Composer and clarinetist
between historical sound world
and the present
The winner of European Composer Award 2023
From 2025 "Composer in Residence" of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich
© Stefan Randlkofer
concerts coming soon
BIRMINGHAM: SONNET
23 October 2026, 13:00
Elgar Concert Hall, Birmingham
(United Kingdom)
EVGENI ORKIN (*1977)
Sonnet
for clarinet and piano
World premiere
Co-commissioned by the BBC
and the Henry Barber Trust
Oleg Shebeta-Dragan, clarinet
BBC New Generation Artist
Gunnar Mextorf, piano
NEWS
SONNET, OP.99
WORLD PREMIERE IN BIRMINGHAM
23 October 2026, 13:00
Elgar Concert Hall, University of Birmingham
Sonnet, op. 99, after William Shakespeare’s Sonnet No. 8, is a work for clarinet and piano in which both performers also become speakers. Shakespeare’s verses on music, harmony and the tension between solitude and togetherness unfold through a close interplay of spoken language and instrumental sound.
Commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and the Henry Barber Trust for clarinetist and BBC New Generation Artist Oleg Shebeta-Dragan. The world premiere will be given by Oleg Shebeta-Dragan and pianist Gunnar Mextorf.
Upcoming Concerts
6.12.2026
World premiere: "From the Fair"
Location: Fulda Theatre
Oksana Lyniv, TBA, Philip Kelz, Kyiv Symphony Orchestra
15.11.2026
"Letters from the Shadows"
Location: St. Martin Church, Freiburg im Breisgau
Bernhard Gärtner, Freiburger Oratorienchor, L’arpa festante Baroque Orchestra
14.11.2026
"Letters from the Shadows"
Location: Stiftskirche St. Margarethen, Waldkirch
Bernhard Gärtner, Freiburger Oratorienchor, L’arpa festante Baroque Orchestra
23.10.2026
World premiere: "Sonnet"
Location: Elgar Concert Hall, Birmingham
Oleg Shebeta-Dragan, clarinet; Gunnar Mextorf, piano
Past Concerts
24.7.2026
WASBE 2026
World premiere: "Mannheim Rocket"
Location: Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro
Miguel Ercolino, Mannheimer Bläserphilharmonie
10.6.2026
"JEWISH ITALY"
Chamber Symphony No. 12 "The Seal of Solomon"
Location: New Synagogue Szeged, Hungary
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
9.6.2026
"JEWISH ITALY"
Chamber Symphony No. 12 "The Seal of Solomon"
Location: Subotica Synagogue, Serbia
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
8.6.2026
"JEWISH ITALY"
Chamber Symphony No. 12 "The Seal of Solomon"
Location: Cetate Synagogue, Timișoara, Romania
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
20.5.2026
"JEWISH ITALY"
Chamber Symphony No. 12 "The Seal of Solomon"
Location: Reichenbachstraße Synagogue, Munich
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
19.5.2026
"JEWISH ITALY"
World premiere: Chamber Symphony No. 12 "The Seal of Solomon"
Location: Former Synagogue, Sulzbach-Rosenberg
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
23.4.2026
"Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts, Dresden
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
22.4.2026
"Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: Jerusalem Synagogue, Prague
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
8.2.2026
"Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: Munich Kammerspiele
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
4.2.2026
"Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: Das Zentrum, Europasaal, Bayreuth
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
1.2.2026
"Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: Schloss Großlaupheim
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
29.1.2026
"Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: MuTh, Vienna
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
29–30.1.2026
"Five Interrupted Lullabies"
U.S. premiere
Location: Cincinnati Music Hall
Oksana Lyniv, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
28.1.2026
"Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: Munich Kammerspiele
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
25.1.2026
Second performance: "Three Graphics"
Location: Town Hall Auditorium, Pfaffenhofen
Gertrud Schilde, violin
Jan Philip Schulze, piano
24.1.2026
World premiere: "Three Graphics"
Location: Private concert, Munich
Gertrud Schilde, violin
Jan Philip Schulze, piano
9.11.2025
"THE KEYS OF TOLEDO"
Location: Thalia Theater, Hamburg
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
3.11.2025
"THE KEYS OF TOLEDO"
Location: German School of Thessaloniki
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
2.11.2025
"THE KEYS OF TOLEDO"
Location: Aimilios Riadis Hall, Thessaloniki
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
20.10.2025
"THE KEYS OF TOLEDO"
Location: Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
19.10.2025
"THE KEYS OF TOLEDO"
Location: Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
14.10.2025
"THE KEYS OF TOLEDO"
Location: Munich Kammerspiele, Schauspielhaus
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
13.10.2025
"THE KEYS OF TOLEDO"
Location: Amerikahaus Munich
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
30.9.2025
"THE KEYS OF TOLEDO"
Location: Lübeck University of Music
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
29.9.2025
Second world-premiere performance: "THE KEYS OF TOLEDO"
Location: Ballhof Eins, Hanover
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
28.9.2025
First world-premiere performance: "THE KEYS OF TOLEDO"
Location: Ballhof Eins, Hanover
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
28.5.2025
"Mendele Lohengrin" – school performance
Location: Piccolo Theater Cottbus
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
27.5.2025
"Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: Piccolo Theater Cottbus
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
20.5.2025
"Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: Hainsfarth Synagogue
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
19.5.2025
"Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: Jewish Community of Mannheim
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
15.5.2025
JCOM 20th Anniversary Concert
World premiere: "Spil&Tants" Overture
Location: Jewish Community of Mannheim
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
24.2.2025
"Five Interrupted Lullabies"
German premiere
"Requiem for a Poet"
German premiere
Location: Aula am Berliner Ring, Monheim am Rhein
Oksana Lyniv, Andrii Bondarenko, Kyiv Symphony Orchestra
2.2.2025
"Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
30.1.2025
World premiere: "Anne’s Passion"
Location: Stiftskirche, Tübingen
Philipp Amelung, Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen
27.1.2025
Second performance: "Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
26.1.2025
World premiere: "Mendele Lohengrin"
Location: Munich Kammerspiele
Daniel Grossmann, JCOM
26.1.2025
"Death Fugue"
World premiere: "Radetzky March"
Location: Düsseldorf Synagogue
Oksana Lyniv, Andrii Murza, Philip Kelz, Kyiv Symphony Orchestra
12.1.2025
"Elegy"
U.S. premiere
Location: Richardson Auditorium, Princeton
Michael Pratt, Princeton University Orchestra
5–6.10.2024
"Five Interrupted Lullabies"
World premiere
Location: Odense Concert Hall
Oksana Lyniv, Odense Symphony Orchestra
5.9.2024
"Requiem for a Poet"
World premiere
Location: Lucerne Festival
Oksana Lyniv, Andrii Bondarenko, YSOU
21.8.2024
"Death Fugue"
German premiere
Location: Stadtkirche St. Peter und Paul (Herder Church), Weimar – Kunstfest Weimar
Oksana Lyniv, Andrii Murza, Philip Kelz, Kyiv Symphony Orchestra
14.6.2024
"Elegy"
World premiere
Location: Odesa Philharmonic Hall
Hobart Earle, Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra
2.6.2024
"Death Fugue"
World premiere
Location: Wiener Konzerthaus – Vienna Festival
Oksana Lyniv, Andrii Murza, Philip Kelz, Kyiv Symphony Orchestra
18.5.2024
Symphony No. 7 "The High Castle"
World premiere
Location: Lviv Philharmonic Hall
Alexander Gordon, INSO-Lviv Symphony Orchestra
28.3.2024
Cantata "Daddy’s Book"
French premiere
Location: Salle Érasme, Strasbourg
Oksana Lyniv, Yuliia Tkachenko, Valentina Pluzhnikova, Andrii Bondarenko, Philip Kelz, Vognyk Girls’ Choir, Dzvinochok Boys’ Choir, YSOU
Bio
Evgeni Orkin, born in Lviv in 1977, is a composer of Ukrainian origin based in Germany. Since the 2025/26 season, he has been Composer in Residence of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich. His works are published by Universal Edition Vienna, Accolade Musikverlag, Konsid Musikverlag and Are Musikverlag.
Orkin studied clarinet and composition at the National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv, including composition with Yevhen Stankovych, and continued his studies in clarinet, conducting and composition at the universities of music in Utrecht and Mannheim. His composition teachers included Ulrich Leyendecker and Ernst Bechert.
His œuvre comprises seven symphonies, twelve chamber symphonies, solo concertos, orchestral and chamber music, vocal works and music theatre. His compositions have been performed by ensembles including the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich. Performers of his music include Oksana Lyniv, Daniel Grossmann, Cornelius Meister, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Sol Gabetta, Andrii Murza and Alexey Semenenko. In 2023, he received the European Composition Award in Berlin for “Odesa Rhapsody”.
As a clarinetist, Orkin is active in both contemporary music and historically informed performance. He performs on modern and historical instruments, has released numerous recordings, and is the author of a specialist book on the historical clarinet published in three languages. He teaches clarinet at the University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim.
