Serhii PILIUTIKOV: “For me music is a way to self-knowledge”

Serhii Piliutikov’s emergence in Ukrainian music in the late 20th century was unexpected and even mysterious for many people. A professional historian who has worked as a teacher at a Kharkiv school, he all of a sudden practically flew up to the orbit of European avant-garde music. As it frequently happens, our composer was brought and introduced to our own cultural society by foreign musicians. So, the work by 28-year-old Piliutikov was selected by the jury of by far the most famous European International Gaudeamus Composers Competition (Holland) for performance by Xenakis Ensemble at an Amsterdam festival, whereas one of the most hyped-up avant-garde bands, Ensemble Fuer Neue Musik, Zurich, selected his work for the Days of New Music in Zurich (Tage fuer Neue Musik).

Piliutikov’s works have also been performed at Ukrainian festivals, where the compositions of the new generation prevail. German musikFabrik, Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, Swiss Avalon Trio, Moscow Ensemble of Contemporary Music, German, American, French, Polish, and Japanese soloists started to perform the music of the Ukrainian composer. His works are performed by Ukraine’s best musicians and orchestras. After moving to Kyiv from Kharkiv, Piliutikov became one of the leaders of the Ukrainian avant-garde, heading the International Youth Music Forum and creating the Rykoshet Ensemble of New Music. Owing to Serhii, Ukrainian culture received a priceless book of meditative conversations with our contemporary composer Valentyn Sylvestrov, Waiting for the Music, which was published by Dukh i Litera.

“WE SHOULD REMOVE THE OFFICIAL TINSEL AND GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE, HEAR, AND FEEL”

We had a conversation rather than an interview with Piliutikov who is an extremely interesting interlocutor. At first I asked him to tell about his “express studies” and understanding the extremely complicated music language of the 20th century.

“Like many composers, I think that not the academic education is the most important, rather it is the people who taught you, your teacher in the supreme meaning of the word, who passed the lamp hand to hand, like they say in Zen Buddhism. When I was a child I lived in Germany,” Serhii PILIUTIKOV explained, “Though my parents are not musicians (my father is a military pilot and mother is a teacher), they sent me to study music, to play the accordion. It was a tradition back in that time for children to know how to play some instrument. We had a piano at home; though nobody played it, my parents regularly invited a German master to tune it. The instrument and books were held in deep respect in our family, we considered them spiritual treasures and monuments of culture.

“However, my music education ended very soon. I took a greater interest in football and became fond of rock music at the age of 14. This passion gave way to loving jazz, later – to academic music, at first through external factor. I loved Beethoven: not only was I fond of his music, but his appearance on the whole, with tousled hair and expressive eyes. This composer was a mystical personality for me. I began to compose on my own, I bought music literature, textbooks on harmony, and my group mates at historical department mocked at me because of that: ‘Look at this Beethoven!’ At that time only my wife supported me, saying, ‘Take up music, if you want.’

“Once I came to a jazz club, where I got acquainted with composer Oleksandr Shchetynsky [he is five years older than Piliutikov. – Author]. We had a talk, and Oleksandr must have felt in me some hidden energy, desire, and enthusiasm. He offered to teach me, for which I am very thankful to him. To my teacher’s honor, he never took any fee for the lessons that at times lasted for hours. Then I entered his class at the conservatoire. Now I can see that many graduates of higher educational establishments, where they learned huge volumes of unnecessary information, in fact remain uneducated and helpless before the creative practice. Since Shchetynsky was a creative composer, he knew well what he had to teach to his students and cut off all unnecessary things. He demanded from me to write a play every week, using certain technique. I studied eight to nine hours every week to accomplish the task qualitatively. We paid much attention to the techniques of the 20th century.”

In your opinion, why did famous Western musicians turn to your music?

“I think there are three components. I think that one of the most important was a kind of Providence: it happened so that from a huge number of scores submitted to international festivals, only mine were noticed. Secondly, owing to Shchetynsky I already was good at the modern music language. Thirdly, what is most important, Western culture is experiencing a really deep exploration of the area, for which we have a banal term, ‘inner content.’ They have a label and wrapping, i.e., professional work, supreme craft. But the inner content is of utmost importance for us. Our composers are closer to the general understanding of music as an emotional response to life and life events. I think they lack this in the West, therefore they turn to our music: it touches them, because musicians not just have to play the score, but also create a kind of drama process, which is understandable and close to all people.”

Do you want to say that Ukrainian music does not fit into the format of the all-European music?

“We don’t have to fit in. Our music is of such a high quality and depth, so independent and promising that we simply must offer it. You know it well: foreign ensembles come to our country and complain in surprise: how come we haven’t known about your music before!”

What are the distinguishing features of Ukrainian music in the context of the contemporary culture?

“This is a very important question. Our music is melodious in the broadest understanding and it is linear in a sense, unlike the Western vertical thinking. Take Ukrainian songs, for example: many of them start with an exclamation ‘Oh!’ or ‘Hey!’ after which the melody steps in. This exclamation is an emotional response to what has already taken place, what has happened and has been experienced, be it a tragic event, joyful event, or the feeling of love. I mean that every folk work is not an invented story. These songs and melodiousness are totally unique. And our modern, new, or avant-garde music in its groundwork is still melodious; it is always a response to what we have experienced.”

Why is Ukrainian music not being performed to the full?

“These are namely the problems of the organizations which are supposed to deal with this. Unfortunately, there are no such organizations in our country. They are numerous in the West, the organizations that deal with the label and wrapping. Every country has whole structures, which order music to composers, organize their concerts, recording, printing, promote them, arrange the rotation, keep control of whether author’s rights are respected, issues grants etc. Unfortunately, there is nothing of this kind in our country. Apparently, it is the result of the fact that content for us has always been more important than its wrapping. But it would do us no shame to pick up this experience.”

But Ukraine has many structures who are supposed to deal with culture?

“I have an impression that creative processes exist on their own, and the state is unaware of either the processes, or their creators: it is simply uninterested. I will put it in harsh terms: people, who work in such organizations, don’t like Ukrainian culture, though they yell through megaphones that they are ‘sincere Ukrainians.’ You should not express facile optimism, just know what and whom you have, be proud of this and have a sincere love for this.

“I have lived most of my life in the eastern oblasts of Ukraine, and when I heard from high tribunes that Shevchenko is a great poet, I perceived him formally. But one day Valentyn Sylvestrov read for me the verse of the person who feels pain and whose soul is crippled. When I heard it, everything turned upside down in me. The poet stepped from his official pedestal and became a living person who revealed his soul for me. In my opinion, we should take away the official tinsel and give an opportunity to see, hear, and feel the poet, and this will also be a step of love to Ukrainian culture.”

“SIMPLE FEELINGS AND CLEAR IDEAS EXCITE AND MOVE ME MUCH MORE”

You mostly write music in chamber genres. Why don’t you compose operas or ballets?

“People frequently complain that theaters are experiencing a shortage of contemporary repertoire. The soloists and dancers feel melancholic and sad, because they simply work out things, without creating anything. But the composers don’t write operas and ballets, because they know for sure that their works won’t be staged. It turns out that the process of contemporary creative work has been artificially slowed down. However, West European culture has long ago invented chamber varieties of this genre. For example, small, even mini-operas performed in small halls and created for small lineups, being thus less expensive, are popular in the West. A concrete manifest of love to culture would be establishment of a small theater [Unforgettable Yevhenia Miroshnychenko so persistently demanded to create such theater, a Small Opera, and put many strengths and much energy in its creation. – Author].”

You started your creative work with categorical avant-garde. But your latest compositions, such as Legion, which was performed at the last year’s Kyiv Music Fest by the National Symphony Orchestra, revealed an absolutely new Piliutikov the composer. Was this an inner change or you adjusted to the audience, willing to become closer to it?

“This is a really good question! Thank you, this is very important for me. As any person, I tend to look back and try to understand what has taken place in my life. I will no way refuse from my previous creations. Today I understand that when I was involved in the so-called categorical avant-garde, I had an element of pride connected with the notion of intellectuality in music. When I started to compose, the intellectuality in music was very popular and it is not being denied these days. But again, I can explain this only with my pride: because I was young, I thought the more complicated the work, the more clever I am, hence the more talented.

“At a certain moment I started to feel that simple feelings and clear ideas excite and touch me much more, and I wanted to be more clear and understandable, and accessible in the better understanding of the word. Maybe, it is connected with age first of all: you have learned and are able to express your ideas in a clearer way, not like a youth who thinks in a stream and speaks in a confusing and intricate way. The tinsel and foam are being removed. Maybe I was influenced by Sylvestrov in some way and his simple music, though I don’t think his music is absolutely simple. Once Edison Denisov noted that the intellectual idea may be absolutely beyond the limits, but you should express it in a very clear way, only then will the audience understand it. Otherwise, there is a risk to be non-understood.”

What is the main thing in music for you?

“Music is a way to self-knowledge for me. You understand that music becomes your path, cover the way to self-revelation and cognize yourself via music.”

The Day’s FACT FILE

Serhii PILIUTIKOV was born on April 3, 1965 in Uzyn (Kyiv oblast). In 1987 he graduated from history department of the Kharkiv State University. In 1989 he started to take composition lessons from Oleksandr Shchetynsky, later he continued his studies in Shchetynsky’s class at the Kharkiv Institute of Arts (graduated in 1995). In 1985 through 1991 has taught history at a secondary school. In 1991-98 taught composition at the Kharkiv Children’s Music School.

Since 1999 Piliutikov has been residing in Kyiv. In 1993 the jury of the International Gaudeamus Composers Competition in Holland selected his work Voices of Rivers for a chamber ensemble. This work was performed at Xenakis Ensemble’s concert in Amsterdam at the Gaudeamus Music Week Festival.

Piliutikov’s works have been performed at international festivals “New Music Days” in Zurich (1998), “Kyiv in May” (1999), “Two days and two nights of new music” in Odesa (1991, 2001), International Festival of Contemporary Music “Contrasts” in Lviv (1997), International Forum of Youth Music in Kyiv (1993, 1994, 1998), the concert series “New Music in Kharkiv” (1996), as well as the concerts in Switzerland, Poland, and Ukraine.

His works have been performed by the Ensemble Fuer Neue Musik, Zurich, Kyiv Chamber Orchestra ARCHI, Kyiv Quartet of Saxophonists, Stockholm, soloists of the Moscow Ensemble of Contemporary Music, ensembles “Klaster” (Lviv), “Rykoshet” (Kyiv), Swiss pianist Dominik Blum, Avalon Trio (Switzerland).

At the Nationwide Competition of Student-Composers Gradus ad Parnassum (1994) Piliutikov was awarded with the First Prize for “Variations for alt solo.” He was been awarded with a diploma of the International Competition of Saxophonists “Selmer – Paris in Ukraine” for a Ukrainian composer’s best work for saxophone (2000).

In 1999 he became the artistic director of the Ensemble of New Music of Kyiv Organization of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine “Rykoshet,” and in 2000 – the music director of the International Forum of Youth (Kyiv).

In 2004 he became the board secretary of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine.