Ilan Volkov launches foundation for new music
Ilan Volkov has launched the I&I Foundation with violinist Ilya Gringolts, to support the composition, performance and funding of new music. It will connect performers, composers and promoters, and cut down the time the commissioning process takes, making it easier for new works to be heard.
The foundation will commission around 20 compositions a year from emerging composers around the world – the first five to be chosen are Lawrence Dunn (UK), Marina Khorkova (Russia), Yair Klartag (Israel), Yu Kuwabara (Japan) and Sky Macklay (US).
Volkov founded and curates the Tectonics festival and has always been active on the new music scene, giving the premieres of many contemporary orchestral works. In this article, he explains his commitment to the project: ‘I love performing works by established composers, but for me, my most important role is to look towards the unseen. With the foundation I look forward to starting a long and positive process of working with composers – helping them develop their careers, having their music heard, recorded and better known. It’s about recognising talent but also making sure that these composers are heard by people who need to hear them.’