Kevin Volans
b. 1949
Irish
Summary
Critical Acclaim
One of the most remarkable musical minds of our time.— Christopher Ballantine, International Record ReviewA composer of staggering gifts.— Annette Morreau, The Independent
Biography
Kevin Volans’ work is regularly performed and broadcast worldwide. In the last 35 years he has worked with quartets: Kronos, Smith Quartet, Duke Quartet, Arditti Quartet, pianists: Barry Douglas, Marc-André Hamlin, Peter Donohoe, Jill Richards, conductors: Michael Tilson Thomas, Marek Janowski, Alan Buribayev, Yan Pascal Tortelier, orchestras: the San Francisco Symphony, BBC Symphony, Bayerische Rundfunk Symphonieorchester, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, BBC Singers, percussionists: Robyn Schulkowsky, Jonny Axelsson, SISU and many others, as well as dance companies including Siobhan Davies, Shobana Jeyasingh, White Oak, Jonathan Burrows and artists William Kentridge, Jürgen Partenheimer, Jose-Manuel Ballester. Some 40 CDs of his music are currently available.
Principal performances in the last years include the Berliner Musikfest, Vienna State Opera, the Salzburger Festspiele, the Lincoln Center NY, Dokumenta Kassel, the Pompidou Centre Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kunstmuseum Bonn, the Chicago Institute of Fine Arts, the Edinburgh Festival, the Barbican, South Bank Centre, Wigmore Hall, London and several times in the BBC Proms.
He was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and studied at the University of the Witwatersrand with later with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Mauricio Kagel in Cologne. He moved to Ireland in 1986 and has been an Irish citizen since 1994. He lives in Co. Cork.
After a productive collaboration with the Kronos quartet in the 1980s his work, principally in the field of chamber and orchestral music, has been regularly performed worldwide. The Kronos discs, White Man Sleeps and Pieces of Africa broke all records for string quartet disc sales.
In 1997 the BBC Music Magazine listed him as one of the 50 most important living composers and he was described by the Village Voice (New York) as "one of the most original and unpredictable voices on the planet”.
In 1999 the South Bank in London hosted a 50th birthday celebration of his work and for his 60th the Wigmore Hall in London organised a "Kevin Volans Day” of concerts. Subsequent to this latter event he was given the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award. He has been the featured composer in several European festivals of contemporary music.
There are a number of important premieres upcoming in 2016, particularly his String Quartet No.12, played by the Signum Quartet, and his fourth Piano Concerto, performed by Barry Douglas and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. Kevin Volans will also be the featured composer in Contempuls Festival, Prague this November, with two further premieres of works for percussion and piano.
Principal performances in the last years include the Berliner Musikfest, Vienna State Opera, the Salzburger Festspiele, the Lincoln Center NY, Dokumenta Kassel, the Pompidou Centre Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kunstmuseum Bonn, the Chicago Institute of Fine Arts, the Edinburgh Festival, the Barbican, South Bank Centre, Wigmore Hall, London and several times in the BBC Proms.
He was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and studied at the University of the Witwatersrand with later with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Mauricio Kagel in Cologne. He moved to Ireland in 1986 and has been an Irish citizen since 1994. He lives in Co. Cork.
After a productive collaboration with the Kronos quartet in the 1980s his work, principally in the field of chamber and orchestral music, has been regularly performed worldwide. The Kronos discs, White Man Sleeps and Pieces of Africa broke all records for string quartet disc sales.
In 1997 the BBC Music Magazine listed him as one of the 50 most important living composers and he was described by the Village Voice (New York) as "one of the most original and unpredictable voices on the planet”.
In 1999 the South Bank in London hosted a 50th birthday celebration of his work and for his 60th the Wigmore Hall in London organised a "Kevin Volans Day” of concerts. Subsequent to this latter event he was given the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award. He has been the featured composer in several European festivals of contemporary music.
There are a number of important premieres upcoming in 2016, particularly his String Quartet No.12, played by the Signum Quartet, and his fourth Piano Concerto, performed by Barry Douglas and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. Kevin Volans will also be the featured composer in Contempuls Festival, Prague this November, with two further premieres of works for percussion and piano.
News
- Kevin Volans at 70
- 17th July 2019
- On July 26 this year, the eminent South African born Irish composer Kevin Volans turned 70, with a celebratory birthday concert at Wigmore Hall on 11 December. This anniversary gives us no greater excuse to shout...
- Chester Music & Novello: New Works - December 2016
- 1st December 2016
- Each month we round up the works that have been newly published by Chester Music and Novello. Unless stated otherwise these works are now available on sale or hire. If you would like to discuss any aspect of these new...
- Kevin Volans Double Premiere
- 3rd November 2016
- Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and the Signum Quartet will present a double premiere of new works by Kevin Volans in Birmingham on November 11.bcmg has commissioned Volans’ Piano Concerto No. 4 through its Sound...
- Volans album release and launch concert
- 7th September 2015
- violin:piano, an album devoted to the chamber music of Kevin Volans, is released by the Irish record label and production company Ergodos on October 4 2015.The recording, which is available in CD and download formats...
- Kevin Volans: Orchestral Works Recording
- 18th November 2014
- Kevin Volans: Orchestral Works, a recording of three major Kevin Volans orchestral works, has been released on the RTÉ lyric fm label as part of the critically acclaimed Composers of Ireland series. The Composers of...
- Volans premieres
- 22nd September 2014
- The world premiere of Calefaccion, a 10 minute work for oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone and bassoon takes place in Rotterdam on October 11, performed by the Calefax Reed Quintet. The ensemble then tour...
Performances
There are no upcoming performances
Features
- Inspirations from India
- Nowhere in the world is quite like India when it comes to the sheer vibrancy and variety of the country’s sights and sounds. In anticipation of the 75th anniversary year of Indian Independence (August 15, 2022 – August 15, 2023), we’ve been re-exploring the works and composers hailing from, and influenced by, India.
Photos

Discography
- LabelDiatribe
- Catalogue NumberDIACD036
- SoloistJill Richards, piano (Volans); Kevin Volans, piano (Liszt)
- Released24th June 2022
- Works
- LabelCantaloupe Music
- Catalogue NumberCA21127
- ConductorPaul Hillier
- EnsembleArs Nova Copenhagen
- Released19th May 2017
- Works
- LabelErgodos
- Catalogue NumberER20
- SoloistWaldo Alexander, violin/viola; Jill Richards, piano
- Released1st October 2015
- Works
- LabelMSR Classics
- Catalogue NumberMS1537
- EnsembleKontras Quartet
- Released11th August 2015
- Works
- LabelRTÉ lyric fm
- Catalogue NumberCD147
- ConductorGavin Maloney / Alan Buribayev
- EnsembleRTE National Symphony Orchestra
- SoloistIsabelle O'Connell, piano; Storioni Trio
- Released2014
- Works
- LabelArtifact Music
- EnsembleArray Ensemble
- Released2012
- Works
- LabelIkon Gallery
- EnsembleBirmingham Contemporary Music Group
- Released1st April 2011
- Works
- LabelRTE Lyric FM
- Catalogue NumberCD131
- ConductorPaul Hillier
- EnsembleNational Chamber Choir of Ireland
- Released1st March 2011
- Works
- Labelj a p r
- SoloistJonny Axelsson
- Released31st January 2011
- Works
- LabelCrash Ensemble (available via Bandcamp)
- ConductorAlan Pierson
- EnsembleCrash Ensemble
- Released2011
- Works
Études
first drop
violin:piano
ORIGINS - Works for String Quartet
Kevin Volans: Orchestral Works
Legacy
The Partenheimer Project

One Day Fine
Jonny Axelsson Plays Volans & Sharman
Trumpet Vibes Cello Piano

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