly commissioned to write new pieces. I was awarded a second prize of the “Fruehjahrstage” competition with the Aeolian Trio, as well as the Baerenreiter Prize for my piece “Waves”, for bass flute, oboe and bassoon. See also Interview. Mailto: elia15(at)hotmail.com. |
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