The Tula Regional Philharmonic opened the 81st season with a concert of the Moscow Virtuosi orchestra conducted by People’s Artist of Russia Vladimir Spivakov.

A HOLY band, a legendary violinist and conductor… The first concert of the season was a real festival of music and a gift for Tula music lovers. And the programme was light, sparkling and festive.

In the first section of the Moscow Virtuosi concert, a young soloist, Vladimir Spivakov, a scholarship holder of the International Charitable Foundation and a laureate of international competitions, Alexandra Stychkina (daughter of the famous actor Evgeny Stychkin), performed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto.

The second section featured works by Edward Grieg and Joseph Haydn. And by tradition – brilliant «bis», one of them – «Libertango» by Astor Piazzolla – the maestro dedicated an International Music Day. «Because music is love», he said.

– Your charity foundation is about to turn 25. You are doing a huge job. What does this activity mean for you personally, what does it give you?
– A sense of harmony with the world, inner peace, happiness. I feel like a happy person, because there is nothing better in the world than a child’s smile.

– Today’s children are different from previous generations – video thinking, attachment to gadgets…
– They are really different. But musical talent is still visible, audible and instantly recognisable. Yesterday there was an opening concert of the XV Festival «Moscow meets friends». The festival will last ten days, and almost two thousand children from 50 regions of Russia and 36 countries take part in it. Children from Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltic States, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Japan, the UK… Everywhere, including countries with which we do not have such good relations. And the children have come and are communicating well with each other…

– One more anniversary is waiting for you: next year «Moscow Virtuosi» will celebrate its 40th anniversary…
– Yes. Of that first team, only two were left: me and the double bass player. And we’ve been working with this line-up for 15 years now, it doesn’t change.

– Your Stradivarius violin…
– Not mine, unfortunately. And it will never be mine. I will have it until I die or my fingers move… By the way, on 14 October we will be playing in Stradivarius’ homeland, Cremona. The organisers so asked us to come, they agreed to all our terms. They are even ready to send a car to Venice to pick me up – just these days there will be a concert of my foundation’s children…

– Recently you have been playing a lot of modern music, but in the second half of the 20th century. And what was written in the 21st century that you are interested in?
– There are talented composers in Russia, but they write little for the violin: more and more ballets, operas and oratorios. There are also bright foreign authors. Soon with the National Orchestra of Russia we will be performing «Requiem» by British composer Jenkins, written in 2006.

– You have established friendly relations with the Tula Philharmonic and the Tula public.
– Yes. I often remember the last concert in Tula. We played Vivaldi’s The Seasons. I went out to the audience and said: «You see what kind of children I have?» – Meaning that the musicians are much younger than me. And from the audience, the woman answered: «What a father, what children are like»… I like playing in Tula. It’s a wonderful audience. It’s always nice to come here, because we know: they’re waiting for us…

Irina Skibinskaia.