Translated material
The great musician Mstislav Rostropovich died
The great musician Mstislav Rostropovich died. Shortly before his serious illness, he gave an interview to Oleg Dusaev, which the New Times publishes, trying to preserve the Maestro speech style as much as possible.
When I was deprived of citizenship and my family was expelled from here, this tragedy added me even more love for my homeland. I never in my life thought that I should somehow take revenge on someone for this. I am a believer ... I wanted to destroy my life, I was in exile for 17 years, but I found many friends and wonderful people there in art - in literature, in painting. Not wasted. And when I returned back, I had only one thought - how to make it helping Russia. First of all, I created a fund for helping sick children in Russia. My fund, the Vishnevskaya - Rostropovich Foundation, vaccinated several million children in Russia. So the first thing I was concerned about is the health of our Russian children. And the second. We must not forget that the face of the country, and this, unfortunately, is often forgotten - this is a culture. I, believe me, know that well. I was abroad with Ostrakh, Richter, Gilels, Shostakovich. I know what the cultural face of the country means. And so that the country's cultural face is in order, I created a fund for helping young musicians. In our country, it often turns out that many talents do not find material support, do not have the opportunity to deal with large teachers, because they are in the distance. I translate small talented children from distant corners to Moscow with my parents. So, you need to provide them with housing, put a tool there. We overcome all these difficulties because I have many friends who help. I must say that I want to not only financially support them. I want my friends who are now in the sky to help them, accompany their success in music. Therefore, the scholarships that our fund pays, I called the names of my departed friends - the name of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Ostrakh, Richter, Gilels, Schnitka, Nyaskovsky. This is the good that I do for my beloved country. I hope that many of my guys will rise to the very top of classical art.
What else can help us preserve the cultural face of the country?
I remember, a few years ago, Yeltsin awarded me an order. We met with him ten minutes before the award, and I told him: “Boris Nikolaevich, now, watching our television in the West, people think that we are already getting into palm trees, we are torn off some nuts and eat. It seems that we have no culture, there is no legacy left. We have such a terrible television. ” And he says: "What can you come up with?" And Boris Nikolaevich himself told me: "Maybe we will make a cultural channel?" And when he went out, and there many guests came to this award, he said to everyone: “You know, here Rostropovich and I thought and decided - we need to make a culture channel.” This is a channel that still holds. I am very glad that he arose before my eyes.
There is no country wherever you visit. Do you feel the differences between the mentality of Russian musicians and foreign?
Certainly. Everyone is different. Hence the whole gamut of experiences. Even the great composers, well, to take, say, French, whom I personally knew, Messiana, Pulenka - they are very different in language and emotional mood from our composers - Prokofiev, Shostakovich. This is all the more interesting, because, say, Benjamin Britten, a brilliant English composer - he also differs from Shostakovich. But between Britten and Shostakovich there was endless friendship and mutual respect. I am very proud that I introduced them and brought them together.
It is known that Shostakovich is a special person and composer for you. You try to perform his music as often as possible.
Once, many years ago, I was at a festival in Edinburgh. There was the first festival of music by Shostakovich. I was not in Russia, no ... I then experienced a shock from the grandeur of this festival and told Shostakovich: "You know, I want to make your festival in Russia." He: "God grant you the strength, it will be difficult." I replied: "Nothing, I can handle it." And I told him: "Give me programs that you would like to have." He says: "Okay, I will try to help you with this." And two days later, with his hand, he wrote programs of six symphonic and five chamber concerts. I try to always fulfill this list completely.
It is known that you are a big optimist. And many of your colleagues are anxious into the future.
Why are they worried? We must not worry, but work in this area. To talk about this, to arrange good concerts, I emphasize - good ones. This is very important. Sometimes everything is done in a hurry. We must give master classes, talk about composers and about music. The problem is what - the moral of the musicians went down very much. I'll tell you why. Here, let's say, take opera art, which we are now promoted. Of course, I respect those directors who compose new libretto on the libretto that the composer wrote, but! Since I personally knew the great composers and first played and landed more than 230 works - I did their first performance, I know very well what the composer wanted, and I respect the composers very much. If Verdi found out that in his Aida the whole story takes place between Chechens and some troops, I think he would protest against this and even, maybe he would say: “I would better burn the score than to look at what is happening.” This music was specially written for a certain action. And suddenly to make another era to appear - I think this is an insult to the composer. This is not necessary. Moreover, if the director has such a “brilliant” idea - order a young composer! Here is a wonderful idea. They will write to you that be healthy! No need to disfigure composers. In Germany, they put Rigoletto - so the monkeys sing there. Verdi would have responded to this ... not positively. However, I must say that this is not by chance - what is happening in our life. It is associated with an incredible jump in our technique. Mobile phones, the Internet ... Now, even education does not have such a great importance - before we have taught everything to know, but now you just need to press the buttons - and you will find out everything. You can call Tokyo on a mobile phone and talk to anyone. And before - oh how difficult it was to get through, how much it was necessary to wait. Now everything is happening very quickly. The speed of everything. Faster than youth go to rock music, they scream, stun them. People then leave a little stunned - they received their emotional injection. Classical music requires a different pace for perception. This requires time, for this you need a mood ... Now, it seems to me that love is becoming not so much sensual as agreed. So I see couples - they quickly get married, quickly diverge, everything is known in advance - how to divide the property. This speed takes to the side ... Emotional lighting disappears from the inside, from your soul, from your imagination. For the most part, people choose when everything turns out to be simpler.