Notes Konstantin Kokourov

• Konstantin Kokourov:
• 1 Whirlwind 02:41
• 2 In the Witch House 05:05
• 3 Elegy Within 03:40
• 4 Forest Critter 06:34
• 5 Voices of Siberia 04:11
• 6 Ice Cave 05:31
• 7 Waltz of Memoirs 03:30
• Jason Becker (b. 1969):
• 8 Air 05:36
• Konstantin Kokourov:
• 9 Flaming Sun 04:47
• 10 Outro 01:50
• Total Runtime 43:25

Info for Notes

This album mirrors the Siberia from which it sprang and whose rugged landscapes don’t deny the beauty of its horizons. Far from that, though Kokourov’s music expresses the wonders of these isolated countries, it indeed reveals their fantastic and mysterious shadows.

From the dense and somehow epic mass of the orchestra (Voices of Siberia) to the transparency playing of the piano (Whirlwind), Kokourov’s work conveys all the fascinating myths of the Slavonic folklore and impressive and eerie figures (Flaming Sun).

Nourished from metal and classical music, Prokofiev and Rachmaninov, but also Pantera, Satyricon, DragonForce, Jason Becker, to whom the Russian composer pays a tribute with an orchestral arrangement of Air.

Konstantin Kokourov deploys, with a great colour palette, a marvellous universe. Piece after piece, his music builds bridges between two worlds that never seemed so close.

Pavel Shatsky, piano
Scoring Berlin Orchestra
Bernhard Wünsch, conductor

Konstantin Kokourov
Since his youth Konstantin Kokourov used to listen to bands such as Death, Pantera or Dragon Force. There are a lot of elements related to Russian classical music traditions in his music, but he also uses methods and elements of heavy rock & metal while composing. This is how he achieves his unique style.

Konstantin plays virtuously piano, but he is more interested in composing than in performing. He is keen to invent dramatic concept in music and to observe how they influence listeners. Hi debut album “notes” has been recorded by three-time Grammy winner Tobias Lehmann at Teldex Studios, Berlin and the orchestral pieces were performed by the Scoring Berlin Orchestra conducted by Bernhard Wünsch, who has also conducted at the world’s biggest Metal Festival in Wacken, Germany, already. Making him a perfect fit.

The album consists of 10 tracks which oscillate between powerful pieces such «Flaming Sun», «Voices of Siberia» and «In the Witch House», while pieces like «Elegy Within», «Waltz of Memoirs» and «Whirlwind» are more lyrical.

The soloists of The Sveshikov State Academical Russian Chorus conducted by Evgeny Volkov also took part in the recording of some compositions. Evgeny Volkov highly appreciated Konstantin Kokourov’s music: «It’s like a dialogue of a young soul with past and present music. There are so many different reminiscences in Konstantin’s compositions – from romantic pianism of Charles-Valentin Alkan and Edward MacDowell to fantastic realism of Modest Mussorgsky and the epic mastery of the Glazunov galaxy. There is a whole system of special quotes in this music – from Glazunov’s 5th Symphony to Dmitry Shostakovich’s musical autograph. These compositions are actual and very energetic. For young listeners, the album «Notes» could become a bridge to the world of classical music».

“Air” the first single “of the forthcoming album is a cover version of Jason Becker’s composition from the album «Perpetual Burn», which was released 30 years ago.

Konstantin turned the original guitar composition into a symphonic poem. Jason Becker published the music video of «Air» on his own YouTube Channel and gave his approval: «It’s amazing! It’s hard to find words to say how happy I am to hear such a beautiful version of Air.».

Booklet for Notes