CONDUCTOR TATIANA KALINICHENKO: it is important to disenchant Ukraine for the world!
Tatiana Kalinichenko. Artistic Director and Conductor of the New Era Orchestra. Photo: Dmitry Peretrutov
The head of the New Era Orchestra Tatiana Kalinichenko is a unique person. Firstly, in the musical world, a female conductor is the exception rather than the rule. And in combination with the managerial talent that helps her to fulfill the duties of an art director, it is generally a single phenomenon.
Secondly, it opens up the great musicians of our time for Ukrainians. Thirdly, it presents Ukraine as a cultural brand all over the world. And then fourthly, fifthly, sixthly… A live interview is like a live concert — its energy cannot be conveyed. But let’s try. So, conductor Tatiana Kalinichenko: sketches about time, music and destiny.
Without music, life would be a mistake!
Friedrich Nietzsche
MIRACLES HAPPEN
New Era Orchestra is an independent orchestra from Kyiv, created in 2007. There are more than 30 international projects with the participation of outstanding performers of classical music on its account.
Among them are violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Gautier Capuçon, percussionist Christoph Sietzen, mandolinist Avi Avital, recorder Maurice Steger and many others. Creativity is mysticism. I think fate is doing everything so that people, whose meaning of life is music, will definitely meet.
Last September I received a letter from the manager of the eminent French cellist Gautier Capuçon. She wrote that Gautier really wants to meet and play with us. It was a great offer.
But Capuçon had a «window» only in March 2021 — just when we were supposed to perform in Kharkiv at the Kharkiv Music Fest. No one fully understood whether the concert would take place in Kharkiv on March 25, because in connection with the covid on March 20, all the halls in Kyiv had already been closed.
To be honest, I still don’t understand how we have managed to organize all this. In record time, together with the Kharkiv Music Fest team, determined a date close to our performance at the festival, found funding for Gautier’s concert, held negotiations with the French Embassy…
To some extent it was a gamble, we didn’t know if air travel would be allowed, if concerts would be banned due to the entry of Ukrainian cities into the «red zone», but we really wanted this concert, and we succeeded.
Alas, the day before the performance, fate presented another surprise, this time unpleasant — I was diagnosed with coronavirus, and the orchestra was left without a conductor! The accompanist had to take over my role. Gautier put himself in my place, morally supported me and the musicians. Unexpected difficulties united the orchestra, Gautier and the musicians worked as a single organism.
It was incredible understanding and support from him. This concert, which for various reasons and circumstances could not take place many times, was for me a direct demonstration of the mysticism of life. Unfortunately, Gautier and I did not manage to meet at that time. But we are texting. And we will definitely play together when the epidemic is over and all borders are open.
New Era Orchestra is an independent orchestra from Kyiv, created in 2007. There are more than 30 international projects with the participation of outstanding performers of classical music. Among them are violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Gautier Capuçon, percussionist Christoph Sitzen, mandolinist Avi Avital, recorder Maurice Steger and many others
PARTNER’S SCALE AND SECRET CHIPS
In Zurich, mutual acquaintances introduced us to the amazing Swiss virtuoso, the real magician of the recorder Maurice Steger. At the BOUQUET KYIV STAGE festival, created by the famous philanthropist Yevgeny Utkin, Maurice and I played an amazing concert, which even the thunderstorm that burst over the open stage could not stop.
We also had an unforgettable partnership experience with multi-percussionist Christoph Sietzen. I must say that works for orchestra and solo percussion are performed extremely rarely in Ukraine.
We have included in the program the concert Frozen in Time by Israeli author Avner Dorman, one of the most beloved composers of our orchestra. For five years we have been preparing the Musical Bridges project, because there was no solution on how to deliver to Ukraine a huge number of percussion instruments, most of which are simply not available in our country.
As a result, we managed to equip a huge truck from Salzburg to Kyiv. When we came to the rehearsal at the conservatory, we were shocked — Christoph’s percussion instruments occupied more than half of the stage… But the result exceeded all expectations!
When you have a strong partner next to you, you become more aware of your capabilities. Our website has a quote from Guy Ritchie’s film Revolver, the original source of which is an 1883 treatise on chess: «The only way to get smarter is by playing a smarter opponent».
Christoph Sietzen as a partner turned out to be absolutely incredible, he is just music embodied. Since 2019, we have become good friends with him and have come up with many different «secret chips».
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS A INTEGRAL IMAGE
It is important for me that an unexpected combination of different pieces of music creates a complete image of the program. This is how the Gstaad Menuhin Festival works. Its art director Christoph Müller deserves a great respect from me. He is in constant search, always offering something unexpected.
In this sense, we are very similar to him. In general, we are constantly working on the image — for each specific program and the orchestra as a whole. I always focus on the best examples, for example, how the London Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Amsterdam Sinfonietta present themselves. Many talented and famous artists, designers and even sculptors help us to work on the image of the orchestra. I always work with the best.
In the field of digital technologies, we are supported by the orchestra’s constant partners: the excellent digital artist Stepan Ryabchenko and the talented digital designer Pavel Kovalev.
One of the best photographers in Ukraine Dmitry Peretrutov is working on our images — his works are real works of art. Image solutions are created by the amazing Ukrainian designer Fyodor Vozianov and the bright, unusually creative team of stylist Olga Ipatova.
CLASSICS — THE MOST MODERN MUSIC!
When you are dealing with classics, it only seems that everything has already been played thousands of times before you and it is impossible to discover anything new. In general, classics and modernity are a very conditional division.
For example, Vivaldi’s music for me is incredibly modern, it is the music of the future! The same are Mozart, Beethoven… If their music sounds archaic, uninteresting, it means that you yourself made it that way. You did not understand it, did not reveal what was in it.
It is worth adding another reading — and the classics begin to sound as if they were written literally today! In addition, the concept of «modern music» is also rather conventional — some names have not changed on posters for 30-40 years. Everyone is talking about the need for «fresh blood», new names. But we are dealing with a very conservative industry in which it is difficult for new musicians and orchestras to break into the «big league».
NOT AN EXTRAORDINARY ORCHESTRA
In our team, up to 50 people can gather for a specific program. The main core of the orchestra is unchanged, but the composition can be slightly modified — depending on the tasks. Formally, we are similar to other orchestras: conductor, musicians, instruments, sheet music… But in reality, we are different! Even visually.
We have our own, special style: how we play, how we are dressed, how we look at photo shoots, how we are on stage, what is the design of our posters — all this is very important! There can be no trifles here.
I know by sight every microphone, every letter on our website, every technical detail on which the music depends. It is this attention to detail that allows you to create a unique, unlike anything else atmosphere, when the musicians feel good together, when they are «driven».
I am very sensitive to mood. And when we get together, I always repeat, «Your main task is to enjoy what you are doing!» If you do not get pleasure from the game, if it does not happen from the first second of contact with the music, why bother? Change your profession before it’s too late!
Now I’m not even talking about the final result, which is achieved by long rehearsals. I’m talking about a complete, instant immersion in music — it is exactly what is inherent in world stars. By the way, it is for this reason that an online performance will never replace a live concert. In addition, it is also a question of the listener’s self-awareness…
Once Yevgeny Utkin said, «Only real elites can afford to listen to a live performance. It makes your life better, because it gives you pleasure that cannot be compared with any gadgets».
I am the daughter of an officer. And I got used to the nomadic way of life. I was born in the Sverdlovsk garrison. Then there were different cities and countries… But there are two cities that are special for me. This is Odessa, where my parents met. And Chernivtsi, where I met a teacher who opened my eyes. He put his whole soul, hope and talent into me. Without this person, I simply would not have taken place as a conductor
MUSIC AND LAUGHTER. SEEING SIMPLICITY
Of course, the pandemic has severely limited the options for musicians and music lovers. Touring, creative and financial. However, we decided to use this time not only for survival, but also for development.
I read somewhere that if you look at a laughing person, it somehow works on a subconscious level and your immunity rises. For the orchestra’s birthday, which is celebrated in April, we presented ourselves with a gift — we held a small flash mob and created a special collage of our «laughing» photographs. And then we made a special project for Radio Iceland — we recorded the Monteverdi overture remotely.
Being online did not stop us from inventing something all the time. The life of an orchestra is a continuous development. All true musicians are really hard-working. Seeming spontaneity and lightness are the result of their work. From childhood you discipline yourself, refuse to do many things, constantly learn, strive for the best. If this «panic button» is turned off, you, as a musician, die.
THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY IS LOOKING FOR MANAGERS!
Unfortunately, Ukraine does not train managers for the classical music industry. So I had to learn everything on the fly. Intuition, sociability, organizational skills — something, of course, is inherent in nature, but I have to constantly develop these skills.
When I was 18 years old, without entering the university, I decided to work at school for one year. There I immediately organized an orchestra of teachers and students. The school was in full swing, we constantly put on operas, musicals…
When I entered the conservatory, the head teacher crossed herself: finally, instead of singing, dancing and playing, the children would start learning, and the school would no longer look like an opera house! Today, in the orchestra, I perform duties that, perhaps, could be divided among 15 separate positions.
About three years ago, we decided to try to change this management model: creativity on the one hand, finance, contracts, workflow on the other hand. However, the quarantine did not make it possible to fully implement these plans. But I hope that sooner or later everything will work out. There are creative tasks where it is impossible to replace me, but there is management, which may well be carried out professionally by someone else.
UKRAINIAN SEASONS AND UKRAINIAN BRAND
We believe that concerts of Ukrainian performers abroad are the best promotion of Ukraine in the world. For example, for 12 years I have been thinking about a project called Ukrainian Seasons. The idea arose back in 2007, when we played one of the first concerts, performing Russian Seasons by the Kharkiv resident Leonid Desyatnikov, who now lives in St. Petersburg. It is a concert for violin, soprano and chamber orchestra based on folk songs.
Once he bought a collection of these songs for ridiculous money, took the melodic basis from there and, by order of Gidon Kremer, created an unusual cycle, combining together a variety of composing schools.
When I suggested to Desyatnikov to think about the idea of Ukrainian Seasons, he has been denying it for a long time, referring to being busy and lazy. Nevertheless, last year he wrote Bukovinian Songs for piano. But I still kept thinking about creating a completely new Ukrainian cycle.
The decision came when I was at the concert of Susanna Karpenko, an incredibly talented folk singer. I thought it would be great to make an arrangement for a chamber orchestra, that is, leave the orchestral fabric as academic, and the vocal line as folk.
Together with Susanna, we selected songs for almost six months — some were 300-400 years old, and some she wrote herself. These are amazing tunes. One can hear Balkan, Romanian, Ukrainian and Greek motives in them… One of them, in an incomprehensible way, coincided with Monteverdi’s Zefiro torna. I do not know how to explain such phenomena. Apparently, all cultures have common, deep roots…
MEDICI EFFECT
The combination of the incongruous is a phenomenon called the Medici effect. Frans Johansson dedicated a book to it. This creative approach is very close to me. There are many manifestations of this effect in our project Ukrainian Seasons. It’s obvious to me that
Ukraine is an unexplored cultural world, in which not only Ukrainians, but also residents of other countries will have to make many of the most incredible discoveries
For the Ukrainian Seasons project, a wonderful Ukrainian composer and our constant partner Artem Roshchenko has already made a series of arrangements. The premiere took place at the BOUQUET KYIV STAGE festival in 2019. Now we are working on adding a few more old melodies to the cycle and then recording a disc.
DISENCHANT UKRAINE!
It is important to disenchant Ukraine for the world. Because today in relation to our country there is a certain blurred perception. We want to push the boundaries, present Ukrainian culture and music abroad, and develop the country’s brand.
I would like Ukrainians to value themselves more, their own cultural uniqueness. Through soft power, which is culture, it is much easier to reach out to others, to make real friends and partners.
Unfortunately, young gifted musicians have been leaving Ukraine for a long time, preferring to pursue a career abroad. In order to self-actualize here, super-efforts are needed, like those that we apply.
Combining creativity with the «struggle for survival» is very difficult, it rarely motivates anyone. However, for me it is not only a way of life, but also a conscious choice. I like living in Ukraine and representing it abroad.
We want Ukraine to sound on the international music arena, and so that as many Ukrainian musicians as possible receive international recognition and the opportunity to improve not only abroad, but also at home.
APPLICATION FORM BY MARCEL PRUST
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, polls of this kind were in vogue, long before the French writer Marcel Proust drew attention to them. But it was precisely his addiction to such questionnaires that made them a kind of «classic» instrument of psychoanalysis available to the broad masses.
If the dialogue between the writer Marcel Proust and conductor Tatyana Kalinichenko were possible, it would look something like this:
The most important trait of your character…
Perseverance.
What virtues do you value most in people?
Sincerity.
What character trait do you value in men?
Reliability.
In women…
Friendliness.
Your biggest flaw…
Hot temper.
Your favorite pastime…
I like Zumba fitness program based on Latin American dances.
Your idea of happiness…
Happiness is not a state, but a process.
Your idea of unhappiness…
In my mind, indifferent people are the most unhappy in the world.
If you weren’t a musician or conductor, what would you be?
Theater director or choreographer.
If you did not live in Kyiv, where?
Somewhere where the winter is not so cold.
The most vivid childhood memory…
When, after my persistent requests, my parents bought me a piano Red October.
The event that changed your life the most…
Meeting with teacher Andrey Kushnirenko, which took place in Chernivtsi.
How to find your calling?
They choose their life’s work by passion. It is she who pushes a person to take decisive actions related to changing his fate…
What vices do you feel most condescending to? What human vice can you forgive?
The absent-mindedness that creative people often suffer from due to over-concentration on the task.
Your favorite writers…
Bulgakov.
The movie that touched you the most…
All the Mornings of the World.
Is there more random or natural in your life?
Accidents are not accidental, although they do happen sometimes.
Your favorite saying…
«When a tree grows, it is soft and flexible, and when it is dry and tough, it dies. Callousness and strength are companions of death. Weakness and flexibility — express the freshness of being. Therefore, what is solidified will not win». It is a quote from the film Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky.
How would you like to die?
I prefer not to think about it.
Interviewed by Zhanna Kryuchkova, Vlad Mikheev
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