Goodbye, breathing

The Opus Posth ensemble performed two works by Vladimir Martynov Prime Minister of the Chamber Composer of a modern domestic composer most often does not become an important event in cultural life. Nevertheless, the modest and quiet performance by the string ensemble of two works of the composer in his native cultural center “House”, furnished in fact as an event for their own, has the right to detailed coverage. If only because the creation of these opuses was preceded by a series of amazing events.

As Martynov himself told the public before the concert, the story began with the fact that more than two years ago the famous American ensemble Kronos-Quartet ordered him a work that used Malera's music. The deadline for the execution of the order expired, but nothing was done. And in December last year, at the age of 97, the composer’s father, musicologist Ivan Martynov, dies. According to the composer, in the dying breath of his father he heard some chords. Trying to get rid of this composer instinct, he switched to childhood memories, when he and his father played four hands of Malera, receiving special pleasure from the last part of the “Land of Earth” - “Der Abschied” (“Farewell”). After the death of his father, both the Malera theme, and these chords were used by the composer for the essay, which he eventually handed over to Kronos-Quartet. And although initially everything in him rebelled against the writing of a musical work to the death of a loved one, he realized that it was also impossible to resist this, because he saw in how the events developed, the manifestation of the will of the deceased.

But the resulting work seemed to Martynov to be painful. And then external circumstances helped again. In May of this year, after a joint performance in Moscow, the Sirin Spiritual Music ensemble gave Kronos-Quartet his “traveler” disc. A special impression on the leader of the quartet of David Harrington was made by the last song - “The Commandments of Bliss” from the Nagorno -Merch, the music for which Martynov wrote. The violinist asked the composer to shift this work for his ensemble by the anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001. Thus, everything fell into place, and the “farewell” received the required addition. It remained to perform these two works together, and only the “house” could be the most suitable place for this place, where the Martynov Music festival takes place every year. And the only suitable team is the Opus Posth string ensemble under the guidance of violinist Tatyana Grindenko, wife and constant ally of the composer. Despite the fact that Monday in the “house” was a day off, the concert was held on December 11, that is, exactly a year after the death of Ivan Martynov.

The very chords with which the Der Abschied begins Martynov are accompanied by sighs of musicians and, as often the case with the composer, alternate with silence. In these chords, despair, and fear, and pain are heard, which become especially unbearable and heartbreaking, when the Malera theme suddenly grows out of nothing, solemn, soaring (in the original it is accompanied by the words of admiration for the beauty of the world), and breaks off, and the chords are replaced again. Meanwhile, disturbing notes are heard clearly, which Mahler has only fifteen seconds and may go unnoticed. The Malera theme and chords continue to replace each other until the very end of the work, leaving the listener in a state close to numbness. The “commandments of bliss” follow without a break - clean, bright, rushing up and only up without the slightest resistance. In the finale of the violin, a long one and the same sequence of four notes are repeated for a long time, on which the words “in heaven” fall in the original.

12.12.2006 / Grigory Durnovo, the material was published in the newspaper No. 229 dated 12/13/2006.