RASHID KALIMULLIN

«It feels good to know that nowadays, musicians consider it an honor to be invited to perform in Kazan»

RASHID KALIMULLIN

«I agree with Sofia Gubaidullina, who is a frequent guest of ours, when she says that we should not feel dominated by great civilizations. No doubt that Paris, or London are on top of the world. We are well aware of it, and we admire these cities, and others like Moscow or Saint Petersburg. But we never forget that all people are born equal, under one and the same sun. Divisions happen later. In music, there shouldn't be any at all. Because we don't know where true origins of music are. Take my example»

Eager to celebrate its 1000th anniversary, Kazan is now all about rediscovering its national identity and roots. All possible attention is understandably centered on the Tatar language and history, on folk songs and on traditional crafts. However, nobody wants to see either Kazan or even Tatarstan to become a museum of their own past. An exhibition of paintings by local avant guarde artists is one of the highlights at the National Center of Culture; a museum of modern arts is to be opened soon in the Kremlin; two of the numerous popular festivals successfully launched in Tatarstan over the last few years, are promoting modern music. One of them is exclusively about music composed by Sofia Gubaidullina, who was born and grew up in Kazan. The other, «Europe — Asia», has been offering, for five years now, «tumult instead of music», and yet it has grown immensely popular in Kazan. Nowhere else, I would think, can one see such a heterogeneous gathering of sophisticated connoisseurs, ever fashion-conscious beau monde and simply curious public. Even tough working men come to concerts of participants organized in other cities of the republic.

In my mind, there are two reasons why the festival is a great feat here. First, its organizers, led by Rashid Kalimullin, a composer, are real enthusiasts and have found the right, «sellable» formula. They made it a prestigious event, and they have shown that, contrary to the skeptical opinion held by conventional wisdom, modern music can be enjoyable. The second reason is that contemporary Tatar composers, Kalimullin being one of them, have their own unique style which combines modern technique, advanced concepts and popular traditions. This makes their music attractive and easy to understand for their compatriots. Kalimullin is, all in all, a very prominent figure. One of the articles written recently about him said that the intensity of his creative yield and the diversity of his plans make you think that he intends to live for another couple of centuries. Knowing this, there was no way I could miss this opportunity to meet this extraordinary man, an orchestra all by himself. When we met, he grabbed my hand and led me to a piano.

— This Steinway, Dmitri Shostakovich donated it to our Union of Composers. It was stored for many years in all sorts of places, because we did not have any decent space. Now it is finally back in shape. Thanks to the financial help by the ministry of culture and the parliament, new mechanical parts have been bought in Germany. We are going to give a special concert, sort of a presentation of the piano, in the Grand hall of the Conservatory, and then our young talents can play on it. For them, to lay their hands on a piano of Shostakovich will be a great boost. We dont want it to become a solemn artefact in a museum, we want it to be put to good use, as Shostakovich would have liked it.

— You are obviously a man of action, an entrepreneur of a western type, even though you have grown up under the Soviet regime. How come? Or is it because unlike most other people, composers had more chances to travel and see the world?

— The freedom of travel, as far as Tatar musicians and composers are concerned, is a very recent thing. In the old days, only our veterans were allowed to go on tours, and they were mostly restricted to socialist countries like the GDR, Bulgaria or Mongolia. This was the general practice then, and there was nothing we could do, we had to live with it. We knew, more or less, that nice places were exclusively for those from Moscow, Saint Petersburg or Kiev, not for us. To be taken on a tour to the US, for example, we had to be recognized as the best of the best. And even then, sometimes, we were still left behind. Today, everything is made possible by people who have the punch, by those who can afford to help; there must be a leader with the right team and enough good will. Do you remember what a mess our country was after the collapse of the USSR? Surprisingly, that was the time when we held our first international festivals. In my case, I discovered the freedom of travel myself, after I won an international contest in Germany. I was the very first such winner in Tatarstan. I started to receive offers and to attend all sorts of events and master classes in different countries. That's when I started to wonder why we did not have festivals, like all the others. Today, there is no problem; you can easily travel and try your luck.

— Or you can invite others to come, right?

— And you can feel proud that you are part of the world community of music. I am convinced that in the world of music, there is no division into capitals and provinces. Like in Japan, for instance, where we went many times on tours with my quartet. They would take us to some place in the middle of nowhere, up in the mountains, under an endless rain. Once, we ended up in a totally lost village, no more than a couple of houses around; but the hall could accommodate at least six hundred people! I couldnt believe anyone ever came there. But on the walls, they had pictures of famous musicians, including one of Richter. Forty minutes before our concert was to begin, cars and buses started to drive in, one after the other. Half an hour later, we had a packed house. Think of it, up in the mountains, at the end of a scary serpentine; this risky journey under the rain did not discourage anyone.

— How did you manage to convince world stars to participate to your festival? You really kick-started it on an international level.

— We are indeed accepted by the international community. Our festival is in the catalogues, critics write about it and we have become members of the International Society of Contemporary Music, the ISCM. But it was not always that way. In the very early days, both ourselves and the Government, which did support us, we were not sure at all that people would agree to participate. We had corresponded with many potential participants, and whenever I traveled in the West, I always discussed the possibility with serious musicians, trying to secure the interest of the very best. Eventually, they did get excited. Because Kazan looked different from Moscow or Saint Petersburg, which was familiar territory. Coming to Kazan, on the contrary, sounded like getting lost in Siberia. So even our first try became a success. Now the festival is a traditional event, held once every two years.

— I can see why foreigners got interested. But how did you win the general audiences?

— Having great performers of international stature was certainly an advantage, but we also found a special formula. Kazan is right at the spot where two biggest cultures of the world meet, which explains the name of the festival — «Europe — Asia» — and translates its main idea. There is no other festival like this. Each time we have performers from some fifteen countries, not only from the West, but also from Japan. We welcome music played with folk instruments. We had events that included ethno-music, and they were so much more enticing. We always play to a packed house because our audiences are so eager to learn about the music of other peoples. We are so used to all this now, I can't even imagine there were times when there was no festival. And it never fails to produce hot debates. Our traditional writers, for one, claimed vigorously that contemporary music is a disgrace. I wasn't happy about it and asked the President his opinion. He said: «Rashid, don't worry and carry on. People always talk. But you are doing the right». Because of his traditional upbringing, maybe he does not really like this sort of music, but God has given him the power to understand its objective value.

There were many attempts to question the usefulness of the festival, after it was held for the first time. In those days, national traditions were the big hype; what was our own had full priority. No matter, music exists in a world without barriers. Gradually, our audiences came to understand that, and our composers have evolved immensely. The festival is a prestigious event now. It has become a must, even for those who couldnt care less about music. I have a cottage in the country side, and my neighbor there is a manager of a big factory. One day, he was taking his little dog for a walk, and I was out too. As soon as he saw me, from far away, he started to shout like crazy: «Rashid! We've got tickets too, you know. We are going to see your festival.» He was so proud of it. It made me feel real good.

— Are these outings really affordable?

— The price of a ticket is one to one and a half dollars. We can keep these prices because we have subsidies from the ministry of culture and from the Government. Soros did finance our festival too. Networking helps, and we have some new sponsors. Those who don't have money, find other ways to support. Before, we had to beg. Today, people know us and are willing to help, they have learnt from us that it is the right thing to do. After all, we are one of only three festivals of that stature in Tatarstan. There is the Shaliapin festival, the Nuriev festival, and ours. Audiences are delighted, so many people would like to participate, from other countries, but also from Novossibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Ulan-Ude. We feel sorry we can't accommodate them all. Not everything works as we would like it to. Sometimes we just don't have enough time to do everything, which is understandable given that we are not professional organizers of festivals but a Union of composers.

When restrictions on travel were lifted, there was a rush to the West. There was nobody left in the country to talk to, we all stayed out of touch, and we began to know our foreign colleagues better than we used to know each other. So we thought that the old tradition of travelling troupes had to be revived. Three hundred musicians, some of them quite famous, like Mikhail Pletnev, came to perform to Kazan. We reached agreements with Nijni Novgorod, Yekatirenburg, Ufa that we would organize joint concerts and exchanges. We remembered that there used to be a festival of the peoples of the Volga and Ural regions. We are going to have one again. It feels good to know that nowadays, it is an honor to be invited to perform in Kazan.

— Are you planning anything special for the 1000th anniversary of Kazan?

— Our plan is to hold in Kazan, in 2005, the Days of World Music. This is a traditional event in the world, which goes back to 1923, although somehow, Russia never got involved. We are very busy getting ready for it; we expect performers from forty eight countries to come. Imagine what a spectacular show it will be, no less than the Theater Olympiad in Moscow.

We want to be part of the world and to help solve global problems. We have to be open for people to better understand us. The more they do, the more they will listen to what we have to say. It is great that we have a common language — music — which we all understand without interpreters. Never mind poor financing and other troubles, cultural contacts help us feel that we are part of the civilized world. Speaking about civilization, in the early 90s, in our Union of composers, we would have been happy with the most primitive printer. Today, we are a well computerized gang. We have enough office equipment for all our needs. We had e-mail before even the Union of composers of Russia had it. Because we really wanted to have it, so that we could communicate with everybody. Our festival helps us achieve the same. I agree with Sofia Gubaidullina, who is a frequent guest of ours, when she says that we should not feel dominated by great civilizations. No doubt that Paris, or London are on top of the world. We are well aware of it, and we admire these cities, and others like Moscow or Saint Petersburg. But we never forget that all people are born equal, under one and the same sun. Divisions happen later. In music, there shouldnt be any at all. Because we don't know where true origins of music are. Take my example. I was born in Zelenodolsk, a small town, and I got my diplomas in Nijnekamsk. Why was I all the while so passionate about contemporary music? When I joined the Conservatory, the only officially recognized composers of contemporary music were Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Stravinski. That was it. We didn't know zilch about the rest of the world. We learnt bit by bit, from occasional recordings, or when I started to travel, and then re-played what I had heard. Today, not only musicians but anyone can easily stay up to date. It is no more complicated than to use a mobile phone, surf the net or send e mails. Thats civilization. You don't have to live in the heart of Europe anymore to be able to listen to live music from around the world. This is where our festival makes its contribution.

Aleksandra LAVROVA