Oleh KRYSA: “The violin is the love of my life”

On December 15 and 18 Kyiv and Lviv hosted the violin concerts by the Krysa family of stars, former Ukrainian musicians now living in the United States. Oleh Krysa — Meritorious Artist of Ukraine, winner of international contests, outstanding violinist, and professor of music — during this visit showed another aspect of his talent. In Mozart’s overture to The Marriage of Figaro he made his debut in Ukraine as a violist. The concert program included Richard Wagner and Alfred Schnittke. For the first time the Ukrainian audiences saw Oleh Krysa’s sons: Petro as a solo violinist and Taras conducting the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra, with his wife and partner of many years Tetiana Chekina providing piano and harpsichord accompaniment.

Despite the tight concert schedule, Oleh Krysa found time to hold a master class at the Gliere College of Music and meet with friends.

The Day : Mr. Krysa, do you follow events in Ukraine?

O. K.: Yes, I do. We are all interested in what is happening here. We receive a lot of newspapers and magazines. We try to keep up to date. It was interesting to follow the presidential race. For some reason I did not believe in Red revenge in Ukraine, that this country would turn back. I am glad that more attention is being paid the revival of our cultural heritage.

The Day: What impressions do you have from the Kyiv period of your life?

O.K.: We lived in Kyiv from 1967 to 1973. Tetiana and I were young and we enjoy the memories. We left a lot of friends here. I don’t want to bring back bitter memories. Let bygones be bygones. Between rehearsals I visited the conservatory (I had worked there for several years). It was a sad occasion. December 14 was the anniversary of Ivan Liashenko’s death. For me he was not just Rector but a man whom I trusted implicitly. He had a singular view of perspective. His music reviews are still considered textbooks for students.

Tetiana Chekina adds: “At the same time, Kyiv played a fateful role in Oleh’s life. The authorities wouldn’t let him outside the USSR for six years and never bothered to explain why. But that was characteristic of the times. Musicians would be placed on a rigid travel itinerary. On the other hands, that period turned out highly productive in terms of concerts. It was in Kyiv that Oleh started teaching and our younger son Taras was born.”

The Day: Mr. Krysa, there have been two Moscow periods in your life. First, you studied at the conservatory and then taught there. What about your professor, David Oistrakh?

O. K.: When I got a teaching job at the Moscow Conservatory it turned out much harder than being a student. After six years of absence Moscow refused to accept me, and I got over my problems only thanks to Mr. Oistrakh. I consider him my father confessor and teacher. Actually, the offer to teach at the Moscow Conservatory came from him. I will never forget what he said before a concert tour of Holland. He winked and said, “Rule and be easy.” He never returned to the USSR. He had an insatiable thirst for work and his own manner of conducting classes. He was extremely tactful, polite, but never tolerated negligence in performance. Hearing a musician slur a phrase was a tragedy to him. He never shouted but just winced and his face was so expressive that no words were necessary. Picking up the violin, he became oblivious of everything and everybody else. David Oistrakh had a phenomenal memory and knew all the compositions by heart.

The Day: Are you a demanding teacher?

O. K.: I think so. I am trying to keep up David Oistrakh’s tradition and methods, although I am not dictatorial by nature. I’m more a stick-and-carrot type.

The Day: Why did your family leave the USSR in 1989? Was it emigration?

O. K.: No. It was the first time I went on a foreign concert tour with my wife and children. In the United States, I received several interesting offers and decided to embark on a musician’s career, make an active move in a different world. It was a chance to travel without anyone breathing down my neck, something I couldn’t miss. Now I could create and teach as a free individual. That was the main reason why we decided to settle in the United States, especially since the Cold War was over. There was perestroika in the Soviet Union. I did not flee away. I wrote an official letter explaining my position. True, I never got an answer. Later, I found out that the letter had been forwarded to the Ministry of Culture and the local bureaucrats didn’t bother to advise me on the authorities’ response. For a long time I remained in limbo, not knowing where I really stood. My adaptation to the American way of life was smooth enough, as I didn’t have to start from scratch; my name was known in music circles. Another thing is that Americans have their own way of thinking along with an attitude toward work and human relationships that proved in many respects different to what we were used to. At first, my new friends, colleagues, and people from the Ukrainian Diaspora helped me. I think that my solo appearance at Carnegie Hall became a turning point in my subsequent stay overseas. After that concert managers materialized, and I was then in a position to choose who I wanted to work with. At present, I teach at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, one of the best American institutions of its kind.

The Day: What do you think of the Ukrainian Musical Institute in the United States? We know that you worked there for quite some time.

O. K.: It’s not an educational establishment but a volunteer organization. An incredibly beautiful building downtown New York. I was among the organizers of its music cycle. I worked as its artistic director for eight years. Now the post is held by Mykola Suk. They organize a host of events: concerts, exhibits, seminars, meetings of politicians, businessmen, and men of the arts. I would call the institute a spiritual center of American culture.

The Day: You often go on concert tours across the world. Do you think that foreign audiences are interested in Ukrainian music?

O. K.: It is seldom performed and my task as a musician is familiarize broad audiences with it, propagating our best national compositions.

T. Ch.: We try to include in every concert program at least one Ukrainian composition. At the Rochester school where my husband teaches we organized a small Borys Liatoshynsky Foundation and made a CD of his works.

The Day: Mr. Krysa, you were friends with Alfred Schnittke. Where did you first meet?

O. K.: It was funny, you know. We met by a Moscow Conservatory billboard. I mustered the courage to walk up and say, “Alfred, I’ll play your Suite in Old Style. He said, “That’s not my music but a tune from a movie.” We laughed, shook hands, and went our separate ways. Soon we started working together and quickly made friends. We saw many things the same way and exchanged visits. I was deeply touched to discover that Schnittke had dedicated several works to me. We remained friends actually until his death. He often got sick in the final years, and then I learned about his passing away when on a concert tour of Japan. I interrupted the tour and boarded a flight to attend the funeral. Our family rendition of Concerto Grosso for Two Violins, Harpsichord, and Piano is in his memory.

The Day: You have been playing mostly the viola. Is this your new obsession?

O. K.: The violin is my enduring love and I took to the viola due to circumstances. When I started work on a Mozart concerto cycle I asked a lot of friends to play together, but they had different schedules, so I had to master the viola. For example the prominent violinist Efrem Zimbalist, Sr. always practiced the viola before a solo concert. He thought that after the viola playing the violin was much easier. I tried it and discovered that he was right. After the viola playing the violin is like a bird in flight.

The Day: What violins do you and your sons use?

O. K.: We bought a Garner about twenty years ago. We paid a fortune, and it took us a decade to pay the debts. At my school I was lent a good violin and viola. The children use modern instruments, because a violin made by a reputed master costs so much.

The Day: Previously the notion of a Soviet music school was considered a standard of quality. Do you think we have retained this good tradition?

O. K.: To me, the notion of Soviet music school means substantial knowledge in the first place. Most our musicians as conservatory graduates are top-notch professionals. At present, this system is breached, probably because so many teachers have immigrated. But we still manage to uphold our best traditions. Considering music contests in Ukraine, not all is as bad as meets the eye.

The Day: In the mid-1970s your family moved to Moscow and now you have lived in the United States for over a decade. Yet you and your children have not forgotten Ukrainian.

O. K.: How can one forget one’s mother tongue? I come from Western Ukraine. We speak Ukrainian at home. We did so in Russia and continue to do so in America Well, our children live separately, so we mostly communicate by phone and never miss an opportunity to perform together at a concert or festival. Once a year our children put everything else aside and visit us. It’s Christmas, our favorite family celebration.

The Day: Your sons are professional musicians. Did they take up music because they wanted to?

O. K.: In a musical family it runs in the blood, although I can’t say that the children started by showing some exceptional talent. Kids will be kids; they did not like practicing the scales and wanted to do something more interesting. As they grew they fell in love with the violin, although Taras is currently into conducting. He takes master classes in Finland and plays the violin with the St. Louis Orchestra, which is one of America’s top ten. My oldest son prefers chamber music. Five years ago, Petro and his wife Rachel (she is a cellist) organized a summer festival in the state of New Hampshire. He is both a musician and festival artistic director.

The Day: This time you gave concerts in Kyiv and Lviv. Each city has a lot of your admirers. Where was it easier to perform?

O.K.: Lviv is the city of my childhood, meaning the best memories and most exciting experiences. I hope Kyivans will forgive me but Lviv is a very special spot on the globe for me. It is fantastically beautiful; the people and relationships are different. My heart is there. Performing back home is always especially enjoyable and a very responsible task.