Between Communist Party Bosses and Individual Courage - Revision history

Diogooutra at 09:02, 16 February 2021

2021-02-16T09:02:29Z

Diogooutra at 14:23, 15 July 2020

2020-07-15T14:23:44Z

Diogooutra at 14:20, 15 July 2020

2020-07-15T14:20:03Z

Diogooutra at 10:06, 9 July 2020

2020-07-09T10:06:41Z

Diogooutra at 12:53, 23 June 2020

2020-06-23T12:53:58Z

Show changes

Diogooutra at 15:43, 21 June 2020

2020-06-21T15:43:52Z

Show changes

Diogooutra: Created page with "THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION Violinist Boriss Avramecs (72) is a music historian, ethnomusicologist, lecturer and critic, who founded Riga’ Ancient Music Centre and..."

2020-06-21T15:33:35Z

Created page with "THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION Violinist Boriss Avramecs (72) is a music historian, ethnomusicologist, lecturer and critic, who founded Riga’ Ancient Music Centre and..."

Show changes

@@ Line 234: / Line 234: @@
 '''V: Had somebody postulated this? Was it possible for somebody learning a composition to start doing something like this, naively pretending that he didn’t know what he was doing?'''
-'''B:''' The situation during the second half of the 1940s and in the last years of Stalin’s rule was terribly bleak. In 1946, there was the first decision by the Central Committee about writers etc., which sharply criticised Anna Akhmatova (Анна Ахматова), Mikhail Zoschchenko (Михаил Зощенко), and people from the Silver era, who were not arrested, but whose writing was not permitted to be published. It was only permissible to publish translations of their work in other languages. This was followed in 1948 by a special CC decision aimed at music. The formal reason for it was a poor opera written by a mediocre Georgian composer about friendship between peoples, but in reality it was a blow struck against the official composers of the day – against Prokofiev, [[Dmitri Shostakovich|Shostakovich]] and Khachaturian. And it was followed by decisive steps. It was only permissible to write tonal music. There was an attempt to formulate manifestations of Socialist realism in the realm of music, but this failed, because there is no text in music. But everyone knew what was subject to particularly severe criticism like the Second Viennese School, neoclassicism, Stravinsky... This was all banned. And it was absolutely clear to composers that, in order for your music to be bought and played, you had to write tonal music with emotional substances, full of pathos, and always optimistic so that things did not end in tragedy. This situation prevailed for a long time. After Stalin’s death, this inertia continued. After a break of 20 years, to get permission to perform Mozart’s Requiem, one had to practice demagogy and write in programmes and subsequently in reviews that, in essence, Mozart composed “music full of humanism”, but that he lived in conditions where he had to adapt to the situation and decorate everything in religious form. It was an absolute nightmare, because he was a Catholic believer. This was the case for a long time – to get permission, one had to apologise first.
+'''B:''' The situation during the second half of the 1940s and in the last years of Stalin’s rule was terribly bleak. In 1946, there was the first decision by the Central Committee about writers etc., which sharply criticised Anna Akhmatova (Анна Ахматова), Mikhail Zoschchenko (Михаил Зощенко), and people from the Silver era, who were not arrested, but whose writing was not permitted to be published. It was only permissible to publish translations of their work in other languages. This was followed in 1948 by a special CC decision aimed at music. The formal reason for it was a poor opera written by a mediocre Georgian composer about friendship between peoples, but in reality it was a blow struck against the official composers of the day – against [[Sergei Prokofiev|Prokofiev]], [[Dmitri Shostakovich|Shostakovich]] and [[Aram Khachaturian|Khachaturian]]. And it was followed by decisive steps. It was only permissible to write tonal music. There was an attempt to formulate manifestations of Socialist realism in the realm of music, but this failed, because there is no text in music. But everyone knew what was subject to particularly severe criticism like the Second Viennese School, neoclassicism, Stravinsky... This was all banned. And it was absolutely clear to composers that, in order for your music to be bought and played, you had to write tonal music with emotional substances, full of pathos, and always optimistic so that things did not end in tragedy. This situation prevailed for a long time. After Stalin’s death, this inertia continued. After a break of 20 years, to get permission to perform Mozart’s Requiem, one had to practice demagogy and write in programmes and subsequently in reviews that, in essence, Mozart composed “music full of humanism”, but that he lived in conditions where he had to adapt to the situation and decorate everything in religious form. It was an absolute nightmare, because he was a Catholic believer. This was the case for a long time – to get permission, one had to apologise first.
 On the subject of how information [about alternative manifestations of culture] reached Latvia, I must praise the long-standing head of the Composers’ Union, composer [[Pauls Dambis]]. On the one hand, he was a conformist, because he adapted to the system, but on the other hand he was smart and talented, with a vibrant interest in everything going on. This was how took advantage of his position: if he learned that an American musicologist was going to appear in Moscow, he would invite him to Riga. Back then, as a student, I went to the Benjamin House Hall to listen to the lectures he organised. If Americans were visiting, their words were translated. At Dambis’ initiative, Alexei Lubimov was invited there, and he brought with him another younger pianist, Boris Berman. Lubimov spoke a little and performed atonal and serial music by Stockhausen, Silvestrov and Denisov. And as a sequel, a special concert was organised at the Reformation Church, which due to its acoustics was home to the Melodija record label studio. What’s more, in Czechoslovakia, there was a monopolist record producer, Supraphon. Thanks to Pauls Dambis, they brought records to Riga for sale, which would not have reached our shops otherwise. I was lucky enough to buy a record with Olivier Messiaen’s organ cycle La nativité du Seigneur (The Lord’s Nativity). What a revelation that was! The music was arranged completely differently – the repetitions, unusual compositional chords, the meditative atmosphere. That’s where I got my inspiration from.

@@ Line 98: / Line 98: @@
 '''V:''' What about other “brotherly” republics?
-'''B:''' From Yerevan [in [[:Category:Armenia|Armenia]]], we were visited by a wonderful composer Tigran Mansurian, while Valentyn Silvestrov (Валентин Sylvestrov) arrived here from Kiev [in [[:Category: Ukraine|Ukraine]]]. Both are still alive. That was at the second [avant-garde music] festival which took place in October 1977.
+'''B:''' From Yerevan [in [[:Category:Armenia|Armenia]]], we were visited by a wonderful composer [[Tigran Mansurian]], while [[Valentyn Silvestrov]] (Валентин Sylvestrov) arrived here from Kiev [in [[:Category: Ukraine|Ukraine]]]. Both are still alive. That was at the second [avant-garde music] festival which took place in October 1977.
 '''V: Please tell me about these avant-garde music festivals.'''
 '''B:''' Remember, the first festival took place in April 1976. Why? Because a couple of years earlier, the Riga Philharmonic accepted a proposal from Muscovite pianist [[Aleksey Lubimov]] to organise a major concert cycle “20th Century Piano Music”. This was a cycle lasting several months in the former Wagner Hall, which today is the rehearsal hall for the Latvija choir. At the suggestion of Lubimov, the cycle also included works by John Cage and Charles Ives.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[File:Boriss avramecs.png|thumb|Boriss Avramecs. Photo by A. Šavrejs]]
-Violinist [[Boriss Avramecs]] (72) is a music historian, ethnomusicologist, lecturer and critic, who founded Riga’ Ancient Music Centre and ran it for 12 years. Avramecs’ unique knowledge is also concealed in the fact that he has been an enthusiastic and observant witness – and at key points also a participant – in the processes of innovative and independent music in Latvia since the 1960s. In this interview, conducted for UNEARTHING THE MUSIC by Viestarts Gailitis, Avramecs touches upon many of the key figures and moments of the underground music scene in [[:Category: Latvia|Latvia]] and the [[:Category: Soviet Union|USSR]] in general, giving us a broad view of the context from the 60s to the end of the Soviet Union.
+Violinist [[Boriss Avramecs]] (70 years old) is a music historian, ethnomusicologist, lecturer and critic, who founded Riga’ Ancient Music Centre and ran it for 12 years. Avramecs’ unique knowledge is also concealed in the fact that he has been an enthusiastic and observant witness – and at key points also a participant – in the processes of innovative and independent music in Latvia since the 1960s. In this interview, conducted for UNEARTHING THE MUSIC by Viestarts Gailitis, Avramecs touches upon many of the key figures and moments of the underground music scene in [[:Category: Latvia|Latvia]] and the [[:Category: Soviet Union|USSR]] in general, giving us a broad view of the context from the 60s to the end of the Soviet Union.
 == Music curators: the Communist Youth and the Cheka ==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
+[[File:Boriss avramecs.png|thumb|Boriss Avramecs. Photo by A. Šavrejs]]
 Violinist [[Boriss Avramecs]] (72) is a music historian, ethnomusicologist, lecturer and critic, who founded Riga’ Ancient Music Centre and ran it for 12 years. Avramecs’ unique knowledge is also concealed in the fact that he has been an enthusiastic and observant witness – and at key points also a participant – in the processes of innovative and independent music in Latvia since the 1960s. In this interview, conducted for UNEARTHING THE MUSIC by Viestarts Gailitis, Avramecs touches upon many of the key figures and moments of the underground music scene in [[:Category: Latvia|Latvia]] and the [[:Category: Soviet Union|USSR]] in general, giving us a broad view of the context from the 60s to the end of the Soviet Union.
@@ Line 16: / Line 15: @@
 Speaking of Allegro – the Kalķu Street courtyard, where it opened, was home to the Communist Youth Cinema. After the courtyard was renovated, the Allegro opened next door. This café officially belonged to the Communist Youth Committee. The wall paintings there were almost Fauvist in style, with intense colours. A good system was quickly established there – almost every evening was devoted to cultural events – one evening to young Latvian actors, another to young Russian actors, mainly from the legendary Youth Theatre, whose director was Adolf Shapiro and where the actors were very capable. Another evening was devoted to jazz. This was a very important step. In Moscow at that time, in the early 1980s, the attitude towards jazz was positive, but a lot depended on the local bosses. The head of the Riga Philharmonic was Filips Šveiniks, an ideological Communist, with a passion for 19th century classical music. He couldn’t stand jazz. Concerts of this kind were impossible on his stages run by the Philharmonic. That’s why the jazz club opened. It was based in the Builders’ Club in the Salvation Army’s current premises. It was not a pretty space and was visited by only a few jazz fans. However, when jazz evenings began to be organised at the Old Riga Allegro, it was a completely different matter; they were packed. Another evening that the Communist Youth and the chekists organised at the Allegro was devoted to rock.
 What could you hear there? Well, for example, a band by the name of [[Atonālais sindroms]] formed in Riga. It was an absolutely unique ensemble, who played free jazz, with theatrical elements of Dadaism and the theatre of the absurd. It was fronted by a person with a tragic destiny, [[Oļegs Garbarenko]]. He was my age. When I moved Riga in 1961, I was admitted to the 5th Grade class at Emīls Dārziņš Music School. Oļegs was also a student there, but since he was unbalanced and there were strict rules, he was expelled. He was phenomenally talented, very smart. When he was young, he had a passion for the organ. Officially, it was only possible to play at Riga Cathedral, from which the church had been evicted and now served the needs of tourists, as well as in the University of Latvia’s Great Hall. Being a rebel, Oļegs got the clergyman at Torņkalns Church to agree to let him practice there during the day. He was admitted to Riga Polytechnic University. Such were his gifts, that he secured his first patents during his years as a student. Oļegs read a lot and worked at the Pan-Union Research Institute, where he worked in marine geology, and which was located on the road from Riga to Jurmala. There he obtained patents for his inventions. He also developed a passion for bobsleigh as an organiser and athlete. Being a daredevil, he didn’t observe any limits and suffered a terrible accident.
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 I say this to explain the background for the emergence of Atonālais sindroms fronted by the half crazy Garbarenko in 1983/1984. Garbarenko was the nucleus, but he was joined by other courageous young people. One of them still lives in Riga. He had an orthodox background and was responsible for singing at the house of prayer, but he was also young and inclined to be wild. He played a balalaika-type instrument the size of a double bass. There was also the baritone saxophone and the drums.
-Another member was saxophonist and director [[Alexander Axyenov]], who worked at the Aviation Institute Club. It was very important, because students from Cuba, Africa and Latin America among other places, studied there, among them students from very influential leftist families. It was there, at this institute, that Axyenov founded a theatre studio and became a director. They had radical taste – initially their activity was spontaneous, including happenings. The saxophone was played radically and aggressively.
+[[File:Aleksandr Aksyonov.jpg|thumb|Aleksandr Aksyonov of Atonālais sindroms]]Another member was saxophonist and director [[Alexander Aksyonov]], who worked at the Aviation Institute Club. It was very important, because students from Cuba, Africa and Latin America among other places, studied there, among them students from very influential leftist families. It was there, at this institute, that Axyenov founded a theatre studio and became a director. They had radical taste – initially their activity was spontaneous, including happenings. The saxophone was played radically and aggressively.
 It was around this time that the rock club opened. At that time, there were incredibly talented musicians in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) and Moscow, some of whom also performed in Riga. At Allegro I got to hear [[Manufaktura]], which existed for nearly a year in Leningrad. A phenomenal and superb musical, with deep and serious lyrics. Leningrad’s chekists decided to end the group’s activity – one member was expelled from university and as soon as that happened, he was called into the army and the group was no more. We were lucky enough to hear them live. They were also part of the Samizdat.
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 The third member, [[Sergey Syomin]] still lives in Riga. He was a fan of ancient music and in Latvia’s first ancient instrumental music group Ludus he played the lute as an autodidact. From time to time, I’ve seen him dressed in renaissance attire playing renaissance music on the summer café stage in Dome Square on the corner of Smilšu Street.
 == Soviet rock or vocal instrumental ensembles ==