(b. 7 December 1957, Haifa).

Israeli composer, now resident in the USA, of mostly orchestral, chamber and vocal works that have been performed throughout the world.

Prof. Czernowin studied composition with Abel Ehrlich and Yizhak Sadai at the Rubin Academy of Music of Tel Aviv University from 1976–82 and with Dieter Schnebel at the Universität der Künste Berlin from 1983–85, on a grant from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst. She then studied composition with Brian Ferneyhough and Roger Reynolds at the University of California, San Diego from 1987–93, where she earned her PhD.

Among her honours are the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse (1992), a scholarship from the Japan Foundation in Tōkyō (1993), the Asahi Shimbun Fellowship (1993–94, a residency in Tōkyō), a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (1995), a residency at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart (1996), three grants to work at the Experimentalstudio des SWR in Freiburg im Breisgau (1997, 1999, 2001–02), selection as the best première of the year by the magazine opernwelt and the Bayerischer Theaterpreis (both 2000, both for Pnima...ins Innere), the Förderpreis der Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung in Munich (2003), a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation (2004, for two portrait concerts with Ensemble Sospeso in New York, New York in 2005), the Heidelberger Künstlerinnenpreis (2016), and the Deutscher Musikautor*innenpreis der GEMA in the category Komposition Musiktheater (2022, for Heart Chamber [an inquiry of love]). Moreover, she has served as composer-in-residence at various festivals, including the Salzburger Festspiele (2005) and the Lucerne Summer Festival (2013). She has been a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin since 2017 and of the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste in Munich since 2021.

She taught composition at the Yoshirō Irino Institute of Music in Tōkyō in 1994–95, as a professor of composition at the University of California, San Diego from 1997–2006 and as a professor of composition at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna from 2006–09. She has taught as the Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music at Harvard University since 2009. In addition, she lectured at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse from 1990–98 and in 2004 and founded a biannual masterclass at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in 2003, where she has taught since 2003.

She lived in Germany from 1983–85, the USA from 1986–93 and Japan from 1993–95. She has again lived in the USA since 1997.

She is married to the composer Steven Kazuo Takasugi.

Her publisher is Schott Music.

SELECT LIST OF WORKS

STAGE:

Pnima...ins Innere (chamber opera in 3 acts, vocalise, after David Grossman), high female voice, low female voice, high male voice, low male voice, young male actor, old male actor, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, trombone, viola, cello, musical saw, string orchestra, 1998–99

Zaide / Adama (music for the unfinished Singspiel Zaide, K 344 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), soprano, amplified low alto, 2 tenors, amplified baritone, 2 baritones, amplified bass, male speaker, 4 amplified male voices, flute (+ piccolo, bass flute), 2 clarinets (both + E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet), trombone (+ bass trombone), violin, viola, 2 cellos, 2 double basses, 2 percussion, small orchestra (2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 French horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings), 2006 (also version [text by the composer, Ludger Engels] for soprano, amplified low alto, 2 tenors, 2 amplified baritones, 2 amplified basses, male speaker, 4 amplified male voices, mixed chorus, flute [+ piccolo, bass flute], 2 clarinets [both + E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet], trombone [+ bass trombone], violin, viola, 2 cellos, 2 double basses, 2 percussion, small orchestra [2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 French horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings], 2017)

and you will love me back (chamber opera), mezzo-soprano, 2 female actors, male actor, violin, cello, 2 pianos (one + harpsichord), 2 percussion, fixed media, 2011

Infinite now (opera in 6 acts, libretto by the composer, Luk Perceval, after letters by soldiers in World War I, Erich Maria Remarque, Can Xue), soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, countertenor, baritone, bass, female actor, 5 male actors, guitar, electric guitar, 2 cellos, large orchestra (9 winds, 11 brass, 3 percussion, strings), live electronics, 2016

Heart Chamber (an inquiry of love) (opera in 4 acts, libretto by the composer), high female voice, amplified soprano, amplified alto, amplified countertenor, amplified baritone, 16 mixed voices, double bass, ensemble (alto saxophone [+ sopranino saxophone, baritone saxophone], electric guitar [+ 12-string guitar], piano [+ electronic keyboard], percussion), large orchestra (12 winds, 13 brass, 3 percussion, 38 strings), live electronics, 2018–19

ORCHESTRAL:

Birds, 15 strings, 1984

Amber, large orchestra, 1993 (also version as Liquid Amber [concerto], 3 amplified piccolos, large orchestra, 2000)

Dam Sheon Hachol – The Hourglass Bleeds Still, string orchestra, 2002 (version of chamber work)

Maim – Water, piccolo oboe (+ oboe, English horn), E-flat contrabass tubax (modified saxophone) (+ sopranino saxophone)/fixed media, electric guitar (+ steel guitar), viola, harpsichord (with two manuals tuned a quarter-tone apart) (+ piano), large orchestra (18 winds, 14 brass, 3 percussion, 50/60 strings), live electronics, 2001–06 (its three sections may be performed separately: Maim zarim maim gnuvim – Strange Water Stolen Water, 2001; the memory of water, 2004; water of dissent, 2004–06)

The Crescendo Trilogy: The Quiet, large orchestra in 3 groups (16 winds, 15 brass, timpani, 3 percussion, 50 strings), 2010

The Crescendo Trilogy: Zohar Iver – blind radiance, saxophone, electric guitar, piano, percussion, large orchestra in 3 groups (3 flutes, 2 oboes, 3 trumpets, 20 violins; English horn, 2 clarinets, 2 French horns, 2 trombones, 8 violas, 8 cellos; bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 2 French horns, bass trombone, tuba, 3 percussion, 6 double basses), 2011

The Crescendo Trilogy: Esh – Fire, countertenor, English horn, clarinet, alto saxophone, large orchestra (4 flutes [all + piccolo], 2 oboes, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, French horn, 4 Wagner tubas, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, bass trombone, contrabass tuba, harp, piano, organ, harmonium, harpsichord, 4 percussion, strings), 2012

At the fringe of our gaze, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion, large orchestra (16 winds, 11 brass, timpani, 2 percussion, 56 strings), 2012–13

White Wind Waiting, amplified guitar (+ amplified retuned steel guitar), large orchestra (9 winds, 9 brass, harp, piano, 3 percussion, 40 strings), 2013

Once I blinked nothing was the same (large-scale miniature), large orchestra (12 winds, 3 percussion, 50 strings), 2015

On the face of the deep, small orchestra (8 winds, 2 French horns, trumpet, trombone, harp, piano, 3 percussion, 3 violins, viola, cello, double bass), 2017 (section of Genesis, a collaboration with Marko Nikodijević, Franck Bedrossian, Anna Þorvaldsdóttir, Joan Magrané Figuera, Stefano Gervasoni, Mark Andre; may be performed separately)

Guardian, cello, large orchestra (12 winds, 11 brass, harp, piano, 5 percussion, 50 strings), 2017

The Fabrication of Light, small orchestra (17 players), 2019–20

Fast Darkness II: I freeze and melt, bass clarinet, small orchestra (7 winds, 6 brass, 2 pianos, percussion, 3 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, double bass), 2020

Seltene Erde: alchimia communicationis, amplified double bass, small orchestra (17 players), fixed media/4 double basses, 2022

Moths of hunger and awe, violin, string orchestra, 2023–24

the divine thawing of the core, amplified contrabass flute, small orchestra (5 flutes, 6 oboes, 6 trumpets, trombone, tuba, piano, percussion, 3 cellos), 2024–25

CHAMBER MUSIC:

Ina, bass flute, ensemble (6 bass flutes [any 3 + piccolo, flute]), 1989 (also version for bass flute, fixed media, 1989)

LeArye – For Arye, violin, fixed media, 1990 (also version for violin, ensemble [15 violins, 15 violas], 1990)

Dam Sheon Hachol, 2 violins, 2 violas, cello, double bass, 1992 (also version for string orchestra)

Tris, percussion, ensemble (2 percussion), 1993 (also version for percussion, fixed media, 1993)

A map of a recurrent dream, shō (mouth organ from Japan) (+ yu [mouth organ from Asia]), yu, 1994 (also version for shō [+ yu], fixed media, 1994)

Die Kreuzung, yu, alto saxophone, double bass, 1994

String Quartet, 1995

Afatsim – Gallnuts, bass flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, percussion, 1996

While Liquid Amber, 3 piccolos (all + bass flute), 1998

Wintersongs I: Pending Light, bass flute, bass clarinet, alto trombone, tuba, viola, cello, double bass, live electronics, 2002–03 (also versions as Wintersongs II: Stones, 3 percussion, ensemble [bass flute, bass clarinet, alto trombone, tuba, viola, cello, double bass], 2003; Wintersongs III: Roots, 3 percussion, ensemble [bass flute, bass clarinet, alto trombone, tuba, viola, cello, double bass], live electronics, 2003)

Excavated Dialogues (fragments), sheng (mouth organ from China), dizi (transverse flute from China), flute (+ piccolo), oboe (+ English horn), bassoon (+ contrabassoon), trombone (+ bass trombone), pipa (lute from China), daruan (bass lute from China), yangqin (hammered dulcimer from China), zheng (zither from China), erhu (violin from China), violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, 2003 (also version for Baroque instruments, ensemble [flute (+ piccolo), oboe (+ English horn), bassoon (+ contrabassoon), trombone, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano], 2005)

Seed I, string quartet, 2008 (may be performed simultaneously with Seed II as Anea Crystal, 2 string quartets)

Seed II, string quartet, 2008 (may be performed simultaneously with Seed I as Anea Crystal, 2 string quartets)

Sahaf – Drift, saxophone, electric guitar, piano, percussion, 2008

Sheva – Seven, trumpet, trombone, contraguitar (folk guitar with additional strings), cello, piano, 2 percussion, 2008

Duo Leat – Duo Slow, 2 bass clarinets, 2009–10

Lovesong, flute (+ bass flute), oboe, bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion, 2010

The last leaf, oboe, 2011 (also version for sopranino saxophone, 2012; version by Susanne Fröhlich for recorders [1 player], 2024)

Gradual edge, cello, organ, 2011

Slow Summer Stay I: Streams, 2 clarinets (both + bass clarinet), bassoon, guitar, viola, cello, piano, percussion, 2012 (may be performed simultaneously with Slow Summer Stay II: Lakes as Slow Summer Stay III: Upstream)

Slow Summer Stay II: Lakes, 2 clarinets (both + bass clarinet), bassoon, guitar, viola, cello, piano, percussion, 2012 (may be performed simultaneously with Slow Summer Stay I: Streams as Slow Summer Stay III: Upstream)

HIDDEN, string quartet, live electronics, 2014

Wintersongs IV: Wounds / Mistletoe, 3 percussion, ensemble in 2 groups (bass flute, bass clarinet, bass trombone, tuba, viola, cello, double bass; 2 piccolos, oboe, clarinet, soprano saxophone [+ sopranino saxophone], trumpet, accordion), 2014

Knights of the strange, electric guitar, accordion, 2015 (also longer version for electric guitar, accordion, ensemble [flute (+ piccolo), clarinet, alto saxophone, viola, cello, double bass, piano], 2015)

Ayre: Towed through plumes, thicket, asphalt, sawdust and hazardous air I shall not forget the sound of, amplified ensemble (flute [+ bass flute], clarinet [+ bass clarinet], violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion), 2015

Black Flowers, "obscure vegetation: black flowers bloom in matter's darkness". Gaston Bachelard, electric guitar, 2018

Fast Darkness I: I can see your turned eyes from inside your body, bass clarinet (+ contrabass clarinet), ensemble (baritone saxophone, trombone, amplified guitar, electronic keyboard, percussion, violin, viola, cello, double bass), 2020

Fast Darkness III, flute, clarinet (+ bass clarinet), violin, viola, cello, piano, 2022

EZOV, string quartet, 2024

CHORAL:

Pilgerfahrten (texts by Stefan George, Tove Jansson [translated by Birgitta Kicherer]), male speaker, children's chorus, small orchestra (4 trombones, 2 percussion, 6 violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos, 2 double basses), 2005–06, revised 2007

Rega echad, sheket bevakasha – Just a moment, silence please (text by Natan Zach), mixed chorus, small orchestra/orchestra (flute, alto flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone [+ bass trombone], harp, timpani, percussion, strings), 2012

Unhistoric Acts (text compiled by the composer from the Book of Ecclesiastes, Bridgett Floyd, Darnella Frazier, members of the chorus), mixed chorus, string quartet, 2021

IMMATERIAL, 6 mixed voices, 2021–22

POETICA, 4 mixed voices, percussion, 4 percussion, fixed media, live electronics, 2023

Unforeseen dusk: bones into wings, 6 mixed voices, large orchestra, 2023–24

VOCAL:

Manoalchadiya (text by Endad Eldan), high female voice, low female voice, bass flute, 1988

Shu Hai mitamen behatalat kidon – Shu Hai Practices Javelin (text by Zohar Eitan), low female voice, 9 low female voices, live electronics, 1996–97 (also version for low female voice, fixed media, live electronics, 1996–97; also longer version of second movement as Shu Hai in an orchestral setting, low female voice, 9 low female voices, orchestra, live electronics, 2000–01 [also version for low female voice, orchestra, fixed media, live electronics, 2000–01])

Six miniatures and a simultaneous song (text by Zohar Eitan), 2 ensembles (soprano, guitar, viola; bass flute, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, cello), 1998

Algae (monodrama, text by Wieland Hoban), bass, piano, 2008–09

Five Action Sketches, alto/baritone, countertenor, bass flute, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, tuba, cello, 2014

Wintersongs V: Forgotten Light, alto/baritone, countertenor, ensemble (electric guitar, piano, harpsichord, 3 percussion), ensemble in 2 groups (bass flute, bass clarinet, bass trombone, tuba, viola, cello, double bass; 2 piccolos, oboe, clarinet, soprano saxophone [+ sopranino saxophone], trumpet, accordion), 2014

Adiantum Capillus-Veneris I: Etudes in fragility for voice and breath, any amplified voice, 2015

Adiantum Capillus-Veneris II: Etudes in fragility for voice and breath, any amplified voice, 2015

Adiantum Capillus-Veneris III: Etudes in fragility for voice and breath, any amplified voice, 2016

Habekhi – The Crying, ensemble in 3 groups (bass clarinet, tuba, double bass; voice, guitar, piano, percussion; violin, viola, cello), live electronics, 2018

IRRATIONAL, baritone, bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone, 2019

Atara – Crown/Corona (lament, text by Zohar Eitan), amplified soprano, amplified baritone, large orchestra, 2020–21

NO! A lament for the innocent, amplified high female voice, small orchestra (25 players), fixed media, 2024 (also version for 2 amplified high female voices [opposite each other], 2 small orchestras [25 playerseach], 2024)

PIANO:

fardanceCLOSE, 2012, revised 2020

DISCOGRAPHY

Afatsim. Kwamé Ryan/ensemble recherche (ORF: CD-MP 30/1–6, 1997)

Afatsim; String Quartet; Die Kreuzung; Dam Sheon Hachol (original version); Ina. John Fonville, bass flute; Arun Bharali, violin; Erik Ulman, violin; Conrad Bruderer, viola; Mary Oliver, viola; Franklin Cox, cello; Úlfar Haraldsson, double bass; Fumio Tamura/ensemble (Mayumi Miyata, yu; Takashi Saito, alto saxophone; Keizo Misoiri, double bass); Arditti String Quartet; Harvey Sollberger/Sonor Ensemble (Mode Records: mode 77, 1999)

Ina. John Fonville, bass flute (Einstein Records: EIN 014, 2000)

Six miniatures and a simultaneous song; Shu Hai in an orchestral setting; Shu Hai mitamen behatalat kidon (solo version). Deborah Kayser, soprano; Ute Wassermann, low voice; Simon Hewett/Elision; Johannes Kalitzke/Basel Sinfonietta (Mode Records: mode 117, 2002)

Maim zarim maim gnuvim. Peter Veale, piccolo oboe, oboe, English horn; Rico Gubler, E-flat contrabass tubax, sopranino saxophone; Seth Josel, electric guitar, steel guitar; Mary Oliver, viola; John Mark Harris, harpsichord, piano; Sylvain Cambreling/SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg; Experimentalstudio des SWR, live electronics (col legno: WWE 20229, 2003)

Zaide / Adama. Mojca Erdmann, soprano; Noa Frenkel, amplified alto; John Mark Ainsley, tenor; Topi Lehtipuu, tenor; Yaron Windmüller, amplified baritone; Renato Girolami, baritone; Johan Reuter, baritone; Andreas Fischer, amplified bass; Johannes Kalitzke/Österreichisches Ensemble für Neue Musik; Ivor Bolton/Basler Madrigalisten, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg (Deutsche Grammophon: 073 425-2, 2006) (DVD)

Pnima...ins Innere. Silke Storz, female voice; Ute Wassermann, female voice; Philip Larson, male voice; Tom Sol, male voice; Elias Maurides, young actor; Richard Beek, old actor; Anthony Burr, bass clarinet; Rico Gubler, alto saxophone; Andreas Eberle, trombone; Mary Oliver, viola; Franklin Cox, cello; David Shively, musical saw; Johannes Kalitzke/Münchener Kammerorchester; Experimentalstudio des SWR, live electronics (Mode Records: mode 169, 2006) (DVD)

Pilgerfahrten (revised version). Matthias Bundschuh, speaker; Roderich Kreile/Dresdner Kreuzchor, Ensemble Courage (NEOS: 10926–32, 2009) (SACD)

Duo Leat. Heinz-Peter Linshalm, bass clarinet; Petra Stump, bass clarinet (ein_klang records: EKR 045/46, 2010)

While Liquid Amber. John Fonville, piccolos, bass flutes (Einstein Records: EIN 021, 2010)

Maim. Peter Veale, piccolo oboe, oboe, English horn; Rico Gubler, E-flat contrabass tubax, sopranino saxophone; Seth Josel, electric guitar, steel guitar; Mary Oliver, viola; John Mark Harris, harpsichord, piano; Johannes Kalitzke/Konzerthausorchester Berlin; Experimentalstudio des SWR, live electronics (Mode Records: mode 219, 2010)

Ina; While Liquid Amber. Sylvie Lacroix, piccolos, bass flutes (Telos Music: TLS 089, 2010)

Seed I; Sahaf; Anea Crystal; Sheva; Seed II; Wintersongs III: Roots. Quatuor Diotima; Ensemble Nikel; Jonathan Stockhammer/ensemble ascolta; Titus Engel/Ensemble Courage; Ipke Starke, live electronics (WERGO: WER 6726 2, 2011)

The Crescendo Trilogy: Esh. Kai Wessel, countertenor; Evan Christ/Philharmonisches Orchester des Staatstheaters Cottbus (Telos Music: TLS 166, 2012)

The last leaf (second version). Ryan Muncy, sopranino saxophone (New Focus Recordings: FCR130, 2013)

Ina. Sara Hammarström, bass flute (Studio Acusticum: SA02, 2013)

The last leaf (original version). Peter Veale, oboe (musikFabrik, 2014) (digital download)

Gradual edge. Christina Meißner, cello; Poul Skjølstrup Larsen/Reinhard Seeliger, organ (Querstand: VKJK 1429, 2014)

Lovesong. ensemble recherche (WERGO: WER 6792 2, 2014)

Shu Hai mitamen behatalat kidon (solo version). Noa Frenkel, alto; Experimentalstudio des SWR, live electronics (NEOS: 11516, 2015) (SACD)

Slow Summer Stay III: Upstream. Johannes Kalitzke/Österreichisches Ensemble für Neue Musik; Manuel Nawri/kammerensemble neue musik, berlin (Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik 2015, documentation CD)

The Crescendo Trilogy: The Quiet; The Crescendo Trilogy: Zohar Iver; The Crescendo Trilogy: Esh; White Wind Waiting; At the fringe of our gaze. Kai Wessel, countertenor; Stephan Schmidt, amplified guitar, amplified retuned steel guitar; Ensemble Nikel; Brad Lubman/Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks; Mario Venzago/Berner Symphonieorchester; Evan Christ/Philharmonisches Orchester des Staatstheaters Cottbus; François-Xavier Roth/SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg; Daniel Barenboim/West–Eastern Divan Orchestra (WERGO: WER 7319 2, 2016)

Sahaf; Knights of the strange (original version); The last leaf (second version); Algae; The Crescendo Trilogy: Zohar Iver. Patrick Stadler, sopranino saxophone; Antoine Françoise, piano; Ensemble Nikel; Mario Venzago/Berner Symphonieorchester (Ensemble Nikel, 2017) (4 CDs, DVD, book)

Winter Songs V: Forgotten Light; Breathe from Five Action Sketches; Wintersongs IV: Wounds / Mistletoe; So Narrow from Five Action Sketches; Silver from Five Action Sketches; Wintersongs II: Stones; Sand from Five Action Sketches. Kai Wessel, countertenor; Jeffrey Gavett, baritone; Steven Schick/International Contemporary Ensemble (Kairos: 0015008KAI, 2017)

Adiantum Capillus-Veneris I: Etudes in fragility for voice and breath; Adiantum Capillus-Veneris II: Etudes in fragility for voice and breath; Adiantum Capillus-Veneris III: Etudes in fragility for voice and breath; HIDDEN. Inbal Hever, amplified mezzo-soprano; JACK Quartet (WERGO: WER 7355 2, 2017) (SACD)

Guardian. Séverine Ballon, cello; Pablo Rus Broseta/SWR Symphonieorchester (NEOS: 11826–27, 2018) (2 SACDs)

Ina. Ine Vanoeveren, bass flute (University of California, San Diego, 2018)

Ayre: Towed through plumes, thicket, asphalt, sawdust and hazardous air I shall not forget the sound of. Riot Ensemble (Huddersfield Contemporary Records: HCR20CD, 2019)

fardanceCLOSE (revised version). Liza Stepanova, piano (Navona Records: NV6300, 2020)

The Fabrication of Light. Enno Poppe/musikFabrik (musikFabrik, 2021) (digital download)

Heart Chamber (an inquiry of love). Frauke Aulbert, high voice; Patrizia Ciofi, amplified soprano; Noa Frenkel, amplified alto; Terry Wey, amplified countertenor; Dietrich Henschel, amplified baritone; Uli Fussenegger, double bass; Ensemble Nikel; Johannes Kalitzke/chorus and orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin; Experimentalstudio des SWR, live electronics (Naxos Records: 2.110673, 2021) (DVD)

fardanceCLOSE (revised version). Fidan Aghayeva-Edler, piano (GENUIN classics: GEN 22775, 2022)

IRRATIONAL. Jeffrey Gavett, baritone; loadbang (New Focus Recordings: FCR342, 2022)

Adiantum Capillus-Veneris I: Etudes in fragility for voice and breath. Juliet Fraser, amplified soprano (NEOS: 12226, 2023)

The last leaf (version by the performer). Susanne Fröhlich, recorders (GENUIN classics: GEN 25883, 2025)

Seltene Erde: alchimia communicationis; Atara. Sofia Jernberg, amplified soprano; Holger Falk, amplified baritone; Uli Fussenegger, amplified double bass; Johannes Kalitzke/Klangforum Wien; Christian Karlsen/ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien (Kairos: 0022048KAI, 2025)