Thomas Simaku

Thomas Simaku (born 18 April 1958, in Kavajë) is an Albanian-born British composer.^[1][2]

Education

Simaku studied composition between the years 1978–1982 at the Academy of Music and Arts of Albania under Tonin Harapi. After graduation he was nominated as Director of Music at the Palace of Culture of Permet, in southern Albania.^[1]

In 1991 Simaku moved to England to study for a PhD in composition with David Blake at the University of York, which he was awarded in 1996.^[3]

Prizes and Awards

Notable prizes and awards that Simaku has won include:

• 1993: Lionel Robbins Memorial Scholarship, being the only candidate from the UK to win that year.
• 1996: Leonard Bernstein Fellowship in Composition at Tanglewood Music Centre in the U.S. with Bernard Rands.
• 1998: Fellowship at the Composers' Workshop at California State University with Brian Ferneyhough.
• 2000: Fellowship from the Arts & Humanities Research Council in London.
• 2004: Serocki International Prize, Warsaw.
• 2009: British Composer Award (Instrumental) for Soliloquy V: Flauto Acerbo.^[4]
• 2013: First Prize in the International Composition Competition for Lutoslawski's 100th Birthday for Concerto for Orchestra.^[5][6]

Performances

Simaku's music has been performed throughout the UK and Europe, as well as in North America, Australia and the Far East. In 1995 his work Epitaph for String Orchestra was selected by the International Jury for the ISCM World Music Days in Germany - the first ever Albanian music to be included in this prestigious festival. Subsequently, Simaku's works have been selected by the International Jury at the World Music Days of 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2019.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}

Other venues and international festivals where his music has been performed include Wigmore Hall;^[16][17] King’s College Cambridge;^[18] Den Sorte Diamant Hall, Copenhagen;^[19] Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (HCMF);^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]} Forum für Neuer Musik, Deutschlandfunk, Cologne;^[27] New Music Miami;^[28] Encontre Internacional de Compositors 2011, Spain;^[29][30] Intrasonus festival, Venice; Moderne Muziek Nijmegen in Holland amongst others.^[31]

Simaku has given masterclasses and lectures on his music across several universities and music academies in the UK, Europe and USA.^{[32][33][34][35]}

Publication

Simaku’s works have been recorded by internationally renowned musicians and ensembles, including soloists of Ensemble Intercontemporain, Quatour Diotima, and Kreutzer Quartet.

Released by labels such as BIS, NMC, and Naxos, they have received critical acclaim internationally from, among others, BBC Music Magazine,^[36][37] Gramophone Magazine,^[38] Music Opinion (UK),^[39] Diapason (France),^[40] Crescendo (Belgium),^[41] Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, Tempo, Rondo – Das Klassik & Jazz Magazine (Germany),^[42] and Fanfare Magazine (USA).^[43]

Discography

• SOLO – Soloists of Ensemble Intercontemporain

NMC Catalogue No: NMCD278 Release Date: 09/2023

• Con-ri-sonanza

BIS Catalogue No: BIS-2449 Release Date: 11/2020 Selected by Radio France in their best of year (coup-de-coeur) list.^[44]

• Solos & Duos

Catalogue No: Naxos 8.579035 Release Date: 08/2019

• String Quartets Nos 2 and 3, Soliloquy I, II, III

Catalogue No: Naxos 8.570428 Release Date: 05/2008. It reached the best of year list in the Fanfare magazine in USA in 2008.^[45]

• Soliloquy VI for Soprano Saxophone

Soprano Saxophone Music (21st Century) BIS, Catalogue No: BIS-2644 Release Date: 11/2023

Selected Works

Orchestra and Large Ensemble

• Canticello for Cello & Orchestra (1997) – Selected for the 1999 ISCM festival, Bucharest
• Plenilunio for 12 Solo Strings (1998) – Selected for the 2001 ISCM festival, Japan
• The Eagle on the Cross for Orchestra (1998) – World Premiere by English Northern Philharmonia conducted by Elgar Howarth
• Luxonorité for Ensemble (2001) – Selected for the Luxembourg Sinfonietta International Competition
• Plenilunio II for String Orchestra (2004) – Winning work of the 2004 Serocki International Competition, Warsaw
• Hyllus for Orchestra (2004) – Selected for the 2004 ISCM Festival, Croatia
• Arc-en-ciel concerto for Cello & Orchestra, 2006
• Insomnio for fifteen players (2007) – commissioned by Deutschlandfunk festival "Forum Neuer Musik", Cologne
• The Shadow of a Brass Line for Orchestra (2011)
• Concerto for Orchestra (2012) – Winning work of the International Competition for Lutoslawski’s 100th Birthday
• The Scream – based on the iconic painting of Munch (2017) –World premiere broadcast on BBC radio 3
• Morea for String Orchestra (2022)

Chamber and Solo Works

Soliloquy Cycle

• Soliloquy I for solo violin (2000) – Selected for the 2000 ISCM festival, Luxembourg
• Soliloquy II for solo cello (2001)
• Soliloquy III for solo viola (2002) – Selected for the 2003 ISCM festival, Slovenia
• Soliloquy IV for bass clarinet (2008)
• Soliloquy V - Flauto acerbo for Alto & Tenor Recorders (2008) –Selected for the 2012 ISCM festival, Belgium
• Soliloquy VI for solo saxophone (2021)
• Soliloquy VII for solo clarinet & resonant piano (2019)
• Soliloquy VIII for marimba plus (2020-21)
• Soliloquy IX for solo trumpet & resonant piano (2021-22)

String Quartets

• String Quartet No. 1 (1991)
• String Quartet No. 2 ‘Radius’ (2003)
• String Quartet No.3 ‘Voci Celesti’ (2004)
• String Quartet No. 4, 20 (2010-11)
• String Quartet No. 5, 20 (2015)

Catena Cycle for Solo Piano

• Catena I (2019)
• Catena II (2019-20)
• Catena III – Corona (2020-22)
• Catena IV (2024)

Vocal Works

• Need for Speech for Soprano & Piano (2009)
• Three Albanian Folk Songs for female choir (2010)
• Locked Door for Soprano & Piano (2010)
• Akhmatova Song for soprano & cello (2011)
• The Rose of the World for soprano, mixed chorus and large ensemble (2012), a setting of the poem with the same name by the Nobel prize-winning poet W. B. Yeats.
• La Leggiadra Luna for mixed choir (2018) - Selected for the 2019 ISCM festival, Estonia

Mixed Ensemble

• A2 for Violin & Cello (2008)
• Réflexions de la Croix I for six players (2010)
• Solar for trumpet, violin, piano (2013)
• Deux Esquisses for piano (2013)
• EngREnage for Violin & Cello (2017)
• Con-ri-sonanza for piano & string quartet (2018)
• Klang Inventions for Six Players (2018)
• Moj e Bukura Moré for Violin & Piano (2018)

Personal

In 2000, Simaku was granted British citizenship. He lives in York with his wife and two daughters. Simaku is a Professor of Composition at the University of York.^[46]