The Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (MCME) was founded in March, 1990 by composer Yuri Kasparov - who likewise is a featured composer here at the Classical Archives. The aim of the ensemble is both to promote Russian works of the 20th and 21st centuries abroad, and to introduce Russian audiences to the contemporary music of European and American composers. The ensemble is made up of professional soloists, each representing a distinct section of a modern symphony orchestra. Indeed, the MCME is the only ensemble of professional soloists dedicated to contemporary music.

The MCME boasts a very wide repertory, with special place given to Russian "vanguard" works of the 1920s and 30s; another specialty of the MCME is the works of Soviet composers written in the 1960s. But the MCME is perhaps most proud of the large number of new works that it premiers - so far numbering over 250. Among recent concert examples are complete programs dedicated to the works of Alfred Schnitke and Edison Denisov. In addition, the MCME has offered Russian premiers of works by such 20th century masters as Edgar Varèse, Iannis Xenakis, Wolfgang Rihm, and Anatol Vieru, and regularly programs new works by composers from France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Canada, and the USA, among others.

The MCME has recorded over 40 CDs for various labels, including Olympia (England), Harmonia Mundi (France), Triton (Japan), and Domenus (the Netherlands). They have appeared in numerous international contemporary music festivals, including Schönheit eine Utopia? (Frankfurt am Main, 1991), Tage für Neue Musik Zürich (1992), Radio France Présences (Paris, 1993), Tokyo Summer Festival (1994), Melos-Ethos (Solvakia, 1995), Warsaw Autumn (1997), Incontri Europei con la Musica-XVIII (Bergamo, 1999), and the International Gaudeamus Music Week (Amsterdam, 2003) - where the MCME's performance of a work by Dmitri Kurliandsy won First Prize. Finally, the MCME is the main organizer of the Moscow Autumn Festival, the oldest and most prestigious Russian festival for contemporary music.

Reviews

"The Ensemble includes the best virtuoso soloists in Moscow, each well-known around the world. These musicians take part in many prestigious music festivals in Europe and Asia with great success."

Moskovsky Komsomolets (Moscow)

"This is the only professional ensemble of soloists in Russia specializing in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. The high professional level of these musicians has helped to generate great popularity for the ensemble. As a result, they have performed more than 250 premiers, and produced more than 40 CDs; they have their own special style, which is their calling card."

Media-Lider (Cheliabinsk, Russia)