Alexey Shor

Last updated
Alexey Shor
Genres Classical music
OccupationMusic composer
Labels Warner Classics, DECCA, Sony Classics, Delos, Berlin Classics, and Melodiya
Website alexeyshor.com

Alexey Shor is an American composer. He is the Composer-in-Residence for the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and an associate composer at the Yehudi Menuhin School. In 2018 he was awarded an honorary professorship at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory.

Contents

Biography

Shor was born Alexey Vladimorovich Kononenko [a] on 20 May 1970 in the Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine). [1] In 1991, he left the Soviet Union for Israel with his parents. Subsequently, he moved to the US for his graduate studies and obtained a PhD in mathematics in 1996. He worked as a mathematician until 2016 (in geometry and dynamical systems). [2] From 1999 until 2016 he worked for the Long Island hedge fund Renaissance Technologies. [3]

Since he was a child, Alexey loved classical music. He tried his hand at composing in 2012 and started writing short pieces as a hobby. One day his friend, viola player David Aaron Carpenter, saw one of his scores on Alexey's desk. He loved Shor's piece. [4]

Alexey's works have been showcased in concert venues such as the Wiener Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., [5] The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Munich's Gasteig, London's Wigmore Hall, Rome's Teatro Argentina, among others. [6]

Shor's scores have been published by publishers such as Breitkopf & Härtel, Universal Edition and P. Jurgenson. [7] His compositions have been featured on CDs released by major labels including Warner Classics, DECCA, Sony Classics, Delos, Berlin Classics, and Melodiya. [7]

Performances featuring his music have been aired on platforms like Medici.tv, Mezzo, and Euronews. The overture to his ballet “Crystal Palace” was performed at the 40th Gramophone Classical Music Awards event in London. In 2019, a documentary about Alexey Shor was showcased on Medici.tv. [8]

Shor's works have been performed by many soloists and ensembles, such as (in alphabetical order) Behzod Abduraimov, Salvatore Accardo, Ray Chen, Steven Isserlis, Clara-Jumi Kang, Evgeny Kissin, Denis Kozukhin, Shlomo Mintz, Mikhail Pletnev, Gil Shaham, Yeol Eum Son, Yekwon Sunwoo, Maxim Vengerov, Nikolaj Znaider and many others. [9]

Shor is a citizen of Israel, US, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Malta. [10]

Controversies

Shor's music was described as derivative and bland, yet leading soloists and orchestras have performed it, often for generous fees, at major venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, and the Barbican. An investigation by German Van Magazine showed that Shor built an extensive promotional ecosystem to promote his music, including festivals and competitions in Malta and, after 2022, Dubai. Meduza’s précis of a Van Magazine investigation catalogs both glowing endorsements from star performers and scathing reviews from independent critics, some of whom liken the works to output from artificial intelligence. A central figure in this ecosystem is businessman and philanthropist Konstantin Ishkhanov, whose organizations (including the European Foundation for Support of Culture, EUFSC) staged at least 144 events from 2014 to 2023, frequently featuring Shor’s works, and mounted his ballet “Crystal Palace” at the Kremlin Palace in 2018. The report explores alleged ties between Ishkhanov’s network and Russian cultural diplomacy while noting Shor’s denial of Russian funding or connections; he condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and says he supports Ukrainian musicians. The investigation also describes contractual leverage—such as requests that star performers play Shor’s pieces from memory—and portrays a well-financed system that integrates festivals, competitions, and artist fees to secure performances. [10] [11]

Notes

  1. Ukrainian: Олексій Володимирович Кононенко, romanized: Oleksii Volodymyrovych Kononenko

References

  1. "The many passports (and alias) of the mystery orchestra composer". Times of Malta. 23 February 2023.
  2. "Composer Alexey Shor Makes Significant Impact During Short Career". Classical Post.
  3. Hugh Morris and Jeffrey Arlo Brown. 'Welcome to Shorworld', in VAN Magazine, 11 September 2024
  4. "From mathematician to musician". Times of Malta. 13 January 2019.
  5. "Contemporary composer Alexey Shor takes centre stage at InClassica International Music Festival". Euronews. 31 October 2021.
  6. "Shor in Seoul: The rise of an unusual composer". The Korea Herald. 18 February 2021.
  7. 1 2 "InClassica Malta International Music Festival Celebrates 10th Anniversary with star-studded line-up". Musical America.
  8. "Alexey Shor, The Portrait of a Maltese Composer". Medici.tv.
  9. "The road less travelled: a profile of composer Alexey Shor". MaltaToday.com.mt. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  10. 1 2 "«Амбициозный, как смерч» Как богатый математик и композитор-любитель заставил весь мир слушать свою (невыдающуюся) музыку. Главное из расследования Van Magazine". Meduza.
  11. Morris, Hugh; Brown, Jeffrey Arlo (11 September 2024). "Welcome to Shorworld". VAN Magazine.