Alla Pavlova facts for kids

Alla Yevgenyevna Pavlova (born July 13, 1952, in Ukraine) is a Russian composer. She was born in Vinnitsa, Ukraine. Her family moved to Moscow in 1961. In 1990, she moved to Brooklyn, New York, where she lives today. Pavlova is best known for her large orchestral pieces, especially her symphonies.

Biography

Life in the Soviet Union

When Alla was nine, her family moved to Moscow in 1961. There, she studied music. She earned her first degree in 1975 from the Ippolitov–Ivanov Music Institute. Later, in 1983, she received her Master's Degree from the Gnessin State Musical College. She learned from Armen Shakhbagyan, a famous composer. Alla was also very inspired by the works of the poet Anna Akhmatova. This influence shaped much of her music until the 1990s.

After finishing her Master's in 1983, Pavlova moved to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. She worked at the Union of Bulgarian Composers and the Bulgarian National Opera. Three years later, she returned to Moscow. From 1986, Pavlova worked for the Russian Musical Society Board in Moscow. In 1990, she moved to New York City.

Life in America

Early Music and Chamber Pieces

After arriving in New York, Pavlova created a collection of simple piano pieces for her daughter, Irene. These pieces were inspired by the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. In the early 1990s, she wrote many songs (called lieder) and small pieces for piano.

In 1994, Pavlova wrote her first big work for a small group of musicians. It was her Symphony no. 1 "Farewell Russia". This symphony shows the sad feelings she had about leaving her home country. It is played as one continuous piece. It uses a small ensemble with two violins, a cello, a piano, a flute, and a piccolo. Soloists from the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra recorded it in Russia.

Four years later, Pavlova composed another work. It was an Elegy (1998) for piano and string orchestra. This short piece, only four minutes long, was written after her teacher, Shakhbagyan, passed away.

Her first large orchestral work after the Elegy was Symphony no. 2 "For the New Millennium" (1998). This was her most ambitious work at the time. Even before she revised it, Vladimir Fedoseyev recorded it on CD. Pavlova also wrote more songs, like Miss me... but let me go in September 2001. She lived near the World Trade Center in New York. After the attacks on September 11, she decided to dedicate this song to the victims.

Pavlova is a member of the New York Women Composers, Inc..

Focus on Grand Forms

Her Second Symphony was a turning point in Pavlova's career. After this, she started writing more large orchestral pieces instead of smaller chamber music. In 2000, she wrote her huge Symphony no. 3. This symphony was inspired by a monument to Joan of Arc in New York. It is known for its strong emotions. Pavlova often revises her works. She added a guitar to a new version of this symphony, which was first played in 2004.

Her Symphony no. 4 was written in 2002. She also wrote a piece called Monolog for solo violin and string orchestra. From 2003 to 2005, Pavlova worked on her first music for a ballet called Sulamith. This ballet was based on a 1908 story by Aleksandr Kuprin, which was inspired by the Bible story of King Solomon. A long symphonic suite was created from this ballet music.

Pavlova has written many more symphonies. Her Symphony no. 11 came out in 2021. Other works include the Thumbelina Ballet Suite (2008/2009), a Concertino for violin, piano, and string orchestra (2012), and "Night Music" for violin and strings (2014).

Works

Alla Pavlova's music is inspired by great Russian composers of the 20th century. These include Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Rachmaninov. Many of her works explore themes of leaving home and feeling like an outsider.

• "Lullaby for Irene" for piano, violin (or flute) and vibraphone (1972)
• Two Songs to Verses by Anna Akhmatova for soprano and piano (1974)
• "We Are the Love" to verses by Alla Pavlova for (mezzo-)soprano and piano quartet (1974)
• "The Dream" to verses by Anna Akhmatova for soprano and piano (1979)
• Impressions after Fairy-Tales by H. C. Andersen for piano (1990)
• Winter Morning to Verses by Alexander Pushkin for soprano, cello and flute (1993)
• Prelude for piano "For My Mother" (1994)
• "Summer Pictures for piano (1994)
• Symphony No. 1 "Farewell, Russia" for chamber orchestra (1994)
• The Old New York Nostalgia Suite for piano (1995)
• "Miss Me ... But Let Me Go" for violin, cello, two guitars and mezzo-soprano (1997)
• "I Loved You", masterpieces of Russian poetry for mezzo-soprano, violin and piano (1998)
• Elegy for piano and string orchestra (1998)
• Symphony No. 2 "For the New Millennium" (1998)
• The Old New York Nostalgia Suite for string orchestra, percussion, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone and trumpet (1998)
• Symphony No. 3 (2000)
• Symphony No. 4 (2002)
• Monolog for violin and string orchestra (2002)
• Suite from "Sulamith" (2003-2004)
• "Sulamith", ballet (2003-2005)
• Symphony No. 5 (2006)
• Symphony No. 6 (2008)
• Suite from "Thumbelina" (2008-2009)
• Symphony No. 7 (2011)
• Symphony No. 8 (2011)
• Concertino for violin, piano and string orchestra (2012)
• "Night Music" for violin and strings (2014)
• Symphony No.9 "Violin Concerto" (2016)
• Symphony No.10 (2017)
• Symphony No.11 (2021)

See also

In Spanish: Ala Pávlova para niños