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By Olga Fyodorova
It is late night in winter and there comes the sound of the door opening
at the Moscow apartment of a popular music journalist.
“Is that you, darling?”
“Yes…”
“What kept you? Have you been to a concert or what?”
“No… I bet you’ll never guess where I was…”
“I don’t even have to guess ‘cause you’re burning to tell me where you’ve
been…”
“A shooting range, that’s where!”
“Are you telling me that with your poor eyesight, you’ve got something
to hope for there? Or, maybe, you are now out interviewing sharpshooters?”
“No, I’m still writing about musicians, this time, about Tatyana Grindenko.
She invited me to come over, so I did and we had a chat right there, at
the range.”
“Wait a minute, Tatyana Grindenko is an eerie creature with the inspired
face of a medieval duchess, a wasp’s waist and exquisite attire! Is it
her you are talking about?”
“That’s right!”
“Tatyana Grindenko, the great violinist, the winner of a number of top-flight
international competitions, the founder of the elitist Old Music Academy
ensemble is spending her spare time at a shooting range?!”
“Exactly! And she’s a great shot too, scoring 10 points out of 10, right
in the bull’s eye! A real Amazon! She’s a great fighter and an admirable
woman!”
Tatyana’s musical talent cropped out early on. At the age of 7 she was
admitted to a school for musically endowed children they have at the Moscow
Conservatory where she attended the class of Yuri Yankelevich. The no-nonsense
professor literally adored Tatyana for her rare talent and also for her
strong character and the very welcome habit of never breaking a promise.
Well, what else could you expect from a military man’s daughter?
Tatyana fully returned her teacher’s affection. Professor Yankelevich worked
night and day when getting a student ready for a competition and they never
let him down winning all the competitions they took part in. Well aware
of their strong points, Yankelevich knew how best to make them showcase
their talents to maximum advantage. Winning a national competition, Tatyana
then won gold at the prestigious Wieniawski contest in Poland and, shortly
after, bowed out with the third prize of the Tchaikovsky international
competition in Moscow. The first prize went to her course mate Gidon Kremer…
Just a few months later Tatyana and Gidon became husband and wife…
Different as they were in everyday life, the two were an absolutely
phenomenal duet on stage inspiring a number of great numbers written expressly
for them, including Concerto Grosso No. 1 by Alfred Schnittke.
Even though this family duet proved pretty short lived, professionally
they still play together and each time they come out on stage the audience
listens with bated breath to this divine ensemble…
For all the integrity of her character, Tatyana Grindenko has always kept
her mind open to new ideas and instruments. She once was even playing guitar
in a rock band. She went horseback riding and making easy work of any hurdles
on the way and she is a devout race driver too…
Once, in the company of her friends, she dropped by
a shooting range and before long was giving one better to many seasoned
sharpshooters…
And, on stage, she always remained the epitome of beauty
and inspiration…
In the early 1980s, medieval art was very much in vogue in Europe. Never
to be outdone, Tatyana ventured to set up an ensemble to play old music
on old instruments. In Russia, music by old masters was then played on
modern instruments and in the very manner they played Tchaikovsky, Bartok,
Sarasate and Shostakovich. Tatyana wanted to get back to the roots and
bring back that long-forgotten, authentic sound…
She named the new ensemble Old Music Academy and indeed, playing there
and listening to what they played became a real eye-opener to those wanting
to know more about ancient arts and medieval playing techniques.
The new ensemble brought together a bunch of true enthusiasts rehearsing
from early morning and well into the night...
The Old Music Academy ensemble is rightfully called an all-soloists band
and with good reason too since each player is a real virtuoso whose mastery
adds to the overall sound…
Tatyana Grindenko is the biggest jewel in the constellation of excellent
performers. She is also a conductor here using her bow as a baton, just
like old age kapellmeisters once did. A great violinist, she often
goes it alone playing solo concerts of Bach, Corelli, Vivaldi and other
16th, 17th and 18th century composers…
The Old Music Academy is a welcome guest at many prestigious European festivals
and a vehicle for some of the world’s best players of medieval
music.
Unfortunately, the ensemble’s full flowering coincided with a period of
instability and economic chaos in Russia which is certainly not the best
of time for an elitist art to flourish at. The players working under the
Moscow Philharmonic Society were getting virtual peanuts for their work
but, surprisingly, they never complained working on and stunning their
learned audience with their ever-improving performance.
The ensemble then started taking up modern music too and did it perfectly
well thanks both to their masterful performance and Tatyana’s keen understanding
of different musical styles and manners.
Then she met Vladimir Martynov, a hugely talented composer who eventually
became her second husband. His music occupied a very special niche
in the repertoire of the Old Music Academy, which took on the name of Opus
Post each time they played post avant-garde music.
The Old Music Academy marked their 20th birthday with a major anniversary
concert playing a variety of styles and showcasing, once again, the
performing excellence of each its member.
Leading the ensemble that night, just like always, was a fragile and elegant
woman with the tender smile of a medieval Princess and the firm hand
of a fearless Amazon. She lifted the bow and the magic began...
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