14 THE IRISH TIMES Monday, April 27, 2009 R2 Tomorrow Writers and readers TheArts celebrate literature at Cúirt Arts Editor Deirdre Falvey e-mail [email protected] Tuning in to the word from up there words. They can be printed or read to the listeners. But, in performance, they are sub- sumed in the music itself, rather than separate from it. Knaifel’s current style is afar cry from the music he wrote as ayoung man, when his name was listed among the practitioners of the avant-garde in the Soviet Union. He was Russian composer among agroup of composers subjected to an official reprimandin1979. His crime was the Alexander Knaifel uses scandal which surrounded the Cologne pre- texts subsumed into his miere of an improvisatory piece called APrima Vista.Along with Elena Firsova, Dmitri extraordinary music. He Smirnov, Viktor Suslin, Vyacheslav Artyomov, SofiaGubaidulina and Edison Denisov, he was talks to Michael Dervan tarred with the accusation of creating “noisy about life in Soviet times mud instead of real musical innovation”. But, he says,hedidn’t really have adifficult and this week’s concert time from theSoviet authorities. “I wasn’t one of those composers who were socially or politi- of his music in Drogheda cally targeted. Ijust wasn’t performed. But I worked on film music. And this was financially rewarding; Icould live from writing it. And I HE MUSIC OF the 65-year-old Rus- could write music which would be recorded sian composer, Alexander Knaifel, is right away, and Icould listen to it right away. as extraordinary to describe as it is to Alfred Schnittke was also aware of this advan- listen to. Take his Agnus Dei of 1985. tage.Sofia Gubaidulina, also, alittle bit. T It is scored for “four instrumentalists “I had acouple of difficult situations, but acappella”, playing percussion, keyboards, sax- they weren’t too bad, and it was also significant ophones and double bass, all with electronics. that Ididn’t live in Moscow, but in St Peters- Not aword is sung or spoken, although the burg. It was easier there. In St Petersburg, the familiar text appears in the score for the per- leader of the Composers’ Union was Andrey formers, as do extracts from the diary of a Petrov. He was fond of me and believed in my young girl who died in the siege of Leningrad. music, and when he became aware of any diffi- The words of the diary are simple, their culties he was very protective. In contrast to impact devastating. They bluntly record the Sofia Gubaidulina, or Alfred Schnittke or Arvo days and times of the deaths of family and Pärt, who went abroad, Ididn’t have many con- neighbours. The often isolated notes in this troversial situations. slow-moving, two-hour piece are inhabitants – “I wouldcompare myself to Valentin Silves- mostly fragile, though sometimes subsonically trov.Westayed at home and got on with doing threatening when in synthesizer mode –ofan what we wanted to do.” almost unendurably bare landscape. Things in the Soviet Union were not quite as Chapter Eight (1993) is asetting of part of black and white as they are often represented. the Song of Songs,written with Knaifel’s cello “The point is not the country, the point is teacher, Mstislav Rostropovich, in mind (a the people.” And, he says, “in away, the atmos- nerve inflammation put paid to Knaifel’s cello phere for creativity used to be better”. career while he was still astudent). The work Creating boundaries, he says, can actually is the antithesis of aconcerto and Knaifel promote creativity more than untrammelled describes it in an unusual way, as being “for freedom. He points to the remarkable human church, choirs and acello”. achievements which have been made under The choirs form across in the church, achil- the extreme adversities of war. dren’s choir before the altar, amixed choir at “We know that unbelievable things are the back of the church, male and female choirs often born in asituation where you wouldn’t to the right and the left, the cellist at the assume that anything would be possible,” he centre. The hour-long piece moves with implac- says. able, slow gentleness, the cello placed in the limelight for “an act of humility, amanifesta- ASKING HIM ABOUT the change that took tion of sacrificial, self-crucifying love”. place in his music prompts along philosoph- Iheard the piece in aLucerne Festival per- ical disquisition aboutmusical language, and formance afew weeks ago by Swiss cellist the source of what people often refer to as Patrick Demenga and Latvian choirs under inspiration. Composers, he says, don’t actually Estonian conductor Andres Mustonen. choose their language or style. Mustonen managed to make the choral voices “Every period has its own language. Listen float. The sounds sometimes seemed to to Palestrina, Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, emerge as imperceptibly as acloud slowly Brahms, Stravinsky, Britten, Purcell. The lan- forming in aclear sky. In the welcoming guages are different. This is agreat mystery. rococo interior of Lucerne’s Jesuit church, the It’s God’s will, if you like. And this is the most effect was of prolonged, quiet ravishment. interesting part. We understand everything Knaifel the man is sometimes as animated which was before us. But all those languages in conversation as his music is calm. He sings, those works which he has laced with the three visiting cards.” Music for unheard texts: comes to rehearsals. Knaifel’s confidence are different, and that has to mean that the points, cuts swathes through the air with his embedded, unsung texts. The source is the Alexander Knaifel the man is seems unbounded. actual language isn’t the main point. We gestures and uses his legs and feet too. He illus- 19th-century Russian poet, Fyodor Tyutchev, THE NEW PIECE inspired by the poems is a as animated in conversation as “Lisa speaks Russian as well as she does her shouldn’t try to separate things too much on trates as he talks. andKnaifel came upon the poems for his EF work for violin, viola and cello. Although it’s an his music is calm. He sings, mother tongue,” he says. “She will make alit- the basis of musical language or style.” And he has awicked sense of humour. and three visiting cards of the poet in amost instrumental piece, it is, in essence, for points, cuts swathes through eral translation for the musicians. She is the Then he takes aleap by saying: “The main “Rossini,” he roars, at one point, when Ipress unusual way. Knaifel, “a vocal piece”. It’s dedicated to the the air with his gestures and ideal person to be abridge between the two thing is that acomposer can’t really write his him for the nameofafavourite contemporary “In the 1980s, about 25 years ago, Igot them Englishcellist, Elizabeth (Lisa) Wilson. Like uses his legs and feet too. He cultures.” own music. The music comes from” –hepoints westerncomposer. He’s not just having ajoke. from avery good friend of mine, who knew Knaifel, she studied with Rostropovich, whose illustrates as he talks Knaifel’s practice of using texts that were –“up there. What’s important for acomposer He regards all real music as contemporary, that Iliked the poetry of Tyutchev very much,” biographyshe has written (as well as books on not to be sung goes back to the early 1980s. He is to listen to it and to get it down on paper. whenever it was written. he says. “He typed out for me six late poems by Shostakovich and Jacqueline du Pré). first used it in apiece called Nika (“72 frag- Then it’s clear for everybody what it is. All the His new commission for Friday’s portrait Tyutchev which are almost unknown. “The poetry says ‘EF’, but the piece is ments for 17 performers on bass instru- classifications or separations come from the concert at the Drogheda Arts Festival is one of Tyutchev wrote these poems to avery young dedicated to ‘EW’,” says Knaifel. “Lisa Wilson ments“), with poetry by Heraclitus. And, over weaknesses of mankind.” woman –she was alady-in-waiting to the tsa- has played in trios her whole life; it’s some- time, he found himself using the idea again rina. But she wasn’t young any more, when thing she does alot. I’m very happy that it will and again, and embracing the ideaofusing The Rest is Noise: the Music of Alexander this friend of mine got to know her. But be connected to the two Irish musicians. I’m Russian poetry. Knaifel is presented by Drogheda Borough In away, the somehow the poems had just stayed in the also quite excited and alittle nervous, because It’s his view that he’s really doing nothing Council, in association with Louth family. it’s avery complicated piece.” morethan pursuing the words of the Bible – Contemporary Music Society, for Drogheda Arts atmosphere for “Tyutchev used to be quite spontaneous. He The poetry is written into the score, moving “In the beginning was the Word”. He sees him- Festival at St Peter’s Church of Ireland, wouldn’t always write down his poems in a around thepage as it associates itself with dif- self as bringing music back to its source, and Drogheda, this Fri, May 1, at 8pm. Performers creativity used to be better proper way. He would write on whatever hap- ferent instruments. The text is in Cyrillic he believes that while the words are not are Patricia Rozario (soprano), Elizabeth pened to be around. And these ones he wrote script, so the violinist and viola player, Eliza- explicit for the listener in the performance, Cooney (violin), Joachim Roewer (viola), [in the Soviet Union] on his visiting cards.