“I feel the unity with the whole world”

The Day met with the musician in Moscow, at the 14th International Tchaikovsky Competition, where Oleksandr Romanovsky won two awards (he won the Fourth Prize and the Special Prize established by the organizing commitee in memory of the recently deceased outstanding pianist and tutor Vladimir Krainev), whereas the First Prize went to Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov.

It will be remembered that at the age of 11 Romanovsky performed with Moscow’s Virtuosi Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Spivakov, later he gave concerts with the Symphonic Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater conducted by Valery Gergiev. He has also taken part in joint soirees with the Russian National Orchestra (conductor: Mikhail Pletnev) and London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Romanovsky has performed on the Barbican Center stage, taken part in the programs The Stars of White Nights, and was offered a contract by Decca Records.

You have been residing in Europe since childhood. You have been taught by different tutors. Whom do you consider to be your main teacher in music?

“My native city is Kharkiv. Both in Kharkiv, and in Italy I was taught by Leonid Marharius. I was 10 when I met him for the first time. Shortly after that my teacher left Ukraine, but when leaving he recommended me to take lessons from his first pupil Ihor Prykhodko I am very grateful to him for the knowledge he gave me. We had two intensive years of studies with Prykhodko. Once I received a fax from Italy, where Marharius said that he had been invited to teach at the International Piano Academy of Imola and proposed me to come to Italy to study. My parents did not hesitate long to follow Marharius. I was 13 at the time. We have spent nearly 15 years with Marharius. I have already finished my studies, but we meet from time to time to speak about life, and music, above all.”

The competition’s brochure says that you have been taught by one of the jurors, Dmitry Alekseev.

“Indeed, I went to London three years ago to enter a postgraduate course taught by this outstanding master. I entered his class already being a mature musician, at 23. As we communicated I learned about a different view on music. That was a kind of experience exchange, rather than studying. We did not met often, because he gave numerous concerts, apart from his teaching activity. I had to leave London sometimes. But everything I have learned from Alekseev is very important, I am grateful to him.”

Where do you give concerts presently?

“My performing career started in the West: at the age of 17 I won the first prize at Ferruccio Busoni Competition. That came as an impetus to me, to give many concerts. Initially, I performed in Italy, later I started to receive invitations not only to Europe, but Japan and the US as well. Unfortunately, my last concert in Kharkiv took place in 2005: I opened the philharmonic season. I have been receiving invitations from Russia for two years in succession. I think that my homeland will join the geography of my tours. At the age of 12, I performed in Ukraine with the National Symphonic Orchestra of Ukraine conducted by Volodymyr Sirenko.”

What impressions do you have from the final round of the Tchaikovsky Competition?

“Russian National Orchestra, in which I performed, is quite well known. Last year I made recordings with these musicians. (In February the orchestra released an album on Warner Classic with Romanovsky taking part. – Author.) During the competition little time was given for rehearsals. In such conditions soloists, orchestra players, and the conductor feels not only a huge responsibility, but a pressure as well. Therefore, it is not always possible to express everything you would like to. Besides, the hall’s acoustics have their peculiarities. I have performed here, at the Grand Conservatory Hall as a child, and I have forgotten many things. Currently, I perceive the sound in this hall to be distinctive, but I had certain difficulties with it. At the competition of pianists who deliver regular concerts, the jury has an opportunity to learn who can cope with the acoustics and is able to play with an orchestra. Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, conducted by Gergiev, and Russia’s National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Spivakov, have similar level. I am going to play with the New York and Chicago orchestras soon. This is a very high level. I will perform the works by Rachmaninoff, who lived in the US for many years. American orchestras can compete with Russian ones in performing the works of this classic, because his music is very popular there.”

In your opinion, what are the differences between our and Western management?

“They have totally different approaches to concert organization. In the West many things, not only in music, are organized by private individuals, whereas in our country, for a long time, this has been done by the state. Both systems have their pros and cons. In the West, all spheres, music in particular, have been affected with a crisis. The largest agencies lose managers and actors. Therefore many musicians perform on their own. The same thing is taking place in music recording industry. Previously, majors, like Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, and Philips used to control everything. Now new small lables are emerging, and their recordings enjoy no less demand, and they are as interesting to the audiences as the production of big companies. Such moments give an opportunity to hardworking youth, as they open many ways for creative work. Currently, pianists often give concerts dedicated to a certain composer, or music of a peculiar period. I play music of various periods, I like baroque of pre-Bach period: Jean-Philippe Rameau and Francois Couperin, as well as the music of the early 20th century: Sergei Rachmaninoff and Sergei Prokofiev. By the way, in my recordings I began from romanticists, like Brahms and Rachmaninoff. While in my newest album I decided to ‘go back in time’ — it includes Bethoveen’s Diabelli Variations. Surely, it is easy to confirm the opinion that Romanovsky plays only Rachmaninoff’s works, whereas French pianists prefer Claude Debussy. Indisputabely, there are authors who are close to me, and it is easy for me to perform their compositions. But I include in my repertoire the works where I need to make an effort, and owing to this I accomplish the next step in my creative work.”

Do you have any idols?

“Many of my favorite pianists are already history, and the best of them were born in Ukraine: Rikhter, Gilels, and Horowitz. I studied in Kharkiv from the followers of Horowitz’s sister, Regina. My teacher spent 20 years near her. I am also proud of my cooperation with such outstanding contemporary musicians, as Mikhail Pletnev, Valerii Gergiev, and Vladimir Spivakov. You may not agree with these people in something, yet to stay near them is already a school and growth for any musician. It is such a pity that Vladimir Krainev is no longer with us. I have never met a more sincere person. I think he would be glad for me today.” (In 1996 Romanovsky won the grand prix of the Krainev International Competition of Young Pianists in Kharkiv. – Author).

Now it is fashionable among young performers to play at tens of competitions, winning prizes of various creative and material value. It is turning into money making. Will you take part in other music marathons?

“Frankly speaking, I did not intend to take part in the Tchaikovsky Competition. Last time when I took part in a competition was 10 years ago.”

Why did you decide to participate?

“I support the very idea of the competition. Good musicians come together, exchange their experience, and accumulate necessary information in various spheres of their performing activities. But lately, negative trends, which are common knowledge, started to emerge in the domain of international competitions. Honesty and transparency are mere words, whereas the winners represent the jury’s interests. As a result, managers and promoters try not to admit many time winners. The Tchaikovsky Competition, which has recently lost its former glory, has been headed by Gergiev, who has tried hard to break this negative [trend. – Ed.]. Many of the jurors invited by him became jurors for the first time, they do not lead any teaching activity, so they take no interest in lobbying of their pupils, but they are all stars who know music from the inside. The conditions of the competition are quite liberal. For example, I chose the favorite works from my repertoire, and they fitted each round ideally. Besides, the competition offers an opportunity for its participants to give concerts, even the members of the jury would rejoice at the engagements the winners received. Since the preconditions for an improvement of the creative atmosphere emerged, and I am sure of what I am doing, why not present my work for the judgment of the jurors and audience? That is why I decided to apply for participation in the Tchaikovsky Competition.”

For many participants a stumbling block was the news on performing Mozart’s concert. (Romanovsky played in the second round Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.23 in A major. – Author.) You have coped with this stage in a decent way. Why was this work an insurmountable difficulty for some participants?

“You can’t hide behind Mozart’s music, the drawbacks unnoticeable in another repertoire become obvious. The stylistic diversity of the demands enabled the jury and potential managers to see us from various sides. The versatile, and frankly speaking, exhausting program is based from the standpoint of future concerts with Gergiev on the best stages of the world. I worked a lot, and I did not hear other participants’ performance. I think the competition was a success. It is no secret that renovation does not guaranty improvement.”

What do you take interest in, besides music?

“Music is the main thing in my life. I want to find something new in eternal compositions. I have many ideas and projects, how to make classical music accessible and open for the new generations of the audiences, I want to help the beginning musicians. I take interest in communication with people, history, I am fond of fencing, in summer I spend lots of time at the sea, read, meet with my friends. However, I lack time for everything. I dream to come more often to Ukraine. After leaving the country, I could not come there for eight years for various reasons – economic ones and connected with documentation. But in 2005, I gave a call to Kharkiv and made agreements about a concert. You cannot change the Ukrainian blood inherited from your parents. And though my human fundamentals were laid in Ukraine, I have absorbed no less from the Italian culture. On the one hand, two different beginnings are living in me; on the other hand, I feel the unity with the whole world.”

The Day’s FACT FILE

Oleksandr Romanovsky is a Ukrainian pianist now residing in Italy. He was born in 1984 in Dniprodzerzhynsk. He studied at the Kharkiv Secondary Special Music School. Since 1997, he studied at the Piano Academy Incontri col Maestro in Imola (Italy), Leonid Marharius’s class. In 2008, he graduated from the Royal Music College in London (Dmitry Alekseev’s class). He is a winner of several international competitions:

1996 – Grand Prix of the Vladimir Krainev International Competition of Young Pianists (Ukraine);

2001 – First Prize at the Busoni International Competition of Pianists (Italy);

2001 – First Prize at the International Competition of Pianists in Canto (Italy);

2011 – Fourth Prize at the 14th Tchaikovsky Competition (Russia).

He has performed in many cities of Russia and Europe, gave concerts with the Symphonic Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater conducted by Gergiev and Russian National Orchestra conducted by Pletnev.

He has released two albums performing Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.