Andrei Skorobogatykh
Andrei Skorobogatykh (b. 1992) is a Russian-born composer, pianist, and organist from Moscow currently residing in Bedford, IN.
His early musical education was connected with a famous long tradition of Gnessins musical institutions - Gnessins Music College (high school) and Russian Gnessins Academy of Music, both graduated with honors in 2011 and 2016 respectively. After moving to the US in 2018, Andrei completed a Master's Degree in Composition at Syracuse University and Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with cognate in Organ Performance. Andrei is the Director of Music in St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Bedford, IN.
His compositions were performed by the following ensembles and soloists: Sofia Philarmonic Orchestra, Russian Gnessins Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra “Resonance”, Illinois Modern Ensemble, Society for New Music CNY, Moscow Cello Quartet, Verona Quartet, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Ritual Action Trio, Anna Polovinkina (soprano), Katherine Skafidas (soprano), Natalia Abryutina (organ), Lana Stafford (flute), Rakhadin Yarmetov (piano).
“My style can be called romantic since I attach great importance to the emotional component and psychologism. The complex, coloristic harmonies of my music are largely inspired by Scriabin, Myaskovsky, and especially Messiaen. The areas that interest me most are organ music and orchestral compositions. Recently, I have also rediscovered for myself the old-new expressive possibilities of melody and wrote a lot of vocal music. Since 2022, I have completed two cycles of art songs based on poems by Russian poets Alexander Kuprin and Boris Ryzhiy, wrote 2 choirs based on poems by Sarah Teasdale, and the song “Music” based on a poem by Walter de la Mare. Finding the poetry for a new song is always a challenge. I still believe in the classical harmony of the rhymes and the musical sense of the word choice, but I try to find new original, interesting images and themes. In this sense, the Paradoxical Ode by James Maxwell is a great find that combines romantic sophistication of poetic technique with futuristic, esoteric imagery.”
