Ida Gotkovsky facts for kids

Ida Rose Esther Gotkovsky (born August 26, 1933) is a famous French composer and pianist. She has written many different kinds of music, including pieces for orchestras, ballets, and operas. She also teaches music theory at a big music school in France called the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique.

Ida Gotkovsky's Early Life and Music Journey

Ida Gotkovsky was born in Calais, France, on August 26, 1933. Music was a big part of her family! Her father, Jacques Gotkovsky, was a well-known violinist. Her mother also played the violin. Both her brother, Ivar, and her sister, Nell, became talented musicians.

Ida started composing music when she was only eight years old. She studied at the famous Conservatoire de Paris (Paris Conservatoire). There, she learned from important teachers like Olivier Messiaen and Nadia Boulanger.

She won six major first-place music awards for her compositions. These included the Prix Blumenthal (1958), Prix Pasdeloup (1959), and the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris (1966). These awards showed how talented she was from a young age.

Ida Gotkovsky's Musical Creations

Gotkovsky has created many different types of music. Her works include chamber music (music for a small group of instruments), symphonies (large orchestral pieces), instrumental music, vocal music, ballets, and operas.

She is especially known for writing many solo and chamber pieces for the saxophone. Her music for the trombone and tuba is also very famous. She has also written important pieces for concert bands.

Ida Gotkovsky believes that music should connect people across time. She wants her music to be a "universal musical art." She aims to show the "oneness of musical expression" through her modern and powerful compositions.

Selected Works by Ida Gotkovsky

Here are some examples of the many musical pieces Ida Gotkovsky has created:

Stage Works

These are pieces written for the stage, like ballets and operas:

• Le Rêve de Makar (Makar's Dream), an opera (1964)
• Rien ne va plus, a ballet (1968)
• Le Cirque (The Circus), a ballet (1972)

Orchestral Works

These are pieces written for a full orchestra or a wind orchestra:

• Symphonie pour cordes et percussion (Symphony for Strings and Percussion) (1957)
• Symphonie pour vingt-quatre instruments à vent (Symphony for twenty-four wind instruments) (1960)
• Symphonie de printemps (Spring Symphony) (1973)
• Poème du feu (Poem of Fire) for wind orchestra (1978)
• Or et lumière (Gold and Light) for orchestra (1992)

Concertos

A concerto is a piece for a solo instrument and an orchestra:

• Concerto for trumpet (1960)
• Concerto for saxophone and orchestra (1966)
• Concerto for clarinet and orchestra (1968)
• Concerto for piano and orchestra (1975)
• Concerto for trombone and wind orchestra (1978)

Chamber Music

These pieces are for smaller groups of instruments:

• Trio d'anches (Trio for Reed Instruments) (1954)
• String Quartet (1955)
• Brillance for alto saxophone and piano (1974)
• Sonata for violin and piano (1976)
• Quatuor de saxophones for four saxophones (1983)
• Brass Quintet (1993)

Choral Works

These are pieces written for a choir:

• Hommage à Baudelaire (1982)
• Le Chant de la forêt (The Song of the Forest) for chorus and wind orchestra (1989)
• Oratorio olympique (Olympic Oratorio) for chorus and wind orchestra (1991)