This weekend, the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra of St. Petersburg came to Ann Arbor, and I could have NOT been MORE EXCITED!!! I went to Saturday night concert, which featured Shotakovich's Fourth Symphony and Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto, with Valery Gergiev conducting. It's kind of ironic that despite the 2 years I spent in St. Petersburg, I'm only NOW seeing them when they come to America, but whatever. After walking around that theater, talking with people on the street for hours and longing to be in their concert hall, God decided to send them to me(: The blessings keep raining on my head!
In a way, the thing I was most excited about was to indirectly be reconnected with a culture and a people I miss SO much. Not a day goes by when I don't think of a member of the Church, or a person we talked with on the street, or some nice person in Russia that happened to make our day. My Russian classes have really helped me to feel that connection while here at school, but a whole group of musicians, playing Russian classical music? That's a WAY stronger connection.
The concert itself was amazing. First off, you have to understand that Gergiev, the conductor, is one of the most well-known modern conductors in the world. He's made hundreds of recordings with all kinds of orchestras, does major conducting jobs in Russia and Europe, and is a household name in the music business. Just the fact that the orchestra is coming to Ann Arbor is a big deal, but him coming along makes it even bigger.
For the Prokofiev, it said in the program note they had some special guest pianist who won some competition playing. I assumed this would be some well-known professional in piano circles, but when the conductor walks out with the soloist, it turns out the guest pianist is some Uzbek 15-year old! That in and of itself was surprising, but then he played SO beautifully. There was a beautiful blend of energy and control which was amazing. The Shotakovich afterwards was just as amazing. Unlike some of his later symphonies, it presents a wide spectrum of emotions that I feel depict very Russian images that I associate with Russia. Always pretty, but yet slightly dissonant, like something's not quite in it's place. It reflects Russia rather well.
That side of Russia is something not many people in Western society can appreciate. I don't mean that in a demeaning way, or to say it like I'm judging other people for not understanding, but honestly I had no idea what life was like there until I lived in that culture. I had always heard that Russia had had and was having problems with freedom of speech, rioting and corruption in the government, but in Western society we can't imagine really what that feels like for regular citizens living regular lives. I feel like so often we take for granted the basic rights that we do have in this country of expression, political opinion, social status, etc. From my experience though, life in Russia always seems like this symphony felt to me: beautiful and flowing, but some small wrinkle shows through even the best moments.
With this understanding, it was interesting to see people react to the news that the orchestra, with Gergiev as the conductor, was coming to Ann Arbor. I had figured everybody, my musician friends especially, would be really excited for this opportunity. It's a professional orchestra with a world-famous conductor and tickets are 10 dollars for students! But as the concert got closer, people started making really interesting comments about why they wouldn't attend the concert. As it turns out, Gergiev has made it publicly known that he supports Putin, and therefore supports Putin's current invasion of Ukraine. In addition, Gergiev has specifically made public comments against LGBT rights and the LGBT community, yet another part of Putin's political views.
Surprisingly, because of these two things a lot of people, including a lot of musicians at the music school, decided to not go to the concert because of Gergiev's political views. Now I understand that it's their right to go or not go or to have their own political views, but to me this situation appears a lot different, especially because of my time in Russia.
1. Western and Eastern countries are like apples and oranges: you just can't apply the same rules to either of them cause they're completely different. As you'll see in the next couple paragraphs.
2. While Russia is a relatively liberal country in terms of economics, government and educational programs, they are VERY conservative in their views of society. This is especially poignant in their understanding of the family. When we'd ask people on the street or in lessons what their goals were, even the bums on the street with no money and no job would say they wanted to have a family. My whole time there, I can't tell you how many moms and dads with their kids we would see walking in the park together, or playing games outside together, or how many women we tried to approach only to have them yelling at us while leaping to put themselves between us and their child (much like a mama bear would charge you if you got between her and her cub(: ) There, marriage is only between a man and a woman, and there are laws that prohibit public displays of affection between gay couples. With that understanding, it doesn't strike me as strange that Gergiev would be so open about his views against LGBT rights. For him in his culture, that is culturally acceptable. We can't hold him to the same standards as we hold public figures in our culture because our nations cultures are completely different.
3. Russia may say that they have freedom of speech, but their idea of the concept and our idea of it are slightly different. Technically, you can say anything you want in Russia, but just like every choice, you can't choose the consequence of your actions. (Just writing this makes me hesitate, no kidding) As missionaries, we heard about experiences from our mission leaders that proved "you don't ever know if someone is listening" and to keep it safe, we never really said anything that could be deemed offensive about government systems, government leaders, etc. Now imagine you're one of the greatest conductors in the world, and you want to leave your country periodically to work with musicians from all over. You represent Russia and the Russian government to all these countries. With that in mind, it would be pretty difficult to leave the country if the government letting you out of the country knows you don't fully support them. And they couldn't stop you now since you have such a big public renown, but there are a lot more things they could control about your life other than letting you leave.
This isn't to say that Gergiev's hand is completely forced in this way. I don't think anybody can really know what he really thinks, but I wouldn't assume that all his political views are just as they seem. Other Russian composers in the past have experienced very similar pressure to do what is expected of them. It's that idea of how everybody has a smile on their face, but beneath it all you see that there's a knife poking into their backs, forcing what you now see as a grimace. Just look at other Russian composers and their work. Shotakovich's 5th Symphony for example....
4. While music can express political commentary, I think it's safe to say that Gergiev coming to Ann Arbor was not a political statement. He has to make a living, just like all other musicians. I don't think, however, it's appropriate to decide to go or not to go to a concert just based on someone's "apparent" political opinions. If everybody did that, orchestras and a lot of other musical ensembles would be out of business cause chances are, someone in every orchestra has opposing political opinions to yours. Art and politics aren't meant to be considered together. Politics is the governing of society, while art is the creation and development of culture and cultural identity. Mixing the two would just make a society where nobody likes anybody, and what does that help?
I just think there was a large misunderstanding with the commentary that preceded the concert. While we can never appreciate their culture, they'll never fully be able to understand ours. The good news is, the arts are a universal language that bind us together in ways that governments could never do. While most of the world operates on discord, music only works when everything is in it's place, working together, understanding one another. And while we can't understand them completely, we shouldn't reject their attempt to connect with us on a much higher level then international politics will ever achieve. So conduct on, Valery. Мы вас с радостью слышим.
In a way, the thing I was most excited about was to indirectly be reconnected with a culture and a people I miss SO much. Not a day goes by when I don't think of a member of the Church, or a person we talked with on the street, or some nice person in Russia that happened to make our day. My Russian classes have really helped me to feel that connection while here at school, but a whole group of musicians, playing Russian classical music? That's a WAY stronger connection.
 |
For the Prokofiev, it said in the program note they had some special guest pianist who won some competition playing. I assumed this would be some well-known professional in piano circles, but when the conductor walks out with the soloist, it turns out the guest pianist is some Uzbek 15-year old! That in and of itself was surprising, but then he played SO beautifully. There was a beautiful blend of energy and control which was amazing. The Shotakovich afterwards was just as amazing. Unlike some of his later symphonies, it presents a wide spectrum of emotions that I feel depict very Russian images that I associate with Russia. Always pretty, but yet slightly dissonant, like something's not quite in it's place. It reflects Russia rather well.
 |
| Mariisnky Theater in St. Petersburg |
That side of Russia is something not many people in Western society can appreciate. I don't mean that in a demeaning way, or to say it like I'm judging other people for not understanding, but honestly I had no idea what life was like there until I lived in that culture. I had always heard that Russia had had and was having problems with freedom of speech, rioting and corruption in the government, but in Western society we can't imagine really what that feels like for regular citizens living regular lives. I feel like so often we take for granted the basic rights that we do have in this country of expression, political opinion, social status, etc. From my experience though, life in Russia always seems like this symphony felt to me: beautiful and flowing, but some small wrinkle shows through even the best moments.
With this understanding, it was interesting to see people react to the news that the orchestra, with Gergiev as the conductor, was coming to Ann Arbor. I had figured everybody, my musician friends especially, would be really excited for this opportunity. It's a professional orchestra with a world-famous conductor and tickets are 10 dollars for students! But as the concert got closer, people started making really interesting comments about why they wouldn't attend the concert. As it turns out, Gergiev has made it publicly known that he supports Putin, and therefore supports Putin's current invasion of Ukraine. In addition, Gergiev has specifically made public comments against LGBT rights and the LGBT community, yet another part of Putin's political views.
Surprisingly, because of these two things a lot of people, including a lot of musicians at the music school, decided to not go to the concert because of Gergiev's political views. Now I understand that it's their right to go or not go or to have their own political views, but to me this situation appears a lot different, especially because of my time in Russia.
1. Western and Eastern countries are like apples and oranges: you just can't apply the same rules to either of them cause they're completely different. As you'll see in the next couple paragraphs.
2. While Russia is a relatively liberal country in terms of economics, government and educational programs, they are VERY conservative in their views of society. This is especially poignant in their understanding of the family. When we'd ask people on the street or in lessons what their goals were, even the bums on the street with no money and no job would say they wanted to have a family. My whole time there, I can't tell you how many moms and dads with their kids we would see walking in the park together, or playing games outside together, or how many women we tried to approach only to have them yelling at us while leaping to put themselves between us and their child (much like a mama bear would charge you if you got between her and her cub(: ) There, marriage is only between a man and a woman, and there are laws that prohibit public displays of affection between gay couples. With that understanding, it doesn't strike me as strange that Gergiev would be so open about his views against LGBT rights. For him in his culture, that is culturally acceptable. We can't hold him to the same standards as we hold public figures in our culture because our nations cultures are completely different.
3. Russia may say that they have freedom of speech, but their idea of the concept and our idea of it are slightly different. Technically, you can say anything you want in Russia, but just like every choice, you can't choose the consequence of your actions. (Just writing this makes me hesitate, no kidding) As missionaries, we heard about experiences from our mission leaders that proved "you don't ever know if someone is listening" and to keep it safe, we never really said anything that could be deemed offensive about government systems, government leaders, etc. Now imagine you're one of the greatest conductors in the world, and you want to leave your country periodically to work with musicians from all over. You represent Russia and the Russian government to all these countries. With that in mind, it would be pretty difficult to leave the country if the government letting you out of the country knows you don't fully support them. And they couldn't stop you now since you have such a big public renown, but there are a lot more things they could control about your life other than letting you leave.
This isn't to say that Gergiev's hand is completely forced in this way. I don't think anybody can really know what he really thinks, but I wouldn't assume that all his political views are just as they seem. Other Russian composers in the past have experienced very similar pressure to do what is expected of them. It's that idea of how everybody has a smile on their face, but beneath it all you see that there's a knife poking into their backs, forcing what you now see as a grimace. Just look at other Russian composers and their work. Shotakovich's 5th Symphony for example....
4. While music can express political commentary, I think it's safe to say that Gergiev coming to Ann Arbor was not a political statement. He has to make a living, just like all other musicians. I don't think, however, it's appropriate to decide to go or not to go to a concert just based on someone's "apparent" political opinions. If everybody did that, orchestras and a lot of other musical ensembles would be out of business cause chances are, someone in every orchestra has opposing political opinions to yours. Art and politics aren't meant to be considered together. Politics is the governing of society, while art is the creation and development of culture and cultural identity. Mixing the two would just make a society where nobody likes anybody, and what does that help?
I just think there was a large misunderstanding with the commentary that preceded the concert. While we can never appreciate their culture, they'll never fully be able to understand ours. The good news is, the arts are a universal language that bind us together in ways that governments could never do. While most of the world operates on discord, music only works when everything is in it's place, working together, understanding one another. And while we can't understand them completely, we shouldn't reject their attempt to connect with us on a much higher level then international politics will ever achieve. So conduct on, Valery. Мы вас с радостью слышим.
Holy smokes, Mark. This post makes me want to cry. You have such a beautiful understanding of politics, people and art in general. I'm glad you went to the concert.
ReplyDeleteMark, that was beautiful! Super well put!
ReplyDelete