<translated into English automatically, will be edited later>
Alexander Vedernikov (1964–2020) — conductor, Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation, representative of a well-known artistic dynasty. His name is well known to many fans all over the world: one of the founders of the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, who for eight years (in 2001-2009) was the musical director of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia and parted ways with the country's main theater of his own free will, Alexander Vedernikov successfully built his career in the West. Conducted in Europe and America, in 2009–2018 he led the Symphony Orchestra in Odense (Denmark), with which he performed Wagner's tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen, since 2017 he has been the chief conductor of the Royal Danish Orchestra, and since 2018 he has become the chief conductor of the Royal Danish Opera. From time to time he returned to Russia as a guest to work with long-term partners, the E.F. Svetlanov, the Russian National Orchestra, and since 2019, Vedernikov has also gained a permanent post of musical director of the Mikhailovsky Theater in St. Petersburg.
Among the landmark works we can mention the productions of the operas Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky in collaboration with Dmitry Chernyakov and Desyatnikov's Children of Rosenthal with Eimuntas Nekrošius. During one of his visits, Alexei Sobolev (AS) talked with maestro Alexander Vedernikov (AV) about his creative path and views on the profession.
AS It's always interesting how people find their calling. Tell us what led you to become a conductor?
AV It's quite a long story. One of my first fascinating experiences took place at the age of eight while studying piano at a music school. At home, my parents had a lot of opera claviers, and at some point in my hands were the clavier and the record of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden. Wonderful music and the very process of listening to this opera with notes made an unforgettable impression on me. Then, two or three years later, I was presented with a book by Berlioz for my birthday - A Great Treatise on Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration. There were many score examples in it, the very sight of which inspired me. Of course, I had a desire to orchestrate something. I remember how, with great difficulty, my parents got me score paper, because it was difficult to buy it under the Soviet regime ... And I set about orchestrating Grieg's Nocturne, who at that time played the piano. The decision to become a conductor arose because, in comparison with the piano, the sound of a symphony orchestra with its variety of timbres and colors was of much greater interest to me. My father, having learned about this, was upset, because he wanted me to become a composer, and conducting, in his opinion, is a secondary profession. Thus, it was decided to go to the music school at the theoretical faculty, with the prospect of further admission to the Moscow Conservatory to the conductor's.
During that period, an important role in my development was played by Leonid Vladimirovich Nikolaev, who was engaged in conducting with me, starting from the second year of the school. Thanks to this, even before entering the conservatory, I had already conducted some of the symphonic and operatic repertoire, for example, Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville.
AS Which conductors influenced the development of your performing style?
AV In my youth there was a period of passion for Karajan, then at some point I was strongly impressed by Celibidache. Today, the art of Leonard Bernstein is of great interest to me in terms of his style of relationship with a musical group. Perhaps very few conductors could communicate with the orchestra so freely and naturally.
AS Do you think a modern conductor should be despotic, like Toscanini?
AV I don't think so. Perhaps I think so, because I am not a despotic person, but today this method has already become obsolete. After all, we no longer live in a totalitarian country, and people have a sense of their own dignity, which must be respected.
AS What, in your opinion, is the main task of a conductor?
AV In that he takes responsibility for the result of the execution. So, for example, high-class orchestras can play without a conductor purely and jointly in terms of the ensemble, but the conductor decides on the issues of musical taste, style, degree of expressiveness.
AS What kind of music do you perform more often - Russian or foreign, and does it depend on the country in which you perform?
AV Of course, it is connected. From my point of view, a conductor has less freedom in choosing a repertoire compared to any other performer. When I am invited to conduct in a particular city, they often want to hear a certain composition. However, sometimes I have the opportunity to independently form the programs of my concerts. In such cases, I try to take into account the peculiarities of the orchestra with which I plan to collaborate. After all, each team has its own rehearsal schedule and its own speed of mastering the material. If we talk about my personal preferences, then I try to perform the music of Russian composers more often.
AS There are cases when a conductor "helps" a composer by improving his instrumentation. So, in particular, did Wagner, Mahler with Beethoven's symphonies. From your point of view, in what cases can a conductor change the author's text?
AV I think a lot here depends on the particular composer. For example, in the music of Mahler or Stravinsky, the musical material contains many detailed author's instructions and notes on exactly how this or that episode should be played. On the other hand, in the works of some composers there are sometimes, frankly speaking, fragments that are almost impossible to perform, even if you try very hard.
AS Perhaps you mean Schumann's symphonies?
AV Schumann, as it turned out, can be played. This was proved by John Eliot Gardiner, who made recordings of all Schumann's symphonies, thereby dispelling the misconception that existed before that they could not be performed in the original version.
Rather, I meant Leoš Janáček. Here everything is more complicated, because if some episodes of his compositions are played as written in the notes, then almost half of the musical material remains unidentified, it will simply not be heard. I ran into this problem when I conducted The Adventures of the Cunning Fox. It immediately became clear to me that it was impossible to learn it within the framework of a normal rehearsal cycle, since I would have to constantly stop and explain each note to the musicians. Then, to save time, I made my own version of this opera.
AS And if we turn to the work of Tchaikovsky?
AV If we talk about the works of Tchaikovsky, then, in my opinion, numerous retouches in the field of dynamics are possible here. It is well known that Pyotr Ilyich was a very emotional person, which was reflected in his scores. After all, most of the author's designations, all kinds of "forks" (crescendo, diminuendo, forte), referred not so much to dynamics as to agogics. In accordance with this understanding, it seems to me that the conductor needs to work with the author's text.
AS Speaking about the art of orchestral accompaniment, in your opinion, does the conductor need to lead the soloist, or is his task to create an atmosphere in which the soloist will feel free?
AV Dialectical question. Of course, ideally there should be both at the same time. Everything depends on the situation. So, if the conductor and the soloist have a deep enough mutual understanding, then, frankly, you don’t even think about this topic. At such moments, you know perfectly well where it is necessary to properly listen to the soloist, and where it is important to take the initiative. If you are dealing with singers, then the situation is completely different. In this case, much depends on the individual ability of the vocalist to perceive everything that is happening around. And since singing is a difficult process for the body, on the one hand, it is important to try not to interfere with the performer, and on the other hand, you need to organize everything in such a way that the vocalist does not even suspect that you are directing him.
AS Is there a difference for you in working with a symphony or with an opera orchestra, and what is it?
AV Of course. The opera orchestra has certain specific playing skills, such as, for example, the performance of certain types of textures, which are much easier for it than for a symphony ensemble. On the other hand, since the musicians of opera orchestras mostly play in the pit, they have a different degree of expressiveness of sound, a different system of organizing musical balance than symphony ensembles. Thus, a symphony orchestra is more prone to permanent sound formation, since it performs a symphonic form, while an opera orchestra is more discrete. At the same time, the latter are better at complex rhythmic figurations, syncopations, which are often found in opera music. Undoubtedly, there is specialization, but it exists mainly at the level of orchestras, and not at the level of individual musicians. This means that a particular orchestra player can quickly adapt to the symphonic or operatic repertoire. If we talk about technology, then modern orchestras are at a very high performing level.
AS You founded the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra in the mid-1990s. How did you do it?
AV It was quite a complex combination of certain factors. At that time, there were people who assembled the orchestra and sponsors who provided significant financial support. When the sponsorship money ran out, in order to keep such a wonderful team, we convinced the then management of the TV-6 channel to take care of the orchestra. Over the next four years, the musicians received decent salaries until the 1998 crisis hit. It was a difficult time. Due to insufficient funding, the activities of the orchestra were suspended, and we decided to disband the musicians. After some time, the team received the support of the Moscow Government, but the official resolution was issued only in February 2001. When we again gathered this orchestra, its composition was no longer the same as before.
AS Do you regret leaving your orchestra for the Bolshoi Theatre?
AV Of course, I'm sorry ... But no one knows in advance how his fate can turn.
AS What prospects do you think the opera genre has today?
AV Here's the thing: every art, including theater, the art of opera directing, is in constant development. And the new time puts forward its own aesthetics of opera productions. From my point of view, two things are important here. Firstly, it is not a good sign when the director uses the author's score as a material for self-expression, that is, when he loses respect for the original source. Secondly, opera today has ceased to be a genre that produces new works. And if the situation does not change, then the opera is close to the completion of its historical development, such as Lendler, country dance, symphony. In such a situation, it is necessary to stimulate the creation of new works and, first of all, to promote the emergence of young composers. If opera existed today, as it did in the 19th century under Verdi and Donizetti, when a colossal amount of new material appeared every year, then everything would be different.
Source.
Alexander Vedernikov (1964–2020) — conductor, Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation, representative of a well-known artistic dynasty. His name is well known to many fans all over the world: one of the founders of the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, who for eight years (in 2001-2009) was the musical director of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia and parted ways with the country's main theater of his own free will, Alexander Vedernikov successfully built his career in the West. Conducted in Europe and America, in 2009–2018 he led the Symphony Orchestra in Odense (Denmark), with which he performed Wagner's tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen, since 2017 he has been the chief conductor of the Royal Danish Orchestra, and since 2018 he has become the chief conductor of the Royal Danish Opera. From time to time he returned to Russia as a guest to work with long-term partners, the E.F. Svetlanov, the Russian National Orchestra, and since 2019, Vedernikov has also gained a permanent post of musical director of the Mikhailovsky Theater in St. Petersburg.
Among the landmark works we can mention the productions of the operas Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky in collaboration with Dmitry Chernyakov and Desyatnikov's Children of Rosenthal with Eimuntas Nekrošius. During one of his visits, Alexei Sobolev (AS) talked with maestro Alexander Vedernikov (AV) about his creative path and views on the profession.
AS It's always interesting how people find their calling. Tell us what led you to become a conductor?
AV It's quite a long story. One of my first fascinating experiences took place at the age of eight while studying piano at a music school. At home, my parents had a lot of opera claviers, and at some point in my hands were the clavier and the record of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden. Wonderful music and the very process of listening to this opera with notes made an unforgettable impression on me. Then, two or three years later, I was presented with a book by Berlioz for my birthday - A Great Treatise on Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration. There were many score examples in it, the very sight of which inspired me. Of course, I had a desire to orchestrate something. I remember how, with great difficulty, my parents got me score paper, because it was difficult to buy it under the Soviet regime ... And I set about orchestrating Grieg's Nocturne, who at that time played the piano. The decision to become a conductor arose because, in comparison with the piano, the sound of a symphony orchestra with its variety of timbres and colors was of much greater interest to me. My father, having learned about this, was upset, because he wanted me to become a composer, and conducting, in his opinion, is a secondary profession. Thus, it was decided to go to the music school at the theoretical faculty, with the prospect of further admission to the Moscow Conservatory to the conductor's.
During that period, an important role in my development was played by Leonid Vladimirovich Nikolaev, who was engaged in conducting with me, starting from the second year of the school. Thanks to this, even before entering the conservatory, I had already conducted some of the symphonic and operatic repertoire, for example, Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville.
AS Which conductors influenced the development of your performing style?
AV In my youth there was a period of passion for Karajan, then at some point I was strongly impressed by Celibidache. Today, the art of Leonard Bernstein is of great interest to me in terms of his style of relationship with a musical group. Perhaps very few conductors could communicate with the orchestra so freely and naturally.
AS Do you think a modern conductor should be despotic, like Toscanini?
AV I don't think so. Perhaps I think so, because I am not a despotic person, but today this method has already become obsolete. After all, we no longer live in a totalitarian country, and people have a sense of their own dignity, which must be respected.
AS What, in your opinion, is the main task of a conductor?
AV In that he takes responsibility for the result of the execution. So, for example, high-class orchestras can play without a conductor purely and jointly in terms of the ensemble, but the conductor decides on the issues of musical taste, style, degree of expressiveness.
AS What kind of music do you perform more often - Russian or foreign, and does it depend on the country in which you perform?
AV Of course, it is connected. From my point of view, a conductor has less freedom in choosing a repertoire compared to any other performer. When I am invited to conduct in a particular city, they often want to hear a certain composition. However, sometimes I have the opportunity to independently form the programs of my concerts. In such cases, I try to take into account the peculiarities of the orchestra with which I plan to collaborate. After all, each team has its own rehearsal schedule and its own speed of mastering the material. If we talk about my personal preferences, then I try to perform the music of Russian composers more often.
AS There are cases when a conductor "helps" a composer by improving his instrumentation. So, in particular, did Wagner, Mahler with Beethoven's symphonies. From your point of view, in what cases can a conductor change the author's text?
AV I think a lot here depends on the particular composer. For example, in the music of Mahler or Stravinsky, the musical material contains many detailed author's instructions and notes on exactly how this or that episode should be played. On the other hand, in the works of some composers there are sometimes, frankly speaking, fragments that are almost impossible to perform, even if you try very hard.
AS Perhaps you mean Schumann's symphonies?
AV Schumann, as it turned out, can be played. This was proved by John Eliot Gardiner, who made recordings of all Schumann's symphonies, thereby dispelling the misconception that existed before that they could not be performed in the original version.
Rather, I meant Leoš Janáček. Here everything is more complicated, because if some episodes of his compositions are played as written in the notes, then almost half of the musical material remains unidentified, it will simply not be heard. I ran into this problem when I conducted The Adventures of the Cunning Fox. It immediately became clear to me that it was impossible to learn it within the framework of a normal rehearsal cycle, since I would have to constantly stop and explain each note to the musicians. Then, to save time, I made my own version of this opera.
AS And if we turn to the work of Tchaikovsky?
AV If we talk about the works of Tchaikovsky, then, in my opinion, numerous retouches in the field of dynamics are possible here. It is well known that Pyotr Ilyich was a very emotional person, which was reflected in his scores. After all, most of the author's designations, all kinds of "forks" (crescendo, diminuendo, forte), referred not so much to dynamics as to agogics. In accordance with this understanding, it seems to me that the conductor needs to work with the author's text.
AS Speaking about the art of orchestral accompaniment, in your opinion, does the conductor need to lead the soloist, or is his task to create an atmosphere in which the soloist will feel free?
AV Dialectical question. Of course, ideally there should be both at the same time. Everything depends on the situation. So, if the conductor and the soloist have a deep enough mutual understanding, then, frankly, you don’t even think about this topic. At such moments, you know perfectly well where it is necessary to properly listen to the soloist, and where it is important to take the initiative. If you are dealing with singers, then the situation is completely different. In this case, much depends on the individual ability of the vocalist to perceive everything that is happening around. And since singing is a difficult process for the body, on the one hand, it is important to try not to interfere with the performer, and on the other hand, you need to organize everything in such a way that the vocalist does not even suspect that you are directing him.
AS Is there a difference for you in working with a symphony or with an opera orchestra, and what is it?
AV Of course. The opera orchestra has certain specific playing skills, such as, for example, the performance of certain types of textures, which are much easier for it than for a symphony ensemble. On the other hand, since the musicians of opera orchestras mostly play in the pit, they have a different degree of expressiveness of sound, a different system of organizing musical balance than symphony ensembles. Thus, a symphony orchestra is more prone to permanent sound formation, since it performs a symphonic form, while an opera orchestra is more discrete. At the same time, the latter are better at complex rhythmic figurations, syncopations, which are often found in opera music. Undoubtedly, there is specialization, but it exists mainly at the level of orchestras, and not at the level of individual musicians. This means that a particular orchestra player can quickly adapt to the symphonic or operatic repertoire. If we talk about technology, then modern orchestras are at a very high performing level.
AS You founded the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra in the mid-1990s. How did you do it?
AV It was quite a complex combination of certain factors. At that time, there were people who assembled the orchestra and sponsors who provided significant financial support. When the sponsorship money ran out, in order to keep such a wonderful team, we convinced the then management of the TV-6 channel to take care of the orchestra. Over the next four years, the musicians received decent salaries until the 1998 crisis hit. It was a difficult time. Due to insufficient funding, the activities of the orchestra were suspended, and we decided to disband the musicians. After some time, the team received the support of the Moscow Government, but the official resolution was issued only in February 2001. When we again gathered this orchestra, its composition was no longer the same as before.
AS Do you regret leaving your orchestra for the Bolshoi Theatre?
AV Of course, I'm sorry ... But no one knows in advance how his fate can turn.
AS What prospects do you think the opera genre has today?
AV Here's the thing: every art, including theater, the art of opera directing, is in constant development. And the new time puts forward its own aesthetics of opera productions. From my point of view, two things are important here. Firstly, it is not a good sign when the director uses the author's score as a material for self-expression, that is, when he loses respect for the original source. Secondly, opera today has ceased to be a genre that produces new works. And if the situation does not change, then the opera is close to the completion of its historical development, such as Lendler, country dance, symphony. In such a situation, it is necessary to stimulate the creation of new works and, first of all, to promote the emergence of young composers. If opera existed today, as it did in the 19th century under Verdi and Donizetti, when a colossal amount of new material appeared every year, then everything would be different.
Source.
Alexey SOBOLEV,
"Music Review"
"Music Review"
Alexander Vedernikov: “The conductor takes responsibility for the result of the performance”
