Param Vir

British composer originally from India

For the Indian military decoration, see Param Vir Chakra.

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Param Vir is a British composer originally from India.

Born in Delhi into a family life permeated with Indian classical music, Param Vir's strong interest in music developed as a teenager when attending a Roman Catholic secondary school and had informal lessons from composer Hans-Joachim Koellreutter, then resident in India.[1][2] With no prospects as a composer in India, he read history and philosophy at Delhi University, but returned to music on graduation in 1974 as a teacher.[2] From 1983 Vir studied composition at Dartington with Peter Maxwell Davies and at Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Oliver Knussen.[1][2] In 1986 Vir was a composition fellow at Tanglewood. The following year he was a featured composer in the Festival of India in Geneva.[3]

## Career highlights

[edit]

* 1983 – attended Dartington International Summer School on a scholarship.
* 1984 – moved to London to study with Oliver Knussen.
* 1987 – awarded Benjamin Britten Composition Prize.
* 1993 – Pierre Audi production of Broken Strings wins Ernst von Siemens Music Prize for young composers (Munich).
* 2003 – first full production of ION tours Europe.
* 2005 – Horse Tooth White Rock performed at the BBC Proms.
* 2005 – Hayagriva commissioned and premiered by the Schoenberg Ensemble in Amsterdam
* 2006 – Between Earth and Sky, inspired by Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate, premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London
* 2008 – He Begins His Great Trance for the BBC Singers; Black Feather Rising for Stichting Octopus
* 2010 – Constellations for the BCMG performed at the Barbican
* 2013 – BBC Proms Commission Cave of Luminous Mind
* 2014 – Raga Fields – co-commission from Klangforum Wien, Fulcrum Point Chicago, the BCMG
* 2017 – international tour of A Kinsman to Danger
* 2020 – awarded PRS Composer Award for portrait CD on NMC

## Selected works

[edit]

### Stage works

[edit]

Premiere  | Title  | Description  | Libretto and source

|
|
|

11 May 1992, De Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam  | Snatched by the Gods | Opera in one act, 55'  | William Radice, after the poem Debatar Gras by Rabindranath Tagore
11 May 1992, De Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam  | Broken Strings | Opera in one act, 60'. (revised 1995)  | David Rudkin, after an ancient Buddhist tale Guttil Jatak
09 Jun 2000, Aldeburgh Festival/ Almeida Opera | ION | Opera in 4 scenes with Prologue, 120'  | David Lan, after Euripides
24 Oct 2008, De Toneelschuur, Haarlem  | Black Feather Rising | Music Theatre for 2 Singers and 6 Instrumentalists, 90'  | David Rudkin, after folklore collection Healers on the Mountain by Teresa Pijoan

### Other

[edit]

* Before Krishna (1987; string orchestra)
* Horse Tooth White Rock (1994; orchestra)
* Ultimate Words: Infinite Song (1997; baritone, six percussion, piano)
* The Theatre of Magical Beings (2003; large ensemble)
* Hayagriva (2005; large ensemble)
* Between Earth and Sky (2006; orchestra)
* Cave of Luminous Mind (2013; orchestra) BBC commission for 2013 Proms
* ABLAZE! (2014, soprano, piano)
* Raga Fields (2014, sarod, mixed ensemble)
* Drum of the Deathless (2017, percussion quintet or percussion duo)
* A Kinsman to Danger (2017, baritone, piano)

## Selected recordings

[edit]

* White Light Chorale – Metronome METCD1053
* Video extracts on the Param Vir official website

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Param Vir". Novello & Co, London. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
2. ^ a b c "RASALÎLA – Spiel der Gefühle" (in German). Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin. 2003. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
3. ^ "Vir, Param". Malcolm Miller. "Vir, Param." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 11 Jan. 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* Param Vir official website
* Param Vir's homepage at Chester Music

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Netherlands

Artists|

* BRAHMS
* MusicBrainz