FANIA CHAPIRO - INDONESIA
BORN 10 JUNE
BORN 10 JUNE
Fania Chapiro was born in 1926 in Indonesia (the former Dutch East Indies), on the island of Java, in a carefree musical environment. She had a Russian father, her mother was Dutch. Both parents cherished the exceptional musical talent of their only child, making many sacrifices to support this. Fania was half-Jewish and that would affect the course of her career. When she wrote in her diary in early 1935: “I have decided to become a composer and a wonderful pianist,” she could not expect the war would get in her way. Despite everything, she persevered; her efforts culminated in a beautiful career as a pianist and composer.
Father Naum Chapiro was a violin teacher and Fania, just a toddler, tried to play with his violin. But soon it became clear that another instrument was looming. She put her heart and soul into the piano and already at the age of six, concerts of the young prodigy were featured in the newspapers. In those days, musicians often included Java on their tours. The renowned pianist, Benno Moiseiwitsch, present at one of Fania’s concerts, was convinced that Paris was the place to be, if she wanted to develop her exceptional talent. Fania was still just a child when her parents decided to take this huge step in 1934. The pianist Lazare Lévy, a kind and sympathetic personality, became her teacher, and this was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Many of Levy's piano students later had successful careers. He firmly believed in Fania's great talent although she was deterred by setbacks encountered along the way. Her theoretical skills appeared to be inadequate at that time, and at the conservatory she had to work hard to pass the exams. Lévy asked her to compose something for the “sight-reading class,” which she did. But playing the piano was her core objective and her father tried eagerly to introduce his daughter into the Dutch music world.
Fania and her parents spent every summer vacation in the Netherlands with family. Then suddenly in 1939 there was literally no turning back. The outbreak of the war forced them to move into an apartment in Bezuidenhout in The Hague. Chapiro could no longer exercise his profession. To avoid deportation, he went into hiding in the province of Noord-Brabant. Fania was still too young to realize what this all meant. She was fourteen years old, but as a musician, expected to become a member of the Kultuurkamer, a regulatory cultural agency installed by the German occupying forces during World War II. She refused, with the consequence that performing was over. But music was everything to her; she was “possessed” by music, according to her diary. So she continued playing at underground house concerts in and around The Hague. This clandestine practice actually helped many musicians through the war. During the Dutch famine of 1944-1945, Fania performed only in exchange for food.
It is difficult to say how many works Fania ultimately composed. A large part of her manuscripts consists of sketches, sometimes just a few measures up to half-finished works. In 1944, she wrote about this: "[...] because how many compositions have I started on and left unfinished; that what remains are quick sketches and a huge array of ideas. Simply countless.” Due to her enormous drive, numerous completed compositions have fortunately been preserved.
During the war she composed a lot, using traditional forms and a boisterous virtuosity. The years following her American period seem to be the most productive; her works mature. Yet most of her works are undated, which makes it difficult to exactly determine when and where they were written. Strikingly, in 1988, a completely different musical idiom appears in her art songs. Chromaticism remained, yet there was plenty of stillness in her music. In a letter to her publisher Donemus, Fania explained that Emily Dickinson's poems had “affected me by their timeless, unrealistic atmosphere.” A few years later, she died at the age of 68 in her hometown Hilversum, definitely remembered as a composer and a magnificent pianist.
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ANN MILLIKAN - USA
BORN 10 JUNE
Ann Millikan's music has been described as "tonally challenging yet emotionally involving" (Joseph Woodard, LA Times), "packed with propellant polyrhythmic textures" (New Sounds, WNYC), and "characterized by high energy and a quirky inventiveness that defies easy categorization...Her scoring is clean and transparent and her felicities of orchestration are among the most attractive elements in her work." (Stephen Eddins, All Music).
Millikan composes concert music for orchestra, chamber ensembles and choir, opera, experimental and interdisciplinary projects involving installation, theatre and dance. Rhythmic vitality is a powerful force in her music, stemming from previous years playing jazz, African and Brazilian music. Her music is expressive and colorful, moving freely between atonal and tonal/modal languages depending upon the overall desired effect. She creates rich orchestral textures that are characterized by layering, rhythmic juxtaposition, and complex counterpoint. Known for her collaborative projects that connect deeply with community – story, history, culture, and science are often an impetus behind her work.
Millikan received her MFA in Composition from the California Institute of the Arts where her mentors were Mel Powell, Morton Subotnick, and Stephen L. Mosko, and her BA in Music–Jazz (piano, voice and composition), Phi Kappa Phi, from San Jose State University. She has studied West African percussion from Senegal and Ghana, and many years of classical voice.
Her works have been performed in Europe, South America and throughout the United States by Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino, Orchestra Sinfonica della Provincia di Bari, Emanuele Arciuli, ABSTRAI Ensemble, California EAR Unit, Zeitgeist, No Exit New Music Ensemble, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Mankato Symphony Orchestra, Chapel Hill Philharmonia, Citywinds, New Century Players, Oregon Repertory Singers, Grace Cathedral Men's Choir, and Joan La Barbara, among others. Her music is featured on radio broadcasts nationally and internationally.
Ann Millikan is a recipient of the prestigious McKnight Composer Fellowship. She has garnered awards from the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota State Arts Board, California Arts Council, American Music Center, ASCAP, American Composers Forum, Meet The Composer, Argosy Foundation Contemporary Music Fund, Jerome Foundation, Zellerbach Family Fund, Berkeley Civic Arts Program, and Waging Peace Through Singing (Highest Honors).
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