In Russia, Kostrow is widely known. On the one hand, he is one half of Messer Fur Frau Muller, which has been awarded «best band 1998» by Ptjutsch, Moskow's most famous music-culture magazin. Their latest album «Allo Superman» has been sold more than 1000 times just in St. Petersburg. ...show more

In Russia, Kostrow is widely known. On the one hand, he is one half of Messer Fur Frau Muller, which has been awarded «best band 1998» by Ptjutsch, Moskow's most famous music-culture magazin. Their latest album «Allo Superman» has been sold more than 1000 times just in St. Petersburg.

On the other hand, Kostrow is known for his several theatre- and performance-projects. For most of them, he composed and arranged the music,while cooperating with the Russian designer Bartenew (who has worked with Brian Eno, Paco Rabanne, Andrew Logan).One such project is Iwona - a fairy-tale which is performed by children.The colourful and lively costumes by Bartenew and the congenially colourfuland lively pieces of music by Kostrow are equally important here. Iwona was performed for the first time in association with the Goethe-Institute in Nowosibirsk. Other shows followed, for example in London.

But Kostrow's music for Iwona can easily stand on its own, even without thetheatre-play. It is beautiful, miraculous, full of humor and variety, is sweeping, ingenious and highly original. Kostrow chose to use most of the musical styles of the past fifty years when he composed the pieces for Iwona (including disco, mambo, psychedelic). One can always tell the style as well as Kostrow's revision of it. ...show less