You are the owner of Robert Schuman medal. Tell us how did you receive it?

It was long ago. In my youth I played a lot of Schuman works and often performed in the GDR. I also participated in the contest conducted in Zwickau as the member of the jury. It was my student who won the first prize. So this is a honorary medal for certain achievements in the interpretation of music by Schuman.

ROVNER: Professor Clarke, you are a composer of great merit and your works are frequently performed in Europe. As is known, you are a member of the trend in contemporary British music known as the New Complexity movement, which gained a reputation during the last few decades. Among these composers Brian Ferneyhough is the most well-known composer. Could you tell us what constitutes the New Complexity movement?

Boris Avramets (Latvian spelling: Boriss Avramecs) was born in Riga. He studied violin at the Latvian State Conservatory and ethnomusicology in the doctoral program of Moscow Conservatory (1978-1981) with Givani Mikhailov, completing his dissertation in 1990 in Vilnius, Lithuania. He is on the faculty of the Latvian Musical Academy, the Academy for the Arts and the High Pedagogical Institute, reading lectures on 20th century music.