29 years ago... If asked to describe the December Nights, I would simply say, Its Richter. Any festival must have a unifying artistic idea. Should such an idea be lacking, any event, no matter how prestigious and well-organized ,will wane in the course of time as a result of its spiritual scantiness and inadequacy. What Richter does is quite a different matter. Take, for example, the annual forum in the French town of Tours embracing well-known masters and novices of various ages and styles, or the December Nights. His aim is not to present newfangled or deservedly forgotten works, or to dazzle the public and the musicians. I feel this with particular acuteness, because owing to the festival and my appearances with Richter I included new works in my repertoire which under normal circumstances I would never have thought of performing. The December Nights are the embodiment of the artists eternal quest for perfection (in the words of the Soviet poet Nikolai Zabolotsky, the soul must work ceaselessly), and of the steps of his- agonizing ascent to the ideal all his own. A hundred per cent efficiency from each-such is the festivals main principle. Long before the event actually starts its programme is deliberated down to the minutest detail. The project is after all based on our enthusiasm kindled by Richter, the core of the whole enterprise, his inexhaustible imagination, enormous zeal and dedicatedness to Art. Even arguments as to how to arrange chairs on the stage, how to achieve an effect of a hoar-frosted window, and what is to be hung on the backdrop-a violin or a looking-glass-are not just intellectual freaks. Any touch, no matter how unobtrusive, serves to enhance the distinct atmosphere of each concert. As a result, the overall impression is, on the one hand, that of homely cosiness and unpretentious music-making, and, on the other, of festivity and elation. In fact, so great is the musicians enthusiasm that it comes over the footlights to the listeners. Today it is hard to imagine Moscows music scene without the December Nights. A chamber festival held in a small auditorium not originally meant for music - making has turned into the culmination of the season. There is some mystery in it, isnt there? It is with great joy that for five years running I have planned for December no recitals or guest tours of my own. On December nights I am busy. Yuri Bashment
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 03:12:28 +0000
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