Boosey & Hawkes/Sikorski
For a long time, the young Edison Denisov was in doubt as to whether his mathematical skills or his great musical talent should be the deciding factor in his choice of career. In the summer of 1948, he spontaneously turned to Dmitri Shostakovich, whom he admired, for advice. The letter, which, unaware of the exact address, was simply headed “Moscow. Conservatory. Dmitri Shostakovich”, was soon answered to Denisov's delight with a very friendly letter in which he asked the young man from Tomsk in Siberia to send samples of his work.
A correspondence developed in which Shostakovich greatly encouraged Denisov to compose: in addition to precise instructions and critical comments, there is always much praise. In 1950, for example, Shostakovich wrote: “[...] Your works have overwhelmed me. If you have no general musical training, it is astonishing that you can write so solidly from a professional point of view. [...] There is something in your works that makes me believe in your talent as a composer. I can't analyze it. I trust my intuition, or rather the feeling that your music conveys.”
In the same year, Shostakovich showed works by Denisov to Semion Bogatyrev and Vissarion Shebalin, also professors at the Moscow Conservatory. To Shostakovich's surprise, their reception was not exactly positive. Although there was a certain musicality, there was no real compositional talent. In addition, melodic poverty and uninteresting harmonies were criticized. Denisov's abilities as a musician were attributed to his versatile intelligence, but a lack of human warmth and genuine creative creativity was criticized.
After Denisov completed his studies in mathematics, he nevertheless enrolled at the Moscow Conservatory. During his studies, he belonged to Shostakovich's private circle. They attended concerts together, Denisov was a guest at family celebrations and gave mathematics lessons to Shostakovich's son Maxim.
During this time, Denisov also composed his first piano trio op. 5, which he dedicated to Shostakovich. It is not only this dedication that demonstrates the great closeness to his patron, but also the abundance of stylistic features based on Shostakovich's musical model. This piano trio is one of the first mature works by the composition student Edison Denisov. With its richness of tone, the tonal balance between the instruments and the beautiful proportions of the form, this trio marks a significant step in the young composer's development and represents a highly welcome addition to the repertoire of trio literature.
In later years, in his search for his own musical language, Denisov went his own way musically and aesthetically as a composer and gradually distanced himself personally from the Shostakovich circle. Even at a time when he considered the period of his life close to Shostakovich had come to an end and the two had nothing more to say to each other musically, Denisov was convinced of the importance and integrity of his former mentor. When he learned of Shostakovich's death in the summer of 1975, he exclaimed: “Dmitri Dmitrievich was the conscience of the composers' association. What will happen now?”
