Composing music that both embraces and challenges western classical traditions, Gabriel Prokofiev has emerged as a key player in new approaches to classical music at the beginning of the 21st century.
After completing his musical studies at Birmingham and York Universities and, dissatisfied with the seemingly insular world of contemporary classical music, he developed a parallel music career as a dance, grime, electro and hip hop producer. This background in electronic dance music combined with his classical roots, gives his work a very unique and contemporary sound.
He composes for traditional symphony orchestra, string quartet, and electronics, and he has composed 9 Concertos (three of which feature Turntables). Over the last decade, Prokofiev has composed a large body of orchestral and chamber works. This includes nine concertos; Concerto for Turntables & Orchestra (2006), Concerto for Bass Drum & Orchestra (2012), Cello Concerto (2012), Concerto for Trumpet, Percussion, Turntables & Orchestra (2014), Violin Concerto (2014), Saxophone Concerto (2016), Concerto for Turntables No2 (2016), Viola Concerto (2022), Flute Concerto (2022) as well as many electronic works, often combining synthesisers and samples with live strings.
He has composed over 10 dance works, for renowned companies including: Stuttgarter Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, Luzerner Tanz Theatre, Bern Ballet, Shobana Jeyasingh, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Bandaloop, Alexander Whitley Dance and Gandini Juggling. In 2019, his first full-length opera: "Elizabetta" was premiered by Regensburg Opera in Bavaria, with a libretto by David Pountney.
Gabriel’s works have been performed internationally by a host of orchestras including: Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Moscow State Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, MDR Leipzig, Copenhagen Phil, Luxembourg Philharmonique, Buenos Aires Filharmonica, Porto Symphony, Real Orquesta de Sevilla, Naples Philharmonic, London Contemporary Orchestra. And his music has been championed by conductors and soloists such as Vladimir Jurowksi, Ludovic Morlot, Andrey Boreyko, John Axelrod, Fayçal Karoui, Baldur Brönniman, Daniel Hope, Alison Balsom, DJ Mr Switch, Joby Burgess, Branford Marsalis and Massimo Mercelli.
His music is often performed in non-traditional venues: East London night-clubs, ware-houses, and electronic music festivals - often with Gabriel DJing & then live remixing the works just performed.
In 2022, Gabriel has been the composer in residence at the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy.
Gabriel Prokofiev is also a producer, events curator, DJ and founder of the Nonclassical record label & club night. He lives in Hackney, London, with his wife and three childen.
press
"…the sheer dislocating bitterness of the writing, both for Daniel Hope, the superb soloist, and for the orchestra…it’s the best thing Gabriel Prokofiev has written." (Violin Concerto) Richard Morrison on The Times
“One work, however, stood apart. Daniel Hope was the soloist in the world premiere of Gabriel Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No 1 “1914” – an ambitious depiction of Europe’s descent into war. It contained some startling effects. The BIPO sounded good in it, and Hope impressed by playing atrociously difficult music from memory.” (Violin Concerto) Tim Ashley on The Guardian
"Only the merits of the work itself can explain the rapturous applause it received. Although a little more conservative in style than some of Gabriel’s other recent music, the Concerto presented here was an ideal introduction for Russian audiences to his musical world. It showed him to be a composer with a distinctive vision, one who has no intention of following in the steps of any of his predecessors, least of all his grandfathers." (Cello concerto) David Dixon on Tempo
"… the real surprise here was the realisation that what was on his discs was also in the hall and that the funky interplay between the two was like flicking a time-switch between the 20th and 21st centuries. The speed-slurring of flute samples in the meditative fourth movement emerged like a cosmic message from Olivier Messiaen and there was even a cadenza for the main man…" (Concerto for turntables & orchestra n1) Edward Seckerson on The Independent
