Edison Vasilijevic [Edison] Denisov -also: Edisson Wassiljewitsch Denissow- (06/04/1929 - 24/11/1996), a strikingly innovative Russian composer of Siberian extraction, born in Tomsk (Siberia). He was a leading figure of the post-Shostakovich generation and a hugely influential teacher. He gravitated towards European models like Boulez and Ligeti as well as to the French aesthetic of Debussy and Messiaen. His modernist leanings provoked severe official disapproval, but he stayed loyal to his Russian roots including sweet romantic melodies of Glinka and confessional psycho-dramas of Shostakovich. His style is refined, ornately detailed and elaborate, at the same time romantic and melancholy, creating rich play with elaborate chromatic textures and micro-polyphony. He was a master of colourful instrumentation in such works as Peinture, and skills used to complete pieces by Schubert, Musorgsky, Debussy and Mosolov.