Ida Gotkovsky

Ida Rose Esther Gotkovsky (born 26 August 1933) is a French composer and pianist. She is currently a professor of music theory at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in France.

Gotkovsky was born on 26 August 1933 in Calais. Her father was the violinist Jacques Gotkovsky of the Loewenguth Quartet and her mother also played the violin. Both her brother Ivar (a pianist) and her sister Nell (a violinist) became accomplished musicians. Gotkovsky began composing at the age of eight. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where her teachers included Olivier Messiaen and Nadia Boulanger.

She won six prestigious first prize music awards for her compositions, including the Prix Blumenthal (1958), Prix Pasdeloup (1959), Prix de Composition Concours International de Divonne les Bains (1961), Médaille de la Ville de Paris (1963), Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris (1966) and the Prix Lili Boulanger (1967).^[1]

Gotkovsky’s output includes chamber music, symphonies, instrumental music, vocal music, ballets, and operas. Notably, she has contributed many solo and chamber pieces for the saxophone. Her Concerto for Trombone (1978) has been compared to Messiaen, and her Suite for Tuba and piano (1959) reveals influence of Hindemith.^[2] She is also recognized for having written important works for band.^[3][4]

Gotkovsky’s music credo is: “To create a universal musical art and to realize the oneness of musical expression through the ages by means of a contemporary musical language with powerful structures.”

To the clarinet repertory Gotkovsky has contributed several compositions: two works for clarinet and piano, Chanson, and Images de norvège (Images of Norway), an unaccompanied clarinet sonata in four movements, two concertos, Éolienne, for either clarinet and harp or piano (available in other instrumentations), a trio for Trio for violin, clarinet and piano, and a clarinet quartet.

Read her full biography on wikipedia.org.