People and events:

• "THE WORLD OF SOUNDS DOESN'T TOLERATE LIE" (a portrait of conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev)
• THE GOLDEN BRUSH OF RUSSIA (an exhibition of varnished miniature from Kholuy)

"THE WORLD OF SOUNDS DOESN'T TOLERATE LIE"

(a portrait of conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev)

By L. Roschina
"The world of sounds doesn't tolerate lie, everything must be true and natural. This organic harmony is the essence of Vladimir Fedoseyev's art", the well-known Russian sculptor Mikhail Anikushin wrote about Fedoseyev.
Vladimir Fedoseyev's commendable service to music earned him the Russian Order of Merits, the Order of Saint Vladimir instituted by the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Gold Pushkin Medal. His professional career was a thorny one. "It's difficult for a young musician to make his way up without support. My life wasn't easy", Fedoseyev recalls. "There were no professional musicians in the family, but everyone was fond of music: mother sang, father played the bayan. It was my father who wanted me to study music: "You ought to become a musician, you ought to learn", he would say. I retain happy memories of brass band marches in my native Leningrad. During the blockade of Leningrad (1941-1944) our family was evacuated by the famous "rode of life". We had no luggage, except father's bayan. The family settled in Murom and there I entered a music school. My first teacher told me: "You will become a conductor"". Then came the bayan department at Moscow's Gnesins Music Institute, followed by a post-graduate course under Leo Ginzburg at the Moscow Conservatory. Fedoseyev's meeting with the renowned conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra Yevgeny Mravinsky in 1971 determined his further career.
In 1974 he was appointed chief conductor of one of Russia's leading orchestras - the Tchaikovsky Big Symphony Orchestra. He set himself the task of bringing music esthetics to large audiences and cultivate their taste by performing the most significant works. The first few years after his appointment were particularly hard - Fedoseyev worked nearly 24 hours a day. "A great soloist has his own "Stradivari", or he may even take his own grand piano with him", the maestro says. "A conductor has no instrument of his own. He must create it, tune it, find a proper tone… Sometimes it takes years. I am happy because my orchestra gave me more than I could expect".
Today Fedoseyev's orchestra is one of the best music collectives in the world with numerous awards from recording companies in Europe and Japan. Its "ripe" sound with rich overtones is easily recognizable.
In his capacity as chief conductor of the Thaikovsky Big Symphony Orchestra, the post he has been holding for 28 years, Fedoseyev has premiered many pieces by contemporary Russian composers, above all Georgy Sviridov. He is planning to record an anthology of this 20th century classic.
Since 1998 at Fedoseyev's initiative his orchestra has been giving planned monthly concerts at the Big Hall of the Moscow Conservatory at prices accessible to all. "The audience has changed and I no longer feel its sincere and pure-heart response. We have lost students who usually filled the upper floor, people of older age, the old Russian intelligentsia - today the can't afford tickets to a concert", Fedoseyev says. "And to many of them music is the sole consolation at the present difficult time. That's why I decided to organize such concerts featuring well-known masterpieces and lesser-known pieces by Russian and foreign classics and contemporary authors. Playing in our orchestra are both celebrated masters and young but very talented musicians. Russia is rich in talents".
Fedoseyev works in Germany, France, Italy and Britain, not just with symphony orchestras but also as an opera and choir conductor. For 5 years now he has been directing the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and thanks to his energetic and turbulent nature has managed to build sort of a cultural bridge between Russia and Austria.
Fedoseyev is a frequent guest in Japan. "The more I visit Japan, the more I want to come back", he says. "The Japanese public is very fond of music, very responding. No matter where we perform, we feel that our concerts bring people closer to each other, stir up the best sides of their nature. In all times Music with the capital letter was and will remain the art of melody, thought, harmony and passion…"

THE GOLDEN BRUSH OF RUSSIA

(an exhibition of varnished miniature from Kholuy)

By I. Beratova
The village of Kholui famous for its varnished miniature is situated near the ancient towns of Vladimir and Ivanovo in central Russia. Its first settlers were the so-called "old believers" who, faced with persecution by the church for their stubborn refusal to accept Patriarch Nikon's reforms, took shelter in dense and impassable forests.
It's hard to tell when the art of icon-painting made its way to the secluded village on the banks of river Teza, but the legend has it that up to the early 20th century only two men in Kholui weren't painting icons - the bridge-keeper and the miller. Before the 1917 revolution local masters turned out some 2 million icons a year. In Soviet times everything changed: there was no room for icon-painters in the atheistic state calling for the destruction of churches. And yet, the craft has survived, only now it was varnished miniature, predominantly boxes, depicting scenes from Russian fairy tales, instead of icons.
Running in the Moscow-based Arts and Crafts Fund these days is an exhibition called the Golden Brush of Russia offering the best samples of Kholui-style varnished miniature. The fund occupies a small brightly-painted mansion with its own history. Before the revolution it housed a museum of applied arts, founded by the prominent art patron Sergei Morozov who maintained business contacts with France, Britain, Belgium and America. The museum's collection was exhibited in Paris in 1900. After the revolution, in 1918, part of it was sold abroad. It was not until 1994 that the museum was restored.
"Our aim is to uphold and popularize folk crafts", says museum-keeper Irina Solovieva. "It's time to put an end to the domination of souvenirs flooding domestic markets but having nothing to do with true art. We are doing it through all sorts of exhibitions and information activity".
"I entered this craft 50 years ago", says master Anatoly Komorin, "and for the past 39 years has been the head craftsman in our community. We create works of art and are keen to develop this art. Only a part of our items are intended for sale. At this exhibition you can see a wide variety of our products: icons, panels, boxes, bead-holders, cigarette cases and even bracelets. We revere the memory of old masters who left us their rich legacy. We love our craft and train new generations of craftsmen. The present time is pretty tough for craftsmanship in the wake of an economic upheaval of the 1990s. But we are optimists. We believe that some day Russia will be richer, stronger and wiser".
The art of varnished miniature requires great patience, a firm hand, keen eyesight and utmost precision. Says Painter Alexander Novoselov: "Each generation of artists forms its own manner and style of painting. The young inject fresh blood into old traditions. It's extremely valuable. It keeps the craft evolving. Today there appear new themes in miniature painting. For instance, the Fire-Bird from Russian fairy-tales can assume a decorative elegance in Palekh, a realistic touch in Fedoskino, or an emotional flair in Kholui items. Each generations of masters reflects the ideas of its own time and society".