"He just traveled around the Bolshoi Theater for several years"

On August 31, the first round of the X International Competition of Organists named after Mikael Tariverdiev ends in Moscow . As usual, his auditions also took place in Hamburg and Kansas. Now the competition moves to the Cathedral of Kaliningrad, where the semifinals and the final will be held from September 3 to 9. Ekaterina Biryukova spoke with the fragile leader of the competition (and from this year - the Kaliningrad Cathedral), the widow of the composer Vera Tariverdieva.

- The first question has some relation to the fact that now we are all most worried about. In connection with the abolition of Nureyev, a long -standing story surfaced about the abolition of ballet Mikael Tariverdiev “Girl and Death”, which also happened in the Bolshoi Theater. What do you know about it?

- I was her witness. It was 1987. The performance was canceled two weeks before the premiere. He was set, the first working run passed, the record remained. Vera Bokkado put him with the support of Grigorovich. These were the first years of perestroika when the context of life began to change. And a group of folk artists of the Soviet Union began the struggle with Grigorovich, they had some disagreement. And the ballet became mostly a victim of internecine war. This was the first retreat of Yuri Nikolaevich.

I was on that artistic council, Mikael Leonovich did not go. There was a complete defeat. No one talked about music. They said do not understand what. Two people only said about music - conductor Alexander Kopylov and Seryozha Girshenko, the then accompanist of the Bolshoi Theater orchestra. They said: "You make a mistake, you can not destroy such music." Nevertheless, this happened. Because Bokkado was Grigorovich's man.

Mikael Leonovich took the notes, and this ballet was never put anywhere else. Only a suite from ballet was performed, there the music is gorgeous. The theater then wanted to take it on tour to America, because Actually, Andris Liepa, Nina Ananiashvili, Semenyak, Vetrov, all the stars participated there. But Mikael Leonovich refused to give it. He said - I do not want to. For several years he simply traveled around the Bolshoi Theater. If it was necessary to pass by, he made a hook, but traveled.

Well, listen, it can't be like that! It's like Tatyana would marry Onegin!

“So nothing went to him at the Bolshoi Theater?”

- No.

- The most performed thing for the musical theater - probably, the Monoker "Waiting"? In the New Opera, even a few years ago she was invented by a happy final: the heroine still waits for her prince.

- Oh, it's monstrous! It was completely across the meaning. Actually, they usually ask me at first whether it is possible to put one or another work of Mikael Leonovich. I always say yes. But the "new opera" did not ask, I just put it before the fact - I invited to the premiere. I came, sat in a good place. There was an interesting evening - three Monoopers for female voices, “waiting” - at the end. When the main character came out-a business woman with high heels-I still somehow restrained emotions. But when a young man appeared on the stage during a completely transcendental codes (which is not in the opera!), I could not restrain myself and said in full voice: “I will kill this director.” Well, listen, it can't be like that! It's like Tatyana would marry Onegin!

After the performance, I went around the theater for a long time, then I returned to them and said everything that I think about it. Thank God, this performance soon was shot.

- Does this savory of unhappy female love are not angry with you?

- I would not say that. There is no unhappy love. “Waiting” is not allowed. That's all the point. If you read separately the text of Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky, who was written at the request of Mikael Leonovich (he wanted to do something like the “human voice” of the bullet), it turns out a completely different woman, more specific and mundane. But the music exalts her. “Waiting” is a picture of a woman’s inner life, it is her, in general, a familiar state. Because a woman is always waiting-a man from the war, from somewhere else. There is absolutely amazing, cosmic finale. There is no suffering. There is a expectation, recognition of love, a thirst for this love. There is a very self -sufficient woman with all that.

- Fine. Let's talk about your new job then. What is it to lead the cathedral?

- This is horror. In general, I must say that there is no such position in the world. It is only in one place - in the cathedral on the island of Kant. Because this is a concert and cultural complex, and he has a director. I refused for a month from this position, because I have other tasks in life, I have to fulfill them. For example, I was offered to write a book. And to lead the cathedral? I'm not a boss at all, I have no such abilities. I told them: “You propose to lead the cathedral to a person who has no light in his own toilet for four years!”

- Nevertheless, you are already holding the tenth organ competition.

- Therefore, I could not refuse. Because we have already held the finals of the last five competitions in the Cathedral. This is really one of the best bodies in Europe, the best organ complex in the Russian Federation. We helped the organ to appear there. And for me this is a strategic place. Otherwise, I could lose the competition. And the competition for me is a project of life. I do not want Tariverdiev to be perceived only in the context of the music of the movie. His world is more and more significant.

On November 7, we will make the “battleship“ Potemkin ”” to the organ - so we will celebrate the centenary of the revolution.

- Why did Tariverdiev be carried away by the organ?

- To begin with, he is generally a baroque composer.

- That is?

- Yes, he is very baroque. In the language, in musical structures, in drama. One of his favorite tools is the harpsichord. He was the first to introduce him to the cinema: “A man is following the sun”, 1961, there is a cross -cutting theme of the harpsichord - the theme of the boy. He studied with Aram Ilyich Khachaturian, he had an organ in the classroom. And Mikael Leonovich sometimes remained to spend the night in his class at the Gnesin Institute and played at the organ at night.

By the way, this is due to the first question. Michael Leonovich was very difficult to abolish the ballet, she cost him a heart valve. And we were in Chernobyl six months before, he spoke to the liquidators in September 1986. The impressions were completely deafening then - as if they were in Tarkovsky’s “zone”. And now they had new experiences about “Girls and Death”, something instantly clicked, and a symphony for the Chernobyl organ appeared.

- What did you manage to achieve the tenth competition?

- Many. Philip Kleis flew to us in Hamburg - this is a person who heads one of the leading organ -building companies. This company bears his last name. In the Moscow House of Music stands the Cleis organ, in the Hamburg Elbfilarmony. Well and so on. I asked his company to take care of our organ in the Cathedral. Because the company Suka, first of all, went bankrupt, and secondly, they were crooks. He said that he could not refuse, because "you are making the future of organ art." This said Kleis. I saw him for the first time in my life. I didn’t even think that he knew me.

But this is not an empty compliment. The soloist of the Elbfilarmony Ivetta Apkalna is the winner of our third competition. Batist-Florian Marle Uvrar, who replaced the famous Jean Guyya in the church of St. Eastash in Paris, is the third award of the seventh competition. Our laureates not only occupy some positions, but also develop the theme of the organ, actively involve it in a concert life. After all, for the most part, the organ is perceived in Europe as a church instrument. And Apkalna constantly performs with concerts in concert halls.

Another thing. When we started, in Europe we were surprised to ask: what, there is a Russian organ school? The competition made her famous, she made an enchanting throw forward. Last year, Alina Nikitina, the winner of our eighth competition, became the first Russian laureate of the Bach contest in Leipzig.

- Where do we teach the game on the organ?

- There are several such conservatory. Moscow, Kazan, Saratov, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod. But the presenter now - of course, the St. Petersburg school. All these winners at European competitions are students of Daniel Zaretsky. He is an incredible clever man, unlike many, is not jealous if the student goes somewhere further to finish, on the contrary, he promotes him himself. Because a cool organist is one who has extensive experience in communication with different organs.

- Does the Kaliningrad Cathedral belong to the church?

- No. That's it.

- And what, there were no complaints?

- Were. From different sides. But he, thank God, was left alone. At the entrance there are two small chapels - Lutheran and Orthodox. From the state, the cathedral receives 2 million rubles per year. This is nothing, given that he must contain himself, pay the salary to people, equip the island on which he stands. Organ concerts have always passed and were popular there - they go to them as they used to go to the Domsky Cathedral to Riga. But there was no cultural strategy in the cathedral. It had to be created. Already quite a lot has been done, there are completely unusual, grandiose plans. We even started three subscriptions next year. One of them - “We are listening to the movie”, within its framework on November 7, we will make the “battleship“ Potemkin ”” to the organ - so we will celebrate the centenary of the revolution.