Roman Stolyar
Berlin-based Russian composer and pianist Roman Stolyar was graduated from Novosibirsk Music College as a jazz pianist and then from Novosibirsk State Conservatory as a composer of contemporary and electronic music. An active propagandist of free improvisation, he has performed in 27 countries collaborating with a number of internationally renowned improvisers, including Dominic Duval, William Parker, Vinny Golya, Oliver Lake, Susan Allen, Thomas Buckner, Weasel Walter, Assif Tsahar, Glen Hall, and many others. His improvisational workshops have garnered him an international reputation, and have led to many invitations to create and implement workshops for organizations and universities around the world, including the University of Michigan, Mannes College NY, the California Institute of the Arts, Music Academy Basel, Chateau d’Oex Music School in Switzerland, Frescobaldi State Conservatory in Ferrara, Italy and the Versailles Conservatory, France. He is an author of the first Russian book on teaching free improvisation. As a theater composer, he created original music for more than 40 theater works in Russia and Estonia. Living in Novosibirsk, he was teaching at Novosibirsk Music College and working as a musical director of the Youth Theater “Globe”. In 2018 he moved to Saint Petersburg where he was teaching composition and improvisation at the Boris Tischenko College of Music.
When the Russian invasion of Ukraine started in 2022, Roman Stolyar expressed his open protest against war and growing repressions in Russia and composed a chamber piece dedicated to victims of the Bucha massacre, which was successfully performed in the US and Netherlands. Finally, because of his anti-war activity, he was blacklisted by the Russian ministry of culture and was forced to flee from Russia. He is currently living and working in Berlin, collaborating with a large number of Berlin-based musicians. Together with Argentinian saxophonist Camila Nebbia he is a co-founder of IDENTITIES Quintet which unites improvisers of various nations living in Berlin. As a theater composer, he created music for theater shows “3Schwestern3” and “Macht. Krieg. Frieden (?)” premiered in Berlin in 2024-2025. His long-term (since 2021) collaboration with Bosnian actress and director Maja Zećo has led to creating internationally recognized projects - the short movie “Postcards from Mostar” and the audiovisual anti-war performance LIBERA ME. Starting from 2025, Roman Stolyar is teaching at the music department of the University of Arts Berlin (UdK).
Portrait · Helena Hamann
Three months at Zvjezdane Staze as one of the five artists of the first season, selected through the Open Call 2024.
Concept
LULLABIES is a composition which is planned to be based on tunes of cradle songs of nations that experienced conflicts in the recent past or are in the state of war against each other in the present. The composition is supposed to consist of four movements; every part should contain a pair of lullabies of nations that were or are involved in wars one against another: Bosnia and Serbia, Russia and Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Israel and Palestine. Despite these four movements, the whole composition shouldn’t have any breaks between movements: all movements are connected with each other through interludes. All eight lullabies should sound simultaneously in introduction and coda, emphasizing that the common grief could unite people and prevent them from destroying each other.
“My stay in the AiR Zvjezdane staze residency in Mijakovići could be described by just one word – wonderful.”
During the residency
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The residencies of the first season of Zvjezdane Staze (2024) were funded by the European Union under the Culture Moves Europe programme, implemented by the Goethe-Institut. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Goethe-Institut. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.