Listening to classical music changes the listener

In Kyiv classical music performers have for quite a while played to full houses. The Kyiv Philharmonic Society has been as popular as always, with the devotees coming no matter what. These people adore classical music, at all times. As they listen, they hold their breath, weep, smile, and shout “Bravo!” They are able to forgive accidental slips by musicians and singers. These people hand down to each new generation their excellent tradition of friendly attentiveness, true love of composers, lifelong dedication to music, and understanding of the times and trends. All such concerts have recently been held on a daily basis with only standing room available, if at all, and people outside asking for spare tickets. They make an impression of new converts eager to join the congregation. By the way, the word philharmonic comes from the Greek phileo (love) and harmonia (harmony). Aspiration for harmony as a way to counteract chaos — a nice trend, isn’t it? The audiences have their preferences, their star singers and musicians, among the Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine’s Philharmonic Society. The credo of these musicians is best summed up as “striving, persistence, inspiration.” The conductor, Mykola Diadiura, seems to know everything there is to know about music, its magic force, and the secrets of the trade.

THE MOST MAGIC PROFESSION

Mr. Diadiura, do you remember when you made up your mind to become a conductor?

“I was a student at a music college and I had just started studying the fundamentals of conducting. Then, at a certain moment, I realized that I had to be a conductor and that I simply couldn’t live otherwise. I studied in the [Kyiv] Conservatory under the able guidance of Roman Kofman — I still regard him as my teacher. On top of his numerous talents, this man is a brilliant instructor. He can discuss things that seem to have nothing to do with your professional interests, and yet tell you something that you will eventually find to be of vital importance.”

You were a conservatory graduate, just embarking on your creative life path. A year later you won a special prize from the Japanese Conductors’ Association at the International Conducting Competition in Tokyo; afterward you took up training courses in the United States, conducted by Seiji Ozawa and Leonard Bernstein. What were your plans at the time?

“I certainly couldn’t have expected to conduct the Philharmonic Society’s orchestra in Kyiv, where I was born and where I studied. Getting hired as a conductor was a pipe dream at that period, yet I was fortunate enough to spend three years as chief conductor of the Omsk Philharmonic Society’s orchestra [in Russia]. That was a wonderful experience. There was no time to figure out whether your orchestra was the one you had dreamed of; you had to work hard to do the repertoire — and it was a very good school. Back in Kyiv, my first victory was getting a position in the Opera House. And then I traveled to Seoul. There is no way you can guess what happens to you next. Life itself prompted the next step to be taken.”

People in the audience sometimes regard the conductor as a magician, considering that he can supervise each and every one of a hundred or so musicians with their different instruments. Would you let our readers in on the secrets of your profession? How can you manage all this?

“Believe me: the conductors find their occupation as enigmatic as anyone else. Here you have more magic and subconscious things than in any other field of music. It is true that a conductor has to master certain techniques and keep polishing them, seeking perfection, but it is also true that there are other, more important aspects to conducting. I mean talent, intuition, and energy. All this must be made into a single whole, so you can work out a concert program that will prove attractive to both the musicians and the audience. Then you can be reasonably sure that your concert will be a success.

“The performer’s profession is somewhat different. A musician can have a perfect command of his/her instrument. This musician is in permanent contact with the instrument, while the conductor has no contact with it. He has to keep all the musicians and their instruments under remote control. And here absolutely inexplicable feelings and features of the human soul come into play, if you see what I mean. You lead, without contact, and the orchestra is playing, and you are playing, too.”

DAILY BREAD

You have performed in many countries. You know all about the symphony world and its concerns. Does the notion of the Ukrainian conducting school exist out there? If so, do you regard yourself as its representative?

“We live in a globalized world, so the notion of school is obliterated. Music is the only language everyone understands all over the planet. Therefore, I don’t think that there is a major difference between the schools of conducting in various countries. There must be differences in terms of teaching techniques or tradition. Anyway, I can’t say that there is a Ukrainian conducting school with its distinct characteristics. I would have probably said so when I was studying, considering our isolation. What other school were we exposed to apart from our own? For many decades we were closed to the world. At the time finding a recording of a Berlin or Vienna Philharmonic Society concert was a miracle. When this happened, we would get together and listened to it. Now the situation is entirely different.”

How do foreign audiences respond to Ukrainian classical music?

“It would be na ve to expect the rest of the world to receive Ukrainian music with as much enthusiasm as Mozart or Beethoven. However, there is public interest in Ukrainian music and we more often than not register positive responses to our renditions. We performed Bibik and Stankovych in France — the audiences were enchanted and we had a very good press. We played Revutsky’s Second Symphony to a very interested audience in Switzerland. I don’t know how this music affected the people, but they were listening very attentively. Well, we have our repertoire, we perform, and I think our audiences know what interests them at the moment. Time will tell, anyway.”

What do you think are the current preferences?

“I know that there was an avant-garde boom some twenty or thirty years ago. It was then that the world started experiencing the joys of new technologies. People started writing music that conformed to the way of thinking of the times. At that period, composers tried to create ‘rational’ works because the general public wanted precisely this. At present, people want to hear romantic, poetic music because this kind of music is closer to their heart. But with time the pendulum may swing back.”

Are the audiences outside Ukraine any different in responding to classical music?

“Classical music is in a bigger market demand in the West. Over there it isn’t just so many buffs wanting to hear it. Rather, it is a general public approach: people want to have this kind of music because they need it as daily bread. An intellectual over there must know and appreciate this music. Their governments practice a special approach to concert programs, casting, and audience. Everyone understands that music culture defines the cultural level of a given society. Regrettably, we are way behind them in this respect.”

I do hope that classical music will eventually become daily bread for Ukrainians. Are there any changes for the better taking place, considering that the Philharmonic Society has been playing to full houses of late?

“I think that people who start listening to classical music will not drop it for one simple yet very important reason: while listening to classical music, people are changing deep inside. With some, these changes vanish with the final chord; with others, they can stay for several days after the concert. The main thing is that when you are listening to classical music, you are turning into a different individual.

“Let me tell you a little story that stays on my mind. We played a Mozart concerto starring Paul Gulda. He was encored and decided to play a jazz version of the concerto. Afterward a female journalist declared: ‘I was enchanted by the jazz improvisation, but I didn’t like [the original] Mozart. It was too heavy, you had to keep thinking all the time.’ Some will smile at this, but it is a case study in how music must make one think.”

BITS AND PIECES FROM CONDUCTOR’S LIFE

During the recent Symphony Music Concert your orchestra gave your audience a special gift, Berlioz’s divine compositions. The Israeli violist Avri Levitan did his heartwarming solo part in Harold en Italie. Many listeners discovered new things at that music soiree. Are there any discoveries in the offing for a conductor who has performed the works of all the composers in the world?

“Our orchestra has performed Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique on a number of occasions, yet during every rehearsal the feeling was that it was for the first time. The thing is that working on a classical piece is an endless process. This is what makes me so fond of this kind of music.”

Berlioz has everything to do with that special award you received from the French government. Could you give us more details?

“It was during the year marking the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Our orchestra organized a large-scope festival in collaboration with the French embassy. During the concert we did all of Berlioz’s compositions, many of which were performed for the first time in Ukraine. In France, we performed his Requiem during the Le festival de musique sacr de la Chaise Dieu, and the French government resolved to confer upon me the title Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters). The French Ambassador Philippe de Suremain gave me the order at the Philharmonic Society.”

Will the Kyiv Philharmonic Society take part in this year’s Chaise Dieu festival?

“Yes, we will perform Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem in collaboration with National Opera soloists and the Dumka Choir.”

You have a very tight schedule, with all concerts, tours, regular performances at the Philharmonic Society, and performances at the National Opera. Is there any leisure time left?

“Virtually none. If I don’t conduct, this doesn’t mean that I’m not working. When a conductor takes his stand and raises his baton, it is the result of a great deal of work done previously, when you have to figure out things and make them right. Then you bring your findings and work out with the orchestra. In a word, you keep working and there is no end to the process.”