Each concert of the State Chamber Orchestra «Moscow Virtuosi» and its permanent leader in Togliatti is certainly an event. Honorary Citizen of Avtograd Vladimir Teodorovich Spivakov comes every two years and each time surprises his loyal fans.

The organiser of his concerts is the Togliatti Philharmonic, with which the maestro has a longstanding association. It began in 1995, when talented children from Togliatti had the opportunity to perform at a festival organised by the famous violinist and conductor in French Colmar. In 2013, a memorable performance of «Virtuosos» was held with Togliatti soloists – fellows of the Spivakov Foundation, Margarita Rybina (violin) and Olga Kirpicheva (piano).

Philharmonic Director Lydia Semenova The idea was to show how the fates of talented young people from the province develop after they interact with a person whose service to music, art and spiritual values is a model for contemporaries. In 2015, Spivakov brought 11-year-old pianist Varvara Kutuzova. A young singer, winner of international competitions, and winner of the Big Opera 2016 project on the Kultura TV channel decorated the orchestra’s concert this year Ksenia Nesterenko (soprano).

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To go to the rehearsals of the most popular academic chamber group in Russia is like visiting the cuisine of a gourmet restaurant. To catch the atmosphere from which the Sound is born, to catch the thinnest threads connecting like-minded musicians, to observe that skill level thanks to which «Virtuosos» collect full houses… On a stage a little tired musicians who have recently returned from Belgium. The first violin of the orchestra Alexei Lundin, is rehearsing. He speaks softly, shows something. Someone goes out to listen to French horns and wooden wind turbines.

Vladimir Teodorovich appears and welcomes his colleagues. The orchestra’s eyes burst into flames, breaking away from the consoles. A soft wave of energy swoops in. The sound becomes more balanced and voluminous. The feeling of spontaneous joy comes from the very process of music-making. Playing like breathing. «To wash the dust of everyday life from the soul» – this is what Pablo Picasso Spivakov likes to cite most often, speaking about the purpose of creativity.

When Ksenia Nesterenko comes out on stage and, wrapped in a shawl, sings a half-voiced voice, trying out the acoustics of the hall, Spivakov comes to life. He likes to prose young performers, especially if they are grabbed at half a glance and live with the same emotions from the performance as he does. Ksenia, 19, a student of the Saratov Conservatory College of Music, has a deep, pleasant timbre and is scenic and charming. The concert selected famous works from the soprano repertoire – aria Lauretta from the opera Gianni Skikki, Waltz Musetta from Puccini’s La Boheme and the Spanish song Deliba.

At the end of the rehearsal, he says something else about Diaghilev, the founder of the «Russian Seasons» in Paris, joking. Suddenly the maestro’s phone rings, and Alexei Lundin plays the ringtone on the violin. Everyone is smiling. The mood for the upcoming evening has been received.

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And so the concert on the stage of the Palace of Culture and Creativity has already become history. The programme, which consists of both popular and rarely performed works, deserves attention. Schnittke’s «Old Style Suite» was performed easily and gracefully. Haydn’s Queen from the series «Symphonies of Paris» commissioned by French Freemasons, which Queen Marie Antoinette so liked, became the love of Togliatti at first sight. Grieg’s romances were remembered with warm sincerity and rich colours.

The premiere of La Bohème took place on 1 February 1896 in Turin, and exactly 121 years later the aria of Musetta was performed by Ksenia Nesterenko in a Volga town with an Italian name. The concert was concluded by Astor Piazzolla with the suite «History of Tango», where the soloists of the orchestra were Alexei Lundin, Eugene Shulkov, Vitaly Khandras and Alexei Strelnikov. «History» has combined plays that reveal through tango the fates of individual characters. And here the audience could not only enjoy the sound, but also watch the performance, where the bow waved and froze a centimetre away from the conductor’s wand, and there was an invisible dialogue between the solo artist and the maestro.

Along with numerous bouquets, this time Vladimir Spivakov was presented with his portrait. In the back of the stage, places were traditionally provided for schoolchildren and students of music schools. «Look at your children», this was the wish of a famous musician.

A few words on the run

 – Vladimir Teodorovich, you still help talented children.

– We have many talents in Russia. Not everyone is conditioned by his or her parents or school. Somewhere, teachers are not working with them. Then we stretch out our hand and try to help. The first meeting with the orchestra is very important. It’s like being in the middle of a big lake or sea. It’s scary. The world is unfamiliar. For example, Daniil Kharitonov, who at the age of 16 took third place in the Tchaikovsky Competition, and before that won the Vladimir Krainev Competition. How long did we play with him! All this is being nurtured gradually, you need to care for your talent as an expensive flower, and then the results will be.

– This year, the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Volga Region, which was created with your participation, is turning 15 years old. Can you give us an inspiration?

– Let me quote the words of academician Sakharov, who said many years ago: «The main thing is to follow time. Only forward. Do not lose the vector of movement». For musicians, this means learning a new repertoire, expanding it, improving the quality of performance. This group decorates your city.

In general, the traditions here are very good. Young musicians from Togliatti came to Kolmar for the festival. Foreigners were amazed: it turns out that apart from Moscow and St Petersburg, there are other cities in Russia where talented children live. And in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Vladivostok and Severomorsk – there are talents in different parts of our vast country. All we have to do is open them up and help them develop.

– You live in Moscow, but you travel all over the world. Do you have your own «genius place»?

– This is definitely not me! I think it’s the body that travels, but not the soul. And the soul is where the Motherland is. My soul is here, in Russia, in St. Petersburg. I was a very young boy when they took me away from Ufa, where I was born (where my father worked in a defence factory), to a town on the Neva. My mother was a siege. And every year on 27 January we gather as a family and remember these hard days.

– In 2015 you shared the fact that your wife Sati Spivakov is playing in the play of Viktyuk’s novel, which is being filmed. Does she continue to amaze you?

– Now she is playing in the «Gogol Centre» in Moscow in an experimental performance to which no tickets can be obtained [we are talking about the performance of «The Mueller Machine», the premiere took place in March 2016. – Author’s note]. Kirill Serebrennikov is a talented director, working in the theatre, cinema, opera and ballet. He is a Renaissance man. This is a performance in a certain aesthetic, which is not clear to everyone. But Sati likes it. Me and the children like it, too.

– Some time ago Andris Liepa came to us and brought us a gala concert of ballet dancers in honour of Maya Plisetskaya. According to him, the Russian ballet continues to be the best in the world. Can we say the same about the Russian performing school?

– Of course. And we must take into account that many musicians live abroad, but still remain Russian. We have a strong culture that has influenced the whole world. Russian composers Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Shostakovich are our great treasure. And contemporary composers Rodion Shchedrin, Sofia Gubaidulina and Arvo Pärt continue this tradition.

Anna LUKYANCHIKOVA

Music critic, deputy director for scientific and methodological work at the R.K. Shchedrin Togliatti College of Music. 

Published in «Fresh Newspaper. Culture», Nos. 3 (111), 2017, February.