Musicatlas
Music
Piano style
Ms. Valitova’s portfolio includes chamber, symphonic, and piano music. At the present time her creativity is focused mainly on original piano compositions and their performance. She continues to develop the piano traditions of Russian, French, and other schools. The performing music style, touch, and sound of the outstanding pianists of the past and present are the most important sources for her inspiration and study.
There is a mellow touch, filigree sound, and elegant rubato that play tremendous roles in her music. In search of a new piano music style, she draws from the ancient roots of the piano art that originated from the Eastern instrumental performing arts of raga and maqam. The Indonesian art of the gamelan also influenced the composer’s choices of specific musical means of expression. In her music, she creates a clear, rounded melodic line, drawing upon the arabesque and polyphony as methods of development.
The composer’s music sources
One of the most important capacities of the composer is her ability to internalize a variety of musical cultures. Contemporary music artist Lilia Valitova draws upon different genres and music styles of Europe such as Gregorian monody, choral, madrigal, missa, the polyphonic music of the Renaissance, the 17th through the 21th centuries, and traditional and folk music, as well as the music of Asia, invariably maintaining her own musical identity.
The composer draws from multiple sources of vocal and instrumental music for ancient and traditional instruments, such as the Chinese tsin, the Japanese koto and samisen, the Indonesian gamelan, the Indian sitar and bina, the Persian tar and setar, the Turkish saz and kemancha, the Afghani rubab, the Arabic al’ud, the Azerbaijanian tar, the Bashkirian and Tatar kurai, dumbra, and kil komoz, and the dumbra and kil komoz from Kazakhstan.
In her music she continues searching for new means of expression, always ready for new discoveries and interpretations.
Life
Lilia Valitova earned her Ph.D. at the Piotr Tchaikovski Conservatory in Moscow, from which she also earned graduate and undergraduate degrees. Her dissertation was on music theory. Ms. Valitova studied composition with Professor Albert Leman, harmony with Professor Stepan Grigoriev, and polyphony with Professor Vladimir Protopopov. After she received her doctorate, Ms. Valitova taught music theory at the Academy of Arts in Ufa, Russia.
At the age of thirteen, Ms. Valitova won first place in a regional music competition for youth. This accomplishment enabled her to be accepted at a Special Musical High School for gifted children. In order to enable the young Lilia to attend that school, her family had to move from Salavat to Ufa. Her father gave up his position as Director of Scientific Research to make possible for her to continue studying at a higher level.
Her compositions have been performed in Russia, the United States, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Estonia. Currently piano music artist Lilia Valitova lives in Northern California where she continues to compose and perform her music.