“Music should give hope”: conductor Mikhail Menabde at the Kyiv concert

“Music should give hope”: conductor Mikhail Menabde at the Kyiv concert



Conductor Mikhail Menabde is one of the few foreign musicians who come to Ukraine on tour during the large-scale invasion. His concert “Drop by drop” became the second performance in Kyiv during this time. Music columnist Natalka Pysanka attended a concert at the National Philharmonic and talked with the maestro about his connection with Ukraine and his love for modern Ukrainian classical music. From a ballet dancer to the chair of opera and symphony conducting, Mikhail Menabde is a citizen of Georgia who has been living in Austria since 2017, but calls himself a Ukrainian musician. And these are not just words: it was in Ukraine that he formed professionally. Mikhail began to seriously study music only at the age of 23 – after receiving a choreographic education in Georgia. When faced with a choice between higher educational institutions, he fundamentally rejected the possibility of studying in Moscow. Thus, in 2006, Mikhail became a student of the Kyiv Conservatory at the Department of Opera and Symphonic Conducting in the class of Roman Kofman. After graduation, he worked in the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, created the chamber orchestra “Armonia Ludus”. In 2022, he was one of the organizers of the “Im Spiegel” (“In the Mirror”) festival in St. Gallen, Switzerland, where the music of Valentyn Sylvestrov, Maxim Shalygin, Victoria Poleva and Svyatoslav Lunyov was played. Mikhail Menabde before the “Drop by Drop” concert at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. Photo: Dmytro Golovchenko However, Mikheila Menabde does not only associate 10 years of study and work with Ukraine. Here he met his future wife, violinist Yulia Rubanova. Her parents were in occupied Mariupol for two months, they were miraculously managed to get in touch and take her to a safe territory. Georgia and Ukraine sound in unison During Mikhail’s arrival, Kyiv is restless. Constant air alarms, musicians have to interrupt rehearsals and go to the Philharmonic storage room. On the night of March 9, Ukraine experienced another massive shelling and almost the longest air alert. Read also: War and peace and opera. Can Ukraine de-Russify the European scene and in what way? There is also unrest in Georgia. It was during our interview that massive protests were taking place on the streets of Tbilisi – Georgians are outraged by the law “on agents”. In the conversation, we touch on the political topic: “If there is no shooting in Georgia now, it does not mean that there is no war there. 20% of the country is occupied by Russia, we know very well what it is like since the 90s. Ukraine is now uncompromising in this struggle , the main thing is not to stop. I can’t stand aside, I want to support my fellow musicians, because they are working during the war, I want to be next to them in this process” Musicians before the concert. Photo: Dmytro Golovchenko Drop by drop – to Victory! The program of the concert “Drop by drop” at the National Philharmonic was compiled by the conductor Mikhail Menabde in such a way as to highlight current topics. “All works are united by ritualism and genre minimalism. On the one hand, we are not into fun, but on the other hand, music cannot be all tragic, there needs to be some hope,” says Mikhail. The title of the concert was determined by the work of the same name by the contemporary Ukrainian composer Maksym Shalygin, who currently lives in the Netherlands. He wrote this piece a few days after the full-scale invasion began. Since its premiere on March 17, 2022, Drop by Drop has been performed live on Dutch television 34 times. The piece was performed in Latvia, Greece, France, Great Britain, Austria, Belgium, Canada, South Korea and Armenia. “The name “Drop by drop” refers to bloodshed, but a drop can also change the world for the better. If each person makes even a small contribution, the amount can lead to big changes,” – this is how composer Maksym Shalygin described his work in an interview with a Dutch newspaper NRC. Maksym Shalygin, photo from the composer’s official Facebook page March 11, 2023, listeners heard “Drop by Drop” for the first time in Ukraine at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. Another piece with echoes of war is “Kommos 2022” by Oleg Bezborodek, premiered in Kyiv. The composer wrote it after the missile attack on the Officers’ House in Vinnytsia on July 14, 2022. Translated from Greek, the name means “beating one’s chest as a sign of mourning”, it is a kind of lament song. “This piece is mournful, despair and pain itself. It has strings, a big drum and a solo for the oboe. My son plays the oboe, and this part is like a symbol of the most precious and important,” Oleg Bezborodko commented. Composer Oleg Bezborodko and conductor Mikhail Menabde. Photo: Dmytro Golovchenko The concert begins with “Cantus” by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. This work, framed by the sounds of bells, is a tribute to the memory of the English composer Benjamin Britten. After the final ringing of the bell, before the applause, for a few seconds you can hear how silence vibrates in the Philharmonic Hall. The conductor seems to freeze in the air, the maximum concentration of energy is in his hands, and the musicians of the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra are just as focused. Read also: Chas “Ch” for the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. What is wrong with it and why is the problem not only in the name Mikhail Menabde and the musicians of the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra. Photo: Dmytro Golovchenko Next comes “Orava” by the Polish composer Wojciech Kilyar. This is a work that contrasts with others, with a clear pulsation and Carpathian motifs, some listeners even begin to move to the beat of the music. “Kommos 2022” by Oleh Bezborodyk returns to the horrors of reality. In it, sirens, explosions, screams, the fading heartbeat are felt. The musical cardiogram suddenly stops, the hall freezes. Volodymyr Lytvynenko (oboe), Oleksandr Tomchuk (drums) are soloists of “Kommos 2022”. Photo: Dmytro Golovchenko But next, “Quiet music” by Valentin Sylvestrov sounds, it gives an opportunity to immerse yourself in a meditative state and a little distance from problems. The composition “Drop by drop” sounds like a giant wave, the approach of which can be felt from afar. And at the moment when you are waiting for the water to cover you, it suddenly recedes, giving a feeling of soft but necessary life force. The program ended with Samuel Barber’s “Adagio” for strings, a quasi-requiem, as Michael Menabde described it. And again silence after the performance of the work, after which the audience applauds standing. The audience at the concert gave a standing ovation. Photo: Dmytro Golovchenko The musicians prepared an encore piece by the Georgian composer, before performing it, the conductor said from the stage: “Ukrainian and Georgian hearts beat together!” . Ukraine and Georgia in the conductor’s gesture. Photo: Dmytro Golovchenko Nodar Gabunia’s “Theme of Love” sounds, violinist Kyrylo Bondar performs solos. “The theme of love” by Nodar Gabunia. Photo: Dmytro Golovchenko I remember Mikhail’s words about hope in music. Personally, I hope that Ukrainian music will get rid of the inferiority complex and musicians will fearlessly perform it on world concert venues. Departments will appear in music universities where the diversity of modern Ukrainian music and the peculiarities of its performance will be studied. This is what you believe after Mikheil Menabde’s wish to Ukrainian musicians: “Don’t stop, move on. Everyone is obliged to do what he knows how to do best. Musicians have to play!”



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