The next one was Serbia. How did it happen that we went there instead of Kosovo? I had a contact in Kosovo but I had not received any answer to my questions. So Vitaly called the Russian Embassy in Serbia (as Kosovo doesn’t have one) and asked to help us with organizing that trip in Kosovo. As Russian Federation doesn’t accept Kosovo as an independent republic, we were told that it was really dangerous to go there and that we were bound to get killed there. So, through our political ignorance we believed them and decided to go to Serbia. My father lives in the United States and so I have an American passport. In general, it expands my ability to travel as I don’t need a visa to most countries. But American passport doesn’t give one any advantages in Serbia. They hate Americans and people from the other European countries that bombed them. And it is understandable; we all can imagine that feeling after their tragic experience. But to me as an artist, the feeling that something was wrong with me because I had the wrong passport was rather unpleasant. My Russian background doesn’t help me to feel patriotic about my homeland. I disapprove of the current regime in Russia, I hate to think that one of the cleverest and most intelligent men, Khodorkovsky, has been in prison for so many years and it seems that he will be in prison forever, I can’t stand that people who try to say something against the regime keep disappearing, I disapprove of the improper election procedures and of the meetings in some educational institutions, where the administration tells the students to vote for Putin and to bring 10 fake voters for each of them (as they had an access to vote blanks and there was the programme 1+10), otherwise they would be expelled; I don’t like how people from the provinces believe in the brainwashing TV provides and they don’t have any other source to find out what is going on. I simply don’t like the KGB system. My grandmother was a political prisoner for 8 years in the Soviet Union, and our family knows what it means. That dull force at power doesn’t care about anything, that force knows that we should not be thinking, that we should be animals who will work for the government. It is absolutely like in 1984 by George Orwell.
So there was a woman in charge of us who was with us every minute. It was absolutely dreadful. We were under her control all the time, every minute. We were presented as Russian Culture and Russian Federation ambassadors, and there was not one word about our Project, nothing about our idea to show that link between the art and human`s soul is tight and that they have to think about the indisputable truth and not about the nationality . And her emphasis was that we are Russians that is why we are so special. This is not true. We are musicians and could work with the musicians from other countries as the musical language is the same for everyone. We were not there to promote Russian school or anything like that, our message was that we were trying to show that music could help us to be humane, music could help us to express ourselves, it could bring us to the world where hatred or any forgery do not exist.
So that was what happened on our Serbian trip. I felt that I belonged to the Soviet Union and that I was a spy with the American Passport.
Talking about our professional business it was not worse than in other places. All four concerts had full houses, master-classes were followed with the good feedback and there were happy people listening to the music. It was incredibly cold there – from -25 to -30 every day. They are not used to it at all there, so in the halls there was no heating at all and some hotels were very cold as well. Children did not go to schools, and so we were surprised and especially happy to see full houses even in those conditions.
We were in Belgrade, Despotovec, Krushevec, Parechen and Chachak – five cities. In Parechen Vitaly had a marvelous master-class where he taught 10 saxophonists and chose the great 17-year-old to be invited to Moscow. I had a master-class for six hours in Krushevec, where the level of students was great, the school was fantastic, and it was a great pleasure to work there. We had a few master-classes and concerts in Chachak and in Belgrade as well. In Despotovec we played a concert in the library on the upright piano where some of the keys were not working. They have the grand piano in the Cultural Centre, but there was no heating there. And they found only one pianist in this village and no saxophonists.
So, on balance we had many controversial feelings during that trip.
06/02/2012
Master-class and Recital in the Russian Cultural Centre in Belgrade.
I have got 4 students with Bach Prelude, Haydn Sonata in B Flat Major, Mozart Sonata in F Major, Chopin two Valses, Scherzo op.20, Debussy Prelude from the “Bergamasque suite”, Dubois Scherzetto.
The level wasn’t that great. Some of them can play reasonably fast; but in general they don’t used to listening themselves, can`t control each sound they producing and seeing any sense of what they are doing is something absolutely unusual for them. My aim was to explain why Haydn should not be fast as the meteor, how to make a special sound for it and to enjoy listening to it, what all the melodic lines mean in Mozart`s music, as he was more like a vocal, opera composer, how to make a beautiful colours in Debussy`s music, to make it full of the magic a bit oriental atmosphere, full of light and softness.
As I can see now, the biggest problem with lots of children all over the world is that they don’t know how to practice at home. It is not enough to sit near the instrument for some hours, it is necessary to be absolutely aware of what you want to achieve, what is your aim, and how you will get on with difficulties both technical and musical. The girl with the Chopin Scherzo had the great desire to play it well, but after some months of wrong practicing it is much more tricky to get it right, with all the technical stuff which particularly in Chopin`s music should support the meaning of the piece, should express feelings and not to be just difficult passages. But without technical quality we can`t do a lot, we can`t be completely free and create, we have to struggle and fight with fingers. The main task for every teacher is to show how to fix, how to reach the result, how to find where the problem lies out, how to divide different layers and how to work at home. The sign of a good teacher is if the student doesn’t need a teacher and can work on the piece alone. Of course it is not easy to do when you are a child, but when you are at the age of 13 or 14 and older you should at least ask questions to yourself: what do I see in that music, what was the composer`s intention, what was the epoch when he lived, how am I going to achieve it?
After the master-class we have got a nice feedback even from non-musicians, that the music changed completely during the lesson, which was the good prove of getting into the right direction.
The recital was given after the 30 min break. Looking at it today I can say that it was an interesting and very difficult experience regard to the public`s response. It was that rare occasion, where we did not feel any energetic response from the audience. I think it is because the house was full of Russian officials and it was their debt to come to the concert. I felt a big freedom though as I understood immediately that they don’t understand a lot what is going on on stage and I decided to make a pleasure for myself. At the end of the concert we broke the wall with Piazzolla which was a little victory for us.
07/02/2012
Recital in Despotovec.
We did not give any master-classes there because of two reasons: they don’t have any saxophonists at all and they do have two pianists for the town, but they did not dare to play. And it was so incredibly cold that no one establishment has been working. The only warm place was in the library where they got the upright piano called “Ukraine” and they decided to have a recital there. It is a very nice room for 50-60 people and it was the only place during the whole trip where it was warm. But the piano almost did not work… It was not well in tune (as the tuner comes once a year from Belgrade, they don’t have their own one there and they did not have a chance to ask him before our arrival), some keys were not responding (simply did not make any sound) and the pedal was not working and the sound in general was like you put mute mode on it. I had to play Schumann Symphonic Etudes first and then the second half together with Vitaly. When you can`t do a lot because of the instrument and you have to play a recital and people want to hear your playing you are seriously frustrated. My aim was to put as much intensity and feeling into the playing to get it a bit clearer than the piano allowed me. I was seating backwards to Vitaly so could not see him. But it was really nice that we did not have any problem with playing together and felt each other`s intentions immediately.
The public was absolutely happy after the concert and appreciated our efforts.
08/02/2012
Master-class in Krushevec for piano
It was a huge master-class for 5 hours without breaks. It was -27 degrees and the school was full of children, the teachers were listening as well. Beethoven and Mozart Sonatas, Liszt etudes, Schubert, Grieg and other pieces were played on a very good level on that day. I think after Georgia it was the best level of students. Everyone played correctly; they were very well taught and got the music seriously.
Master-class in Parechen for saxophone
Vitaly run his lessons in another town, where is a great school for saxophone. He had 10 students and chosen the 17-years old boy who was invited to play in Moscow with the orchestra. He was really happy about this talent.
Recital in Krushevec
After a short break and Vitaly`s arrival we went to the beautiful hall to give a recital. There was no heating at all, quite a good piano Petroff and full house which was really nice in this weather. We played really well despite the cold and public understood and was happy after our performance.
09/02/2012
Master-class and Recital in Chachak
It was -30 that day and children were released from schools. So it was a short master-class with a incredibly talented 11-years old girl, who played Chopin Fantasy-Impromptu and it was absolutely fantastic: technical ease, nice sound, the great desire to make it better, etc. We worked on the sound projection and a Chopin`s sound: how pianists use different touch for different composers. She got everything immediately. One saxophonist played for Vitaly and another pianist played Rachmaninov Etude-Tableaux, which was not bad at all. He just needed more differentiation of voices and showing important material better.
In the evening we played concert in the hall with no heating. Again. And again there was a full house, people were seating in coats, with hats and gloves, but listening very carefully and with the great appreciation.
In all those small towns we had a very good experience. The government was greeting us and was happy to host us. The only thing that troubled me is that nobody understood anything about the project`s idea. Nobody was interested why, how and what for I am doing it. And the feeling that I am in the wrong place in the wrong time could not leave me.
10/02/2012
Private lessons for the pianist and two saxophonists in Belgrade
Some students from our first master-class in Belgrade asked us for another private lesson. So we were happy to listen to them and it was nice one to one lessons, where we had a chance to look at everything with no rush, show how to practice, how it should be, practice together, find some solutions, etc.
11/02/2012
Departure