Walter Dobner : Mrs. Denisova , you were born in Moscow and have studied here. Who were your teachers ? Elena Denisova : One of the best pupils of David Oistrakh, Valery Klimov, was my teacher. Also, I attended master classes with Oleg Kagan. Klimov was more about a cultured sound, about the tradition, Kagan about the individual artistic form. WD: How did you start playing the violin? ED: My grandfather loved the violin very much, but he never played it himself. Supposedly he even built a violin in his childhood. Before my birth he bought a Guarneri. As the only grandchild my path as a violinist was more or less predetermined. WD: What would you describe as the essence of the Russian violinist school? ED: The concept of sound. Nowadays it is often forgot, because you look for special and unique interpretations, while the essence is left behind: Like in the Italian voice it is about a beautiful Cantilena . WD: How does this sound differ to the sound of the American virtuosos? ED: The Russian school puts an emphasis on individual sound which primarily has juicy characteristics, but is not necessarily generally shaped. I think, every composer was a man, so the audience reacts to the eroticism of the sound. Each composer has a different charisma. You have to be able to express that on the violin. Sometimes the sensuality of the sound is missing. I am referring here to soloists and quartet soloists, where all four have to have the same sensations. In an orchestra the personal sound is not needed. WD: Where did you begin your career? DE: In western Europe. In 1990, with the help of Kagan, I came to Lübeck. To build up an existence I applied for a concertmaster position. The first invitation came from Klagenfurt. I am very grateful for everything that was done for me here. After two years I gave up the austrian citizenship, my family was able to follow me and then I started to play concerts. After three years, I have given up this position at the Theatre, to look for other possibilities. We stayed in Carinthia for three more years and finally moved to Vienna. Meanwhile, I had established the chamber orchestra Collegium Musicum Carinthia with my husband Alexei Kornienko, who is a pianist and conductor. At the " Carinthian Summer " we played the world premiere of the opera by Gerhard Schedl "Giants, dwarves, men-eater". Further on we founded the Gustav Mahler Association, which includes different formations - a trio, a quartet, an ensemble. The intention is to make an emphasis on the five composers from the Woerthersee - Berg, Brahms, Mahler, Webern, Wolf. In 2002, we finally start our biggest project so far - a small festival. Its beginning will be two concerts at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt in early June , it is followed by three more in the Klagenfurt Concert Hall, but it is still too early to talk about details. WD : You engage in classical and contemporary music. Do you see both as equally important? ED: Even in Russia I passionately performed contemporary music. It depends on the selection and a serious inner involvement. WD : You have inspired 13 Violin Caprices, how did it come to this? ED: Playing each Competition only Bach, Mozart, Paganini or Wieniawski? - But we are in the 21st century! Therefore, I have tried to encourage known composer to write a short and concise piece. Now a CD of mine has come out, on which I combine partitas of Bach contemporary partitas. In my search of what I can play solo violin except Bach, I bumped into the solo sonatas by Chandoshkin. I recorded three of them. W. D. : And with tremendous success. Is there not enough curiosity among soloists? E. D. : I think they are too busy with their own instrument. Perhaps also too focused on tradition and a perfect mastery of the instrument. I have this other desideratum. I was confronted with tradition so much in Moscow that I am now almost sick of it. For me it is better to start other things and to find my own Bach or Paganini through for example contemporary Caprices..