Translated material
Behind the glory of Bashmet
A young violist from St. Petersburg will perform at the Moscow Conservatory
23-year-old St. Petersburg violist Ivan Numerov will give his first solo concert on October 6 in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. At a press conference dedicated to the upcoming event, those gathered were informed that they were present at nothing less than the birth of a star. For soon the name of Ivan Numerov will be on everyone’s lips, like the names of Bashmet, Primrose, Borisovsky and other outstanding violists.But for now Ivan Numerov is a new face for us. He studied at the St. Petersburg music school, where his insightful grandmother took him. First he played the piano, then somehow (he no longer remembers how) a violin ended up in his hands, which mesmerized him with its sound. Nobody forced the enthusiastic child to study - he simply liked it and the success was obvious, so the question of his future profession was resolved by itself. Ivan went to study in Moscow, at the Gnessin School with teacher Natalya Putilina, then returned to his native St. Petersburg and entered the class of Alexei Ludevig at the conservatory, where he continues to study to this day. Of course, Ivan has few solo concerts under his belt so far - in Belgorod, St. Petersburg, Moscow (Great Hall of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music). Already in the spring of next year, the musician will set off to conquer Russian regions: he will have a big tour.
Recitals by 20-year-old musicians at the Big Concert Hall are truly an unusual thing. But the organizers of the performance predict Ivan the glory of the “second Bashmet” and claim that today in Russia there are no young violists giving solo concerts, because this is an incredibly difficult instrument. In fact, everything is a little different. It is enough to name such wonderful young violists as Maxim Rysanov, Daniil Grishin, Yulia Deineka, Mikhail Bereznitsky. Perhaps, Ivan is going to step on their heels rather than Bashmet. Yes, perhaps Rysanov can be heard more often in England, Deineka in Germany. But the activity (and not only performing) of Mikhail Bereznitsky in Russia should not be underestimated. As for “an incredibly difficult instrument that no one really knows how to play,” the viola is a very rewarding instrument, and the difficulties when switching from the violin, as professionals say, mainly relate to reading notes in the alto key. So, convincing the public that Ivan Numerov is “a bright and extraordinary personality in the modern musical world” will have to be done, first of all, creatively—musically. However, rumors that have reached the Moscow shores say that Ivan’s talent really deserves the closest attention.
Ivan himself considers the viola “a unique instrument with amazing capabilities that have not yet been exhausted.” “The viola is more promising,” says the musician. “You can play works written for violin, cello, and baroque instruments on it.” Specifically, Numerov plays a wonderful viola made by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, a famous French master of the 19th century, who very successfully copied the instruments of famous Italians. And Ivan is currently being helped to advance to the musical Olympus by the United Confectioners holding company. He does not have high hopes for international competitions: he agrees with the opinion of David Oistrakh, who argued that the fate of a young musician should not depend on the opinion of the jury. And yet Numerov has not yet given up the idea of participating in some competition, for example the Munich one, which once brought the Grand Prix to Yuri Bashmet.
The program of Ivan Numerov at the BZK will feature works by I.-S. Bach, Paganini, Schubert (the first movement of the Sonata for arpeggione), Maren Mare and the famous “Grave” by Jiri Benda, which Bashmet loves so much. The soloist will be accompanied by the Cantilena chamber orchestra conducted by Andrei Istomin, with whom Ivan has been happily cooperating for two years.