“Saxophonization of the entire world”
The first international competition of young performers to be held in Odesa
From November 1 through 3 the First International Competition of Young Performers “Golden Saxophone of Odesa” will be held in South Palmyra. It will bring together 60 musicians from Belarus, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Kazakhstan, China, Poland, Russia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Japan.
The jury of the competition will consist of well-known professionals: Professor Alain Crepin (Belgium), Yurii Vasylevych (Ukraine), Nikita Zimin (Russia-France), Pawel Gusnar (Poland), representative of Selmer Company and famous composer Roberto Marino (Italy), who wrote special contest compositions for the participants of the competition. The audition is held at the Pyotr Stolyarsky Musical School. The gala concert that will be held in Odesa Philharmonic Society will feature Salik Odesa Municipal Brass Band (conductor Mykhailo Dzevik).
The Day spoke about the peculiarities of the competition with its art director, winner of international competitions, known saxophonist and educator Hanna STEPANOVA.
Everything, that takes place for the first time, raises hope and special expectations. Have there been precedents of such festivals in Ukraine?
“The competitions of such kind were held in Kyiv and Lviv – ‘Selmer Paris in Ukraine.’ Selmer Company established awards to the winners. I was lucky to become a laureate of one of such competitions in 2003 and as a reward I got a saxophone soprano from this company. Then there was the crisis and the funding was cut. Our project is non-commercial, it is purely artistic. The participants pay for travel and accommodation on their own. We run this competition on our own initiative because we love saxophone music greatly.”
Are the well-known children’s festivals “Little Star” and “Golden Saxophone” related in any way: through organizational or ideological aspects?
“Through organizational, yes. The founder of the ‘Little Star’ competition is Oleksandr Stepanov, my father, a graduate of the Saint Petersburg State Theater Arts Academy – stage director by profession. He has been organizing festivals and competitions in our city for 20 years already. Of course, not without the help of my mother, graduate of the Violin Class in Conservatory, Kateryna Stepanova. Now I am trying to pick up the festival spirit in our city. I urge the great to support the young and talented!
“The participants were divided into three age groups: Saxophonissimo (pre-13 age group), junior group (age 14-17), and senior group (age 18-25).”
Will there be rewards other than the main prize?
“The Grand Prix of the competition is the saxophone from Selmer Company, the third model will receive accessories for a saxophone – mouthpieces, reeds, gaitans, and ligatures provided by our partners. Other participants will also receive gift saxophone-statuettes.
“The brightest young musician in the Saxophonissimo group will be awarded the right to participate in the competition ‘Moscow Welcomes Friends,’ founded by our partner – the International Charitable Fund of Vladimir Spivakov. The winners will also receive CDs and sheet music.”
Who supported the event?
“The founders of the Competition initiated by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Odesa Oblast State Administration are Stolyarsky Secondary Specialized Music School, and Ushynsky South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University. Our initiative has been also supported by the Embassy of Belgium in Ukraine, Consulate General of Poland in Odesa, Dante Alighieri Italian Cultural Center in Odesa, and many others.”
What are your expectations of the competition?
“I am very glad that our city for the first time will bring together 60 academic saxophonists from 10 countries. Previously, we had to go to master classes to France, Germany, and Poland for a breath of academic sound of this instrument. Many people believe that this instrument is purely jazz. In fact, it is far from being the truth! Saxophone is at least 50 years older than jazz. Hector Berlioz, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Alexander Glazunov showed an interest in this instrument at some point of their music career. In Ukraine people had a biased attitude to saxophone and it has not received adequate attention. It was believed that it was a bourgeois and obscene instrument: ‘There is one step from saxophone to knife!’ ‘Today you are playing jazz and tomorrow you’ll betray your fatherland!’ My professor at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music Margarita Shaposhnikova was the first one to introduce saxophone in the music education. I try to continue her ‘idea of saxophonization of the entire world’ in our city.
“It’s a pity that saxophonists from Odesa were afraid to participate in this powerful competition. Only one student from the Stolyarsky Music School Diana Serhiievska (class of Zoia Rudko) will try her hand at the music competition. This competition is our gift for the hometown. Let the academic saxophone in Odesa be a step closer to Europe!”
