Interpretation meets improvisation
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HfMT doctoral student Aigrerim Seilova is the 2019 Hindemith Prize winner
"Her compositions impress with a high level of professionalism in compositional craftsmanship and an original tonal language that combines eruptive tension and calm flow in a fascinating way." Christian Kuhnt, Director of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (SHMF) and Chairman of the Hindemith Prize jury, is convinced that the 20,000 euro award has fallen into worthy hands. "Aigerim Seilova has successfully tried out different styles. In doing so, she has developed her own signature style that breaks new ground without denying her musical roots."
When dreams come true
The highly praised artist sees the jury's decision as confirmation of her work: "For me, the award means a bit of freedom and a step towards my dream of being able to make a living from music." The award was presented to her on August 26 as part of a prizewinners' concert at the SHMF. The program included her composition Baqsi ("Shaman") for string quartet. Aigerim Seilova was born in 1987 in the Kazakh capital Astana. She began her musical education at the age of five with classical piano lessons. At the age of seven, she composed a children's opera, which was soon performed. After completing her piano studies at national and international music academies, she studied composition at the Moscow Conservatory with Leonid Bobylev and Yuri Kasparov. It was here that she met the president of the HfMT in 2008 as a participant in a master class. Elmar Lampson was so impressed by her work and talent that he encouraged her to continue her studies in Hamburg.
Four years later, the time had come: Aigerim successfully applied for a one-year exchange program in Hamburg and then began a master's degree in multimedia composition with Georg Hajdu. At the same time, she continued her composition studies with Elmar Lampson as a minor subject. "What I particularly liked about my studies was the mutually supportive atmosphere at the HfMT, regardless of whether it was the professors, older or younger fellow students. You meet at eye level and that can be very enriching."
Aigerim is currently studying for a doctorate in music with her professors Georg Hajdu, Nina Noeske and Elmar Lampson. She hopes to complete this career step in 2021. In addition to her dissertation, she is working with librettist and HfMT alumnus Jari Niesner on the opera Roderick in Bed, which will be performed as her final project.
Wandering between Eastern and Western schools of composition
The musician, who lives in Stellingen with her husband and child, confesses her musical influences: "I have lived in the contradictory realities of the 21st century and have been influenced by both the Russian and German schools of composition. I have also kept my connections to the richness, uniqueness and authenticity of Kazakh culture, especially music. I expect all this to be reflected in my music. Georg Hajdu was also very helpful in this respect, encouraging me to incorporate new technical means such as spectral analysis and resynthesis into my music." Her works have been performed at festivals including Spring in the Negev in Germany and Israel, next_generation 6.0 in Karlsruhe, Blurred Edges in Hamburg, Nauryz XXI in Kazakhstan and the Chelsea Music Festival in the USA. In 2016, she received a scholarship in composition at the Tanglewood Music Center of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
A self-confessed fan of Hamburg's dirty weather
"I try to give the musicians a lot of freedom in my pieces within certain limits. It's a symbiosis of interpretation and improvisation. That's why these pieces will never sound the same." Thanks to her knowledge of digital technology, Aigerim has been working in the IT department team at the HfMT for a year now and is also highly appreciated for her reserved and friendly manner. The enthusiastic mountain hiker loves the weather in Hamburg: "In my home country of Kazakhstan, we have temperature differences of over 80 degrees a year. That's why I don't mind Hamburg's much-criticized dirty weather. Nature is beautiful whatever the weather and is an important source of inspiration for me."
TEXT DIETER HELLFEUER
PHOTO: AIGERIM SEILOVA CHRISTINA KÖRTE