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born in 1967 in Ljubljana, she studied music education
(1985–90) and composition (1989–93) with M. Gabrijelcic at the
city’s Music Academy, and subsequently composition and orchestration
at the Geneva Conservatory (1994–96, with J. Balissat) and privately (with
E. Gaudibert). In June 1999 she finished her composition studies at the
Conservatoire National Supérieur in Lyon (with Gilbert Amy). In the same
years she spent five months in residence in Künstlerhaus Schloß
Wiepersdorf.
She has participated in compositional courses given by Sofia Gubai-dulina,
Brian Ferneyhough, Maurice Jarrell, Klaus Huber, Helmut Lachenmann,
Hanspeter Kyburz and Pascal Dusapin. She attended
a month-long training in computer music at ircam in Paris (2000).
Her honours include the award of the Slovene Composers’ Union, the
Slovene Preseren Prize for students, Prix Fondation Royaumont at the 1st
European Composers’ Contest ‘ChOurs & MaEtrises de Cathédrales’
in Amiens, Prix du Conseil d’Etat (Geneva), one of three equal prizes
at the European Women Composers’ Contest in Nijmegen (Holland) and
First Prize at the 2nd European Composers’ Contest ‘ChOurs &
MaEtrises de Cathédrales’ in Amiens. She was among eight prizewinners
of the 13th International Composers’ Seminar in Boswil and a grant
holder from the nem in Montreal.
Most of Larisa Vrhunc’s works have been performed at numerous concerts
and festivals in Slovenia and abroad, and also recorded for Slovene Radio
and tv.
She currently lectures in music analysis and instrumentation at the
Department of Musicology of the University of Ljubljana.
Selected works: Faces for choir (1989), Aktivist’s
Song for choir (1990), Wine for choir (1990), Introduction and Passacaglia
for organ (1990), Suite for Clarinet and String Quartet (1991), Five Pieces
for Cello and Piano (1992), Three Variations for Three Women for flute,
violin and guitar (1992), Concerto for Organ and Orchestra (1992), Concerto
for Cello and Strings (1993), The Little Prince, ballet (1993), Variations
for Oboe, Bassoon and Harp (1994), Three for Two Pianos (1994), For Two for
clarinet and piano (1995), Verba non transibunt for children’s choir
and orchestra (1995), In Nomine... (1995–96), Gratis 0-6 for flute,
clarinet and double bass (1996), Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra
(1997), Regen Liebe for soprano solo (1997), O-A (1997), Ubi est? for mixed
choir (1997), Open Rite for ensemble (1999), Spirale for sextet (1999), Celo
(1999), L’arbre en dedans for 9 cellos (2000), Satelitov trop nam
zvezde kraj oznani – èas hiti for violin, horn and piano (2000),
Hologram for orchestra (2001), Where the Moonbeam Fell for six instruments
(2001–02), Red and blue for violin, bassoon and piano (2002),
F for amplified flute (2002–03), Spomini na preteklost (Memories of
the Future) for percussion and organ (2003), Leseni kamni for flute,
saxophone and piano (2001–03), Dnevne pesmi for four flutes (2003),
Like
a vast shadow for mezzo-soprano, Baroque viola and Baroque harp (2004),
Swamp Forest for chamber ensemble (2004).
Swamp Forest
There was a forest. The trees were like pillars offering firm refuge. Swamp
all around us...
The pillars of the piece, a sequence of ten 8-note chords, are announced by
the piano, surrounded by the fluid ‘swampy’ material of other
instruments. The listener then traverses the unfriendly nature and little by
little the trees become fewer and the ground firmer. The ten chords never
appear in their full number and with the same rhythm; it is like intuitively
searching for a path that does not exist... The same experience is true for
many things in life, as well as for life itself: we come to this world as
tiny creatures, we touch other people’s lives increasingly as we grow
up and mature, and then we silently go away...
Larisa Vrhunc
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