When Are We Going to Have An Anthology Of Ukrainian Music?
Musical art is a rather complex phenomenon that can be arbitrarily divided into several stages: composing, performing, disseminating and promoting, and perceiving a piece of music. What is causing this “high-voltage line” to break down?
ARE STATE ORDERS NEEDED?
State-sponsored programs in the ex-USSR — a system of government orders and contracts — were aimed at creating a single pool of audio- and video-recordings of works by Ukrainian composers and performed by well-known Ukrainian musical companies and talented soloists in order to popularize and promote the best examples of Ukraine’s musical art at home and abroad. Valuable musical materials were gradually accumulated, which led to the creation of an archival collection of audio- and video-recordings at the State Committee for Television and Radio, now referred to as “the golden treasury of Ukraine.”
Almost everything that was recorded and is considered Ukraine’s pride and joy even today was accomplished by or with the participation of the National Radio Orchestra (formerly the orchestra of Soviet Ukraine’s State Committee for Television and Radio). Throughout its 75-year existence our orchestra has recorded almost every important piece of music by Ukrainian composers. Supporting and promoting the most brilliant compositions that reflect the Ukrainian national spirit is the object and substance of the National Radio Orchestra’s work. In supporting musicians in this country, the state acts as a guarantor of the preservation and continuous enrichment of this national archival treasury. In this context, the system of governmental orders and contracts seems to be a very current and timely scheme.
WORKING “UNTIL KINGDOM COME” COMES CHEAPLY IN UKRAINE
It is much easier to dash off any old concert than work in an empty room face to face with a microphone that dispassionately, or even hostilely, records even the slightest snag in a performance. Many performers are justifiably afraid of the mike. Over the 75 years of the orchestra’s existence, the radio archive has collected tens of thousands of recordings, many of them marked “For permanent storage.” This increases the already heavy burden of responsibility.
Yet, recorded music should not remind people of “canned music.” The prevailing illusion of a live listener, a “living and breathing” audience, and a free performing manner, compels orchestra musicians to work with a maximum concentration of forces and emotions. There are also strict technical requirements. A performance should be flawless from the standpoint of consonance, intonation, and interpretation. The faintest superfluous noise will interrupt a recording session. You must not rustle the sheet music, fidget, or breathe loudly, for up to four hours. Can you imagine the degree of responsibility and strain, the amount of expended energy? In various countries of the world, musicians who play in radio orchestras are the most highly paid, given the specialized nature of these types of orchestras. In our country it is the very opposite. The musicians of the National Radio Symphony Orchestra earn five times less than musicians with similar titles and reputations who work for a concert company.
The Ukrainian Radio Orchestra is forced to work in very difficult conditions: poor logistical support, a lack of rehearsal halls, and a host of other problems. A symphony orchestra is a sophisticated and costly operation that requires constant care. The management of the National Radio Company has long been turning a blind eye to the orchestra’s problems. Celebrations of the orchestra’s 75th anniversary in 2004 were repeatedly put on hold and in the end never took place. Is this the right way to treat these talented and modest musicians, who have worked in the orchestra for 30 or more years?
One of these musicians is the magnificent Yakiv Rabinovych. As the most authoritative and widely respected musician in the company, he is considered the patriarch of the orchestra and a living legend. There is just one entry in his employment record: “1940. Musician with the Ukrainian Radio Orchestra.” There has been only one interruption in his entire career: Infantry Private Rabinovych saw action in WWII from beginning to end. This means that he has been in the orchestra for 65 years. Where are you, publishers of the Guinness World Records? This musician has not even been awarded the title of Meritorious Artiste of Ukraine. Or take Liudmyla Hulei, a modest musician utterly devoted to music, who earns 300 hryvnias a month. She joined the radio orchestra at a young age. Here is where she stayed, dedicating all her love, inspiration, and her entire life to the company. She has stoically withstood all the ups and downs of everyday life and raised two children practically on her own. Her daughters, winners of many national and international contests, have been representing Ukraine at the most prestigious musical forums.
The people in my milieu wonder why I “wasted” 20 years mastering my profession: first, music schools at the primary and high school levels, then three conservatories (including the Department of Opera and Symphony Conducting at the Moscow Conservatory), graduate studies, and 30 years of conducting symphony orchestras and operas. I have recorded more than 100 works for the Ukrainian radio’s collection alone — and what is the result? You know, I used to have the naive belief that if I became a good specialist, the state would surely notice and appreciate my efforts. I don’t mean awards and trappings; I mean the conditions necessary for implementing my plans and working at full strength rather than wasting my time and resources to overcome everyday problems.
“ALCOHOLIZATION” OF THE AIR AND “SPRING WATER” AT NIGHT
I think a public official is obliged to take constant care of the nation’s spiritual health. This in no way means that people should be forced to listen to classical music from dawn till dusk and that masterpieces of ballet music should be aired on radio and television whenever a high-placed official dies, as was the case with Peter Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. (As a result, for some time now it has been considered in poor taste to show this ballet on television). But there should be a place for everything. There must be a sense of proportion.
Like alcohol, pop art is good and even useful in moderate doses, while constant overdoses may cause a serious illness and decline. Where are the “clear water musical springs?” There is a sufficient number of high-quality Ukrainian musical works. All this music should be systematized and included in the Golden Musical Treasury of Ukraine.
I have a long-standing dream to create an anthology of Ukrainian music and issue a series of CDs called “Outstanding Ukrainian Performers.” We have things to be proud of that we can show to the world. Much has already been recorded not only by the radio orchestra but also by our colleagues. All these recordings are stored in the Ukrainian National Radio’s funds. The creation of an interdepartmental commission under the Ukrainian government’s patronage could muster the efforts of the experts from various agencies to implement the “Anthology of Ukrainian Music” project: first, to issue theoretical materials (manuals and published resources) and then CDs, which would satisfy people of all ages, both amateurs and professionals.
Today it is next to impossible to find recordings of Ukrainian composers in specialized stores. Radio bureaucrats refuse to start issuing CDs, saying there is no market demand for our products. Meanwhile, in Europe alone there are more than 20,000 libraries that make a point of purchasing all CDs that are issued, plus specialized stores, and ordinary music buffs.
The anthology will only see the light of day under one condition — if the state considers this part of its strategic national interests and then earmarks the necessary funds for it. Music schools, especially in the provinces, as well as conservatories are in dire need of such an anthology. Music librarians at various institutions of music education have told me that they try to record at least one televised program every night (the Culture Channel starts broadcasting at 3:00 a.m.).
There is almost no music criticism in this country. Even interesting concerts fail to draw capacity audiences unless there has been a promotional campaign. It hurts when excellently-performed programs are ignored by the press and, the other way round, when media silence allows for sloppy work and for playing whatever and however one pleases.
HOUSE OF ART
Every musician dreams of playing in a concert hall with good acoustics. For a long time I have been dreaming of establishing a House of Art that would embrace not only live music but also painting, sculpture, and some elements of the theater. This country’s main concert stage — the National Philharmonic Hall — is not enough: one more concert hall should be built in Kyiv. For the time being, one can use the large concert studio of the Sound Recording House near the Klovska subway station, where the National Radio Orchestra is based. This hall has superb acoustics. Of course, it needs to be renovated with the help of sponsors and the state. This hall can be used to showcase the best examples of Ukrainian national music and for radio and television recordings.
Richard Strauss’s symphonic poem Don Quixote was performed at a concert in the National Philharmonic Hall of Ukraine, which was dedicated to the jubilee of the National Radio Orchestra of Ukraine. I chose this work deliberately. We are all Don Quixotes: we keep tilting at windmills and experiencing failure. Still, the awareness that we are doing very important, necessary, and good work inspires us to carry on. The approval and support of our listeners are ample proof of this.
THE DAY’S REFERENCE
Viacheslav BLINOV: born in 1950 in Riazan, Russia.
Graduate of the Gorky (1975) and Moscow (1979) conservatories.
Advanced graduate studies at Novosibirsk’s conservatory under Prof. A. Katz (1983). Conductor of the Krasnoyarsk Philharmonic Society’s symphony orchestra, 1979-1988. Later appointed artistic director and chief conductor of Dnipropetrovsk’s symphony orchestra. Has toured extensively, and been a jury member of various international festivals (Kyiv Music-Fest, Musical Dialogues, Festival of Premieres), et al.
In 1991 Blinov was awarded the honorary title of Meritorious Art Personality of Ukraine for popularizing Ukrainian musical art and performance excellence. From 1997 Blinov was the chief conductor of the symphonic programs at Dnipropetrovsk’s Opera and Ballet Theater. Since 1999 he has headed the Meritorious Academic Symphony Orchestra of the National Radio Company of Ukraine, one of this country’s most celebrated orchestras.
Blinov is widely known in this country and abroad for his radio and television recordings, records, and CDs, which feature the gems of international and national musical heritage.
The American Biographical Institute Research Association lists conductor V. K. Blinov as one of the outstanding figures of the late 20th century.
