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Born in Moscow, Mr. Tchalaev pursued a classical musical formation notably in violin and bass studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory College of Moscow before becoming a bass singer and instrumentalist at the Lenkom Theater. Already at 20 he began practicing sacred singing followed by choral directing which led to his first "independent recordings" in Moscow both as a singer and composer. He made his debut at the Anatoly Vassiliev Academy of Drama in 1985 and gave the premiere of his Symphony No.1. He also participated in the production of The Possessed by Dostoyevski. In 1989, he left Moscow, lived briefly in Finland and finally settled down in Paris where he currently resides. He was seen in 1992 at La Comedie Francaise in The Masked Bal of Lermontov and in Moliere's Amphitryon. During this period, he also pursued studies of electronic music at the prestigious IRCAM under Pierre Boulez and composed his second String Quartet, a series of Convertible Musics and specialized as a Bass Singer in the lyrical vocal repertoire as well as the contemporary - Berio, Wenjing, Messiaen, Xenakis, Saariaho, Cage, under the direction of Eric Ericson, Laurence Equilbey, Laurent Heyrabedian, Kent Nagano, Jonattan Nott, David Robertson, Peter Sellars... His discography includes more than 20 recordings on various labels. Correspondingly, Mr. Tchalaev studied ethnographic film at L'Ecole of Superior Studies in Paris (Religious Sciences) and also pursued ethnomusicological studies as well. His most recent projects include artistic work with physically handicapped children in the Ukraine with his wife, the choreographer Sabine Jamet and his class in "The Origins of Sound" at the College of Theatrical Arts at ENSATT in Lyons, France. He possesses a 5-octave range and practices vocal techniques from Eastern Europe, has perfect pitch, and also owns a rare collection of musical instruments all of which he plays. Mr. Tchalaev is often considered one of the most original and unclassifiable musicians of his generation. Works and Recordings Op. 1 Recording n°1, at the Studio of the Lenkom Theater, Moscow, 1987. Op. 2 String Quartet n°1, Moscow, 1987. Op. 3 Seven Songs, Followed by Recording n°2, at the Chance Studio, Moscow, 1988. Op. 4 Symphony n°1, recorded in three versions, with the last dating from 1993. Op. 5 The Death of Arthur, Vocal Tragedy based on exerpts from the Koraan, Moscow, 1988. Op. 6 Octavia, Choral and Theatre music, Moscow, 1989. Op. 7 Architektonik, Choral and Theatre Music, Helsinki, 1989. Op. 8 Symphony n°2, unrecorded Helsinki, 1989. Op. 9 Sonata for Violin and Piano, Paris, 1990. Op. 10 Franck, Vocal cycle for Duo, Trio and Quartet, Paris, 1991. Op. 11 Theotokions for piano, double bass, voice and dance, Paris, 1993. édition Tangram Op. 12 Suite for Violoncello Solo in Four movements, Paris, 1993. Op. 13 String Quartet n°2, Paris, 1993. édition Tangram Op. 14 Musée de la Poste (variable orchestration), Paris, 1993. Op. 15 Trois Danses Bretonnes (variable orchestration), Paris, 1993. Op. 16 Requiem ćternam for human voices, organ, piano, celesta and mandolin Paris, 1993/1994. édition Tangram Op. 17 Bartholomew in three movements (variable orchestration), Paris, 1993. Op. 18 Premier novembre for Solo Violin Paris, 1994. Op. 19 Abracadabra for Oboe and Strings Paris, 1994. Op. 20 Sialebar for Mixed Chorus, based on the text by Rabelais, Paris 1994. Op. 21 Opéra J.O.B. 1995 Op. 22 Boboli, String Quartet n°3 Paris 1998 éditions Koka Média Op. 23 SE-RIT 24
Kamil Tchalaev at the ultra-chromatic piano (two keyboards tuned to quartertones), designed and built by "August Förster" for the composer Ivan Wyschnegradsky (1893, Saint-Petersbourg - 1979, Paris). With the kind authorisation of Madame Claude Ballif, July 19, 2005, Poisson, in Champagne, France. Photo © 2005 by Kamil Tchalaev, used with permission
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