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“A Musical Expedition”: Classics in the Fields and the Workshop

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“A Musical Expedition”: Classics in the Fields and the Workshop

02.08.2017

Sergei Vinogradov

“Many people think that classical music is only accessible to the elites, but this is not at all the case” — such is the conviction of the renowned Muscovite cellist Boris Andrianov. For three years now, he has reaffirmed this conviction by bringing together an international team of musicians and going on a tour through the Russian countryside. This year the Musical Expedition went to the Vologda region, where musicians gave free concerts in the monastery, at the steelworks, at an old estate, and in other places.


Nearer to People

The very word “expedition” carries connotations of difficulty and deprivation. And Andrianov and his colleagues endured more than their share. This July, they played Bach and Mozart with the nearly constant accompaniment of rain and even thunderstorms. Musicians who don’t like to perform outside often explain this preference by citing concerns for their instruments. They say the wood will first get damp and then crack, resulting in an altered sound.

Boris Andrianov is not only famous for recording an album nominated for a Grammy. Nor is he famous only because German newspapers called him a “Cello God” after one of his performances in Berlin. He is also famous for playing on a unique instrument crafted by the legendary Italian master Domenico Montagnana, a younger contemporary of Stradivarius.


Concert outside Cyril-Belozersky Monastery. Photo: Cyril-Belozersky museum-reserve

And this cello’s sound didn’t alter after the bumpy road and a concert near a little town with the charming name Babayevo. Perhaps this was because the Italian master agreed that music belongs to the people and built his instruments to be played in places other than symphony halls.

“The primary goal of this project is to carry music beyond the bounds of its ordinary circle,” the head of this project told a corresponded from Russkiy Mir. “Music is bottled up in concert halls, it’s only played for certain people—and that’s wrong. It almost never happens that music comes to you on its own, wherever you live, and allows you to enjoy it on a warm summer evening. We wanted to gift people with such a miracle. And we also wanted to open up distant part of our immense country for tourists (after all, our concerts are covered in the press). What do we get out of it? It’s interesting to observe how a person coming to a classical concert for the first time discovers this new form of music and listens to the new emotions it evokes. It is interesting to realize a mission that we conceived for ourselves.”


The Working Days of a Traveling Ensemble

Most of the participants in the Musical Expeditions are experienced and well-known musicians. The travelers told the Russkiy Mir correspondent that such tours were like an adventure for them and they begin clearing out a week or two for the trip well in advance.


Photo: Cyril-Belozersky museum-reserve

The famous violinist and soloist of the Tel-Aviv philharmonic orchestra Ilya Konovalov, who was Boris Andrianov’s companion this year, found time between programs and specially flew in from Vologda. Pianist Philipp Kopachevsky managed to stick “Musical Expedition” in his solo playbill and attended two concerts before touring in Finland.

Violist Timur Yakubov took advantage of a short break at The Hague Philharmonic, where he plays and leads a group of violas. The Belgian violinist Leonard Schreiber, the only member of this international team that doesn’t have Russian roots, cheerfully closed out his season in London, where he has lived for many years and performs in chamber music concerts on an old violin of Italian craftsmanship. He closed out the season and departed for Russia.

“I come here every year. I try not to miss it,” says Leonard Schreiber. “Russia has an exciting atmosphere and remarkable people—very sincere and lively in their reactions. It’s always nice to perform in front of such people. And they always receive me warmly. You know, I flew here this year without knowing where we would play. And right away, I was in for a surprise: the steelworks. Music is a universal language, and it would be silly not to take advantage of this to meet new people and visit interesting places.”


 At the Khvalevskoye Estate. Photo: Cyril-Belozersky museum-reserve

Judging by their baggage, the musicians knew where they were going—and the rain didn’t cut off any of their concerts, although it modified several. Sweaters (even though it was July), heavy coats, and umbrellas were all present, as were tuxedos and patent leather shoes. Out of five performances to be held outside, they only managed to play outside twice. At the Cyril-Belozersky Monastery, one of the largest in Russia, the musicians managed to wedge themselves in between two rainstorms, and Tchaikovsky and Piazzola resounded under the ancient walls, which made for inimitable acoustics. The concert in the restored Khvalevskoye Estate (in the Babayevsky District) resurrected the long-past times of music-making on the estates.

A new program is made up for every concert: the musicians do not give repeat concerts. Because this is a creative project, and not a trivial commercial tour. As concerns the repertoire, the collective is ruled by a true democracy—the participants make suggestions that are put to a vote.


Music at Working Noon

According to Boris Andrianov, the musicians consciously chose unusual places to perform in. Among these were places where orchestral musicians had never set foot. It was both interesting for them and a way of achieving a goal: music traveled to those places where it had never been before. One of the most unusual concert sites of the tour was the manufacturing site of the Cherepovets steel mill.


Boris Andrianov and Leonard Schreiber. Photo: Anastasia Tasheva

The original idea was to go into the workshop, but they rejected that one—the music would have been interrupted by the noise of machinery and all kinds of whistles. And they couldn’t find a quiet workshop at the facility. They set up a stage in the foyer of the administrative-living complex of the steel-working factory, which is known as the heart of the facility. Thick glass windows held the factory noises in check, and the picture of the factor working under the sounds of violins and violas made an impression. At the height of the concert, a large truck stopped in front of the windows and started unloading metal coils—thanks to the music, this trivial activity looked a little like a ballet.

The musicians weren’t able to perform in a working shop, but they were able to play for metalworkers who had just come from the furnace. The concert took place at the peak of the workday, during a shift change. With a smile, Andrianov called the performance “a concert at working noon” (“do you remember such things from Soviet times?”). After the concert, some of the audience started their shift.


Concert for Workers at the Severstal Company. Photo: Anastasia Tasheva

People listened to the music in blue smocks and thick-soled workman’s boots, with helmets in their laps. Taking their seats under the wall of honor and an electric screen showing “Our Accomplishments,” the performers alternated a serious repertoire with pop classics and a potpourri from popular Soviet films. They began with Bach and Mozart, continuing with an arrangement of a Mexican folk melody and the compositions of Piazzolla, which are pleasant to any ear. In other words, they did everything possible to show the listeners that classical music was nearby and comprehensible, and that it could even be entertaining. This goal was greatly aided by the stage patter of Boris Andrianov, who entertained the public with stories and anecdotes from the lives of famous composers and performers. The audience gave a standing ovation, and several confessed that they were attending a real symphony concert for the first time and had truly discovered this music for themselves only today.

For Boris Andrianov and the Belgian Leonard Schreiber, the concert at the factory was also a debut. They thanked the audience for their understanding and responsiveness. Some people would be surprised, they say, to learn what outstanding and subtly appreciative listeners one can encounter in the countryside. But as experienced musical travelers, they are not surprised. To this day, the most significant place where they were able to play music was a prison. “Even there, there is a listener, and not a bad one at all,” said the cellist. “I performed in a prison for young women in the Ryazan District. There was a concert, and then there was a discussion. The audience was very appreciative.”

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