How a Mathematician Alexey Kononenko Found His Voice in Classical Music Composition as Alexey Shor

However, this has not always been the case for Alexey Shor. Growing up in Ukraine as Alexey Vladimorovitch Kononenko, his formative years were steeped in the field mathematics, at which he was immensely adept. “I was a maths prodigy,” he recalls. “For me, the only question was what sort of scientist I was going to be.” He pursued this path with vigour, eventually moving to America and obtaining a PhD in the field, before building a successful career as a qualitative researcher with Renaissance Technologies, a Long Island hedge fund with whom Shor grew and flourished, achieving both financial success and a glowing reputation amongst his peers.

Beneath his logical exterior though, lay a hidden passion for music, which, until his forties, was kept as a private hobby, and personal pursuit. This all changed when violist David Aaron Carpenter discovered his compositions. “One day, David picked up a score and asked whose it was,” Shor recalls. “When I confessed it was mine, he encouraged me to write more, and eventually, my music found its way onto the stage.”

Carpenter initially began performing Shor’s works as encores, sparking widespread interest. A YouTube video showcasing one of these pieces garnered thousands of views, and Shor’s destiny as a composer took off. Reflecting on the transition, he noted, “I was a mathematician by day and a composer by night. Eventually, it became impossible to juggle both, and I dedicated myself fully to music.”

Shor’s influences come from many of life’s experiences, including cherished memories, moments with family and friends, as well as his own travels. His Travel Notebook, for instance, is a vivid example, serving as a musical diary of sorts as he journeys to some of the world’s most celebrated locations, while other notable works, such as Childhood Memories and From My Bookshelf, draw back to the composer’s own past for inspiration.

Alexey Shor’s openness to collaboration has been a cornerstone of his career ranging all the way back to its origins. He has worked with acclaimed artists like Maxim Vengerov, Dmitry Yablonsky, and Denis Kozhukhin, to mention a select few, all of whom appear to have been won over by his approach to composition, which is refreshingly unpretentious. Vengerov said himself: “When I play Alexey’s works, it’s like I am falling in love with music over and over again. It is splendid and incredibly melodious.”

“I try to write what I hear and, most importantly, what I like,” he says, which results in a focus on melody and harmony that has drawn comparisons to neo-classical and neo-romantic traditions, and won wide-ranging acclaim from audiences in all four corners of the world.

In September 2017 Gramophone Magazine reported world famous composer Giya Kanchelli saying about Alexey Shor’s music: “For me, the music of Alexey Shor is like a feeling of overwhelming peace and harmony; it is very pleasing to listen to.”

In fact, in recent years, Alexey Shor’s works have transcended the concert hall, having been featured on Medici.tv and Mezzo and adapted for the film Blood on the Crown, to mention some select examples. Now, with the upcoming 10th anniversary edition of the renowned Malta International Music Festival, they are set to enchant countless audiences who will be gathering at what is set to be the largest and most ambitious iteration of this festival yet, with Shor featuring prominently within its programme as Composer-in-Residence.

Across the many performances on offer, this 2021 edition of Malta International Music Festival will see appearance by a stellar lineup of maestros, including Stella Chen, Steven Isserlis, Mikhail Pletnev, Sergei Dogadin, Gil Shaham, Maxim Vengerov, Daniel Lazokovich, Andrey Gugnin, and Carmen Giannattasio, amongst others, all of whom will be interpreting Alexey Shor’s music.  

The individuality of these performances is something that the composer values greatly, with Shor himself declaring that “sometimes I hear a musician play my piece differently than I imagined, but I often find their choices equally beautiful”. This openness has endeared him to performers, and helped to foster lasting collaborations, and it is indicative of the humble nature with which he has met, and continues to embrace, his remarkable success.  

For more information about Alexey Shor, his biography, music, and his upcoming engagements, make sure to visit his official website at alexeyshor.com.