Elena Kats-Chernin

The winding, rhythmic theme from “Eliza Aria” featured in the ballet Wild Swans (2002) epitomizes Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin's quirky blend of minimalism, modernism, and Russian folk traditions. The piece, which was premiered by the Australian Ballet at the Sydney Opera House in 2003, propelled the composer into popularity when it was used in a prominent British advertising campaign in 2007; it was subsequently performed in a solo piano arrangement by Lang Lang. Kats-Chernin was born in 1957 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and studied at Moscow’s Gnesin Russian Academy of Music. At 17, Kats-Chernin emigrated to Australia, where she continued her studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, becoming the first graduate to be granted a double degree as pianist and composer. She then moved to Hannover to work with Helmut Lachenmann, remaining in Germany for over a decade before returning to Australia. Her extensive catalog includes an operatic adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (2021) and The Witching Hour (2016), a concerto for eight double basses and orchestra.