Meet the ComposHER: Lydia Kakabadse

Lydia Kakabadse is a British composer, known for her compositions for choral, chamber and vocal music. She has a unique style - it incorporates tonal and modal harmonies with Middle Eastern traits and melody. She is also a Latin enthusiast, and has written original Latin texts for her vocal works.

Her works have been included in music festivals both in the UK and abroad, most recently in the Three Choirs Festival Eucharist (2019) and Chatsworth Arts Festival (2019).

Learn more about her and her awesome work in the Meet the ComposHer of this week!

Yes, since I was 12 years old

Medieval, Middle Eastern and nineteenth century Russian music as well as poets of the Romantic era (1800 – 1850).

Depends on where I was in my career:

Early on, my biggest challenge would have been finding the right musicians to perform my music as well as getting my music published, recorded and released on a record label.

More recently my biggest challenge is to come up with exciting new ideas in respect of choral, chamber; vocal music, to obtain further commissions and increase my profile in international circuits/musicfestivals.

I firstly need to be inspired by something (e.g. poetry/literature/art/drama etc), then decide on musical format and then instrumentation, voice types, language, any particular choir/singer/instrumentalist.

From my choral/vocal album Ithaka, released by Divine Art on 15 th Nov 2019:

Jocelyn Pook - Masked Ball (from film Eyes Wide Shut):

I was 16 in 1972. Technology has changed so much since then that any advice would be wholly irrelevant and of little use. Indeed, technology has changed the music industry. In 1972 there were no photocopiers (I had to write out all scores and parts by hand on manuscript paper); no CD’s or CD players, no internet, no emails, no social media, no Sibelius software, no websites, no PC’s, lap tops, iPhones, iPads, no downloads. As a result, marketing was wholly different then. Experimental musical instruments had not gained much popularity in 1972 - they gained wider audiences in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Electronic music has also developed since then. It was also easier to get music published then – now there are far more composers and far fewer record labels and music publishing companies. Consequently, it is now a publisher’s and record label’s market. With these improvements in technology, music has been changing along with the methods of its recording and publishing. Composers can now make their own records and publish online through different platforms.

Earnings made by a composer generally come from publishing, performance and mechanical royalties as well as commissions and concert takings. These days, it is rare for a record label to pay for all or any costs of recording (artists, producer, sound engineer, venue, distribution, marketing, etc). If the composer does not know how to use Sibelius software, s/he will need to pay for someone who can transcribe their music from manuscript, as publishers do not generally accept manuscripts. As it can take years before composers can secure publishing contracts/record deals or receive commissions and royalties, I would advise that, at least in the early years, they think about how to finance their music projects.

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