“Kazan is a fabulous city with great cultural traditions”

On June 15, Ignat Solzhenitsyn, the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra music director and a son of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, spoke to a news conference before a concert on June 17 in Kazan in memory of the conductor Fuat Mansurov, given by him and the world-famous cellist Alexander Knyazev.

Q: What programme do you present in Kazan?
A: The programme opens with the overture to Carl Nielsen’s opera Masquerade. This is not very popular music, it possibly has never been heard of here, but it is still very impressive, contagious, bound to be liked by the audience. A beautiful concerto for the cello and the orchestra by Edward Elgar, an outstanding English composer, will follow. This music is amazing in terms of its spiritual content. In the second part, the Kazan residents will hear the Sergei Rakhmaninov’s Symphonic Dances concerto for the cello and the orchestra. Many consider this Rakhmaninov’s masterpiece to be the perfect work for an orchestra, in orchestra music anyway. The music conveys much suffering and grief, and yet the general impression is quite happy. I am glad I am to perform alongside the famous cellist Alexander Knyazev, he is a very unconventional musician, working with him is fascinating for me.

Q: You live in the US, often perform in Russia. Please, say what you find attractive in cities like Kazan.
A: I was away from Russia for the entire first part of my life, for reasons that are known. So, I am still filling up the big gap. Travelling to not only Moscow and Saint-Petersburg but to provinces as well is very important for me, the more so Kazan is a fabulous city with great cultural traditions. I think after the painful 90es we all must try to help Russia “rise to its feet”. It may have already happened, maybe I should not highlight this, but it is clear that far from everything has been recovered everywhere after the collapse that was seen. Much then happened in terms of music, and musicians should try restore their ties, including between Moscow and other cities. To make this country’s music life progress. I travel around Russia a lot, including with this purpose.

Q: Have you fallen for Kazan?
A: I have so far, very much. There is a very strong, powerful mood in the city. I cannot judge from just two days, it is not even an impression but an intuitive grasp of the people’s mood. There are many people in the streets, the facial expressions are resolute, I would say kind even. Everybody is scuttling but without the usual strain that you tend to see. The city definitely deserves to be explored for its architecture; I think I am going to do it.

Q: What are your impressions from working with the State Symphonic Orchestra of Tatarstan.
A: The orchestra is very good, sounds consolidated. This is very important. So far, there has been a second rehearsal, there will be one or two more, so we are half way through our journey.

Q: What is closer to you, conducting an orchestra or playing the piano?
A: Everything is important for me. I was lucky to have both careers simultaneously. That is it, simultaneous, next to each other, and everything has so far worked out well. I did not have to make a choice, I do not make it out of principle. Possibly, the circumstances will change. The only thing is, there is little free time, since conducting demands intensive training, and the instrument does not forgive neglect. Nothing happens by itself, you need to practice every day. But I have always wanted to do this, so I have no reason to complain.

Q: Your tour schedule is very tight. Do you mostly perform in Russia or abroad?
A: Mostly abroad. I live in New York. I mostly play in Europe but I try to come to Russia as well. I spend couple of months every season in Russia.

Q: If you and your family were offered to stay in Russia, would you agree?
A: I would need to think about it. This is a very important and relevant issue for us. I think it is quite a possibility. Russia is not just close, it is native for me. The Russian land has a kind of attraction to its sons, children, which is somehow different from the attraction other people feel to their countries, be it England or France. There is something special about the attraction that continues to influence Russians living outside Russia, I cannot quite put my finger on what it is.

Q: Your father, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, is a special writer for us. We have all grown up with his works. Have you ever wanted to try being a writer?
A: Thank God, no. I have never had the slightest desire or impulse to be a writer, although I am saying this with a great love of literature. There was no parental pressure in our family. They allowed us develop naturally and find what each one of us cherished and was interested in. But I do love literature very much and treasure my father’s works.

Q: What kind of a man was Alexander Solzhenitsyn?
A: Father had an enormous influence on my life and was always near me, like mother and brothers. Despite the enormous workload, the overwhelming tasks he set for himself, he would always find time to be with his family. He did beautifully cope with all the tasks he set, by the way. He was constantly present in my life. He was an example, of, first of all, colossal moral and physical courage. It is important for a son to see this in his father. He simply was a good father. What does it take to be a father? I have three children myself and I often reflect on it. I think care is the most important thing, not meaning how many hours you spend with the child but what your focus is. How much the parents are involved in your life is important, whether they are near you. This always was the thing with him. Talking to him was always important for me, even when we spoke about some trifling daily routine. He would look you in the eyes, despite all the work piled across his desk, and would pay attention to you. And this is how it was from my early age till his demise.

Interview by Lucia Kamalova