“I want to broaden the frames of performing classical music in the capital”

Roman Kofman is one of the most famous and popular Ukrainian musicians. Recently he has be­come an ideologist and key organizer of the International Festival of High Classical Music with Roman Kofman, which will take place June 16 through 27.

The event was initiated by the Lavra Gallery with the assistance of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and Kyiv’s Chief Department of Culture. To find out more about this unprecedented musical jubilee we met with the maestro himself.

Each of your concert seasons is very bright, with thematic concerts all year long. How do you come up with your programs?

“These are no thematic concerts, these are programs united in cycles — all the symphonies by Schubert, Beethoven, and Mozart; the cycles ‘Ukrainian Avant-Garde,’ or for examp­le ‘Classic Music Plus,’ where I tried to unite things that did not seem to match: the so-called strict classical academic music and soloists, whom nobody expected, and the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra.”

During the season you always gratify your audience with meetings with outstanding performers, but the program of the June festival will feature numerous stars. What miracles have you prepared for us?

“The festival will take place at the Lavra Gallery, not at the philharmonic society. And there are several reasons for this. The first, and probably the most important one, is that I want to broaden the framework of performing classical music in Kyiv. Unfortunately, Kyiv has only one hall with suitable acoustics for the performance of classical music, which is the philharmonic society hall, but it is too small.”

“There is also the so-called Organ Hall, its acoustics are good for certain music genre and sounding, but they do not sufficiently meet the standards of performing various pieces of sympho­nic repertoire. Therefore I wanted to pave some new paths for Kyiv’s residents and guests of the city who love music. I very much liked the hall of the Lavra Gallery.”

Do you think its premises are suitable for such events?

“The hall is quite large, and I liked it namely because it by no means resembles the type of place where one would expect a symphonic or chamber concert. But over the world festivals, especially summer ones, are held in quite unexpected ve­nues, like sheds and windmills. For example, I have taken part in a German festival held in a place where miners redressed before descending. It was a huge barrack with showers and toilets etc. At the time the mine had been shut down, the showers thrown away, but they kept the rest, all the accessories. No portraits of great composers were hanging on the walls, there was no glamour, some miners’ overalls and lanterns were hanging instead. And there you could hear the works by Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, Beethoven, this combination of unmatchable things emitted great sparks.”

The thing is that in the West people are used to listening to classical music, whereas we are trying to educate a new audience, which would be able to perceive it. Is not it too risky to bring the immature “young audience” into unexpected conditions?

“But our country has had people who listen to classical music. There was a time when it was even strange to doubt this. Another thing is that a gap has been created. In the late 1980s, especially in the 1990s, the beginning of the new millennium, people did not care about the music, especially classical, as they had to survive. So a whole generation was lost. And now we have to rebuild, revive the atmosphere, and bring people back to the state where they used to be and should be, a state suitable for art, any kind of art, not only music.”

What will the hall look like? I suppose it is too complicated to equip the premises, and expensive as well?

“Yes. Our main concern today is to provide proper acoustics. Besides, the hall does not have a stage; in fact there is nothing to resemble a concert hall. Again, I like it there very much. When I learnt that formerly monastery provisions were stored there, I understood that that was precisely it, because we too are trying to produce food, though a different kind of food. And there is something sacred about it, not in terms of religion, but humanity.

“So, the employees of the Lavra Gallery are not numerous, they include real enthusiasts — I don’t like this word — people, who got inspired by this idea, who themselves suggested the place as a ve­nue for the festival. I mean at first there was no idea to hold a festival, but they wanted this hall to hold musical performances, not just art exhibits and drama, which are already held there. And this desire coincided with my old-time idea to establish my own festival. At first I wanted to do this in Germany, and half of the project has already been readied. Before the end of my Bonn contract I proposed the idea, it was supported, people found a wonderful place near Cologne both for the artistes and the audience. Everyone had such a positive attitude that the burgomaster of this city, a nice lady, offered: ‘There is no parking lot near this castle where a festival can be held, but I have already thought everything though. There is a parking lot near the city hall, and we will organize a bus shuttle. It will transport the people who came to the concert, and bring them back to their cars after the concert.’”

Your words sound like wonderful music to me.

“That was a burgomaster, a colleague of people like Chernovetsky. By the way, Mr. Popov has a very good attitude to the idea of holding a festival, and we expect him to support the festival. So the administration of the Lavra Gallery is now preparing the stage, which is to be accomplished in the next 12 days, and it will be removed afterwards, because there is no need for a stage during exhibits; the tiled floor will be covered with special covering, which will soften the acoustics. Moreover, the organizers of the festival invited a German expert for one day, the head and owner of quite a progressive firm Herr Werner Dab­ringhaus, with whom I have recorded many things in Germany, specifically all the 15 symphonies by Shostakovich. So, we have invited this man to Kyiv for one day, and he will come specifically to make his conclusions and give re­commendations on how to improve the acoustics. As for the interior, I asked not to change anything, to leave the hall as it is.”

What will be the capacity of the hall?

“I don’t know exactly, but somewhat over 450 places. Or nearly 450.”

What is the concept of the festival?

“The festival’s concept is quite simple: to satiate Kyiv’s music lovers with impressions from a performance of wonderful music by wonderful performers. I have involved a broad circle of soloists for this.”

Please, lift the veil and tell us at least several names.

“Natalia Gutman, Eliso Virsaladze, Gidon Kremer with his orchestra, Ivan Monighetti, Mykola Suk... I am waiting for him with much joy. Wonderful cellists – Gary Hoffman from France, Aleksandr Knyazev from Russia, and probably several young European stars, unknown to the Kyiv audience so far. But I’m sure that our audience will love them. As for the programs, the principle is very simple. At first, I asked what the performers were eager to play. It turned out that 95 percent of the programs of the soloists were in some way suitable to bring the concerts together with the help of some inner logical links, and even if there were no apparent links, they were united by the high quality of music, wonderful names of composers and, hopefully, a brilliant performance. If this festival is a success, hopefully it will become a traditional June festival, because the concert season is coming to an end, and the audience has not yet left for Turkey, Greece, or cottages near Kyiv. Then maybe some thematic ideas or style pre­ferences will appear. I don’t know, time will tell.”

Who came up with the title?

“The title was born in great suffering. The organizers of the festival laid down the condition that it would feature my name. I thought the names of the soloists who are going to take part in the event would be enough. The title of the festival has a nuance which will attract not just long-time music lovers, but also people who are seeking something, but don’t really know what exactly. Therefore the title Haute (High) Couture Week, so habitual for many visitors of fashionable events, is present in the title of our festival, and there is something ironic about that. It is called ‘the Week of High Classical Music with Roman Kofman.’ In fact the festival will last for 12 days.”

Will there be concerts every day?

“Almost. Nine concerts in twelve days.”

You are a musician known and admired throughout the world, far beyond our country. You are always working, why do you need this “headache” with the festival?

“The reason is very simple. I can explain why a carpenter makes chairs, for what. I can explain why a tailor sews trousers. But who can explain why a writer sits down at a desk, takes a pen, paper, and starts to fill it with symbols. Who will explain this?”

Are your concerts accessible for average people?

“The tickets are on sale online.”