Edison Denisov, Pink Floyd fan

Pink Floyd in 1973. Sure, the band is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but did you know Edison Denisov loved Pink Floyd? (Public domain photo). 

Since my last post on Russian composer Edison Denisov, some useful resources have come to my attention:

1. There's a useful book about him, Edison Denisov, written by Yuri Kholopov and Valeria Tsenova, published while he was still alive and translated into English by Romela Kohanovskaya. I've read part of it. Among other points, it documents how Dimitri Shostakovich went out of his way to help Denisov very early in Denisov's career.

One of the best parts of the book is toward the end, where Denisov's views on music simply are quoted. For example, he liked rock music and jazz:

“I’m very fond of jazz. It is genuine art. Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis are true great musicians. Miles Davis is my favourite musician, his harmonic thinking is as refined as Debussy’s”.

“I’m keenly interested in modern rock music. Captivated by its uninhibited and bright styles; sometimes you may come across high poetry too. My favourite group is Pink Floyd whose serious music I can listen to every day”.

He had no use for minimalism and didn't like John Cage or Paul Hindemith. 

He liked a lot of modernists, such as Boulez, Bartok and Webern. And especially:  “Mozart, Glinka and Schubert are closer to my heart than any other music."

2. There's an official website, updated with upcoming shows featuring his music (mostly in France and Russia.)

3. Here's a good interview of Denisov by Bruce Duffie, with Laurel Fay serving as the translator! My ambition to conduct an interview with a Russian composer, with Laurel Fay as my personal translator, probably must remain unrealized. (She is the Shostakovich biographer, of course.)

BD:  One last question.  Is composing fun?  [Note: After rendering my question to the composer, the translator quietly said to me, "The word 'fun' is an impossible word to translate; they don't have the word 'fun' in Russian."]

ED:  It's a form of existence.  I couldn't exist without composing; I couldn't survive, couldn't get along.  If I go without writing music for a long time I feel sick.  Unfortunately I don't get the opportunity to work without interruptions, so I always have to work in spurts.