People and events:

• VLADIMIR SPIVAKOV TURNS 60
• ST. PETERSBURG'S FOOD MUSEUMS

VLADIMIR SPIVAKOV TURNS 60

The outstanding Russian violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov, who turned 60 in September, often repeats that music for him is a means of socializing with people. "There are things music can express better than word," he says. Nature endowed him with many gifts and his musical talent revealed itself at a very early age. Spivakov won his first solo prize when he was 30. This was followed by many other awards at prestigious international competitions, among them the Long/Thibault competition in Paris, the Paganini contest in Genoa, and, of course, the Moscow Tchaikovsky competition. Spivakov's solo concerts in the United States in 1975 brought him international recognition. He has travelled half the globe, playing with best orchestras and world-famous conductors, including Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Riccardo Muti, Loren Maazel, and Claudio Abbado. Deep penetration into the author's concept, rich and volumetrical sound, subtle nuances and exceptional artistry are distinguishing features of Spivakov's performance style. He says he says he owes these qualities to his conservatory professor Yuri Yankelevich and also to the famous Russian violinist of the 20th century David Oistrakh whom he worshipped. Spivakov's admirers and music patrons presented him with a precious gift, a violin made by the legendary Italian master Antonio Stardivari. The maestro treats it like a human being and his confident. The "king of music", as he was dubbed in France, Spivakov has been conferred the Russian Order of Friendship and Order of Merits, the Armenian Order of St. Mesrop Mastor, the Ukrainian Order of Merits, the French Order of Fine Arts and Literature and Order of Legion. There is a planet named after him. Spivakov's charisma made him an excellent soloist and enabled him to create two orchestras - the Moscow Virtuosos chamber orchestra, which celebrates its 25th birthday this season, and the Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra currently based at the Moscow International House of Music, a music and cultural center directed by Spivakov. "Human relations have never frightened me because my psychology is based on love and respect for people," he says. "I find easy to socialize will people - a president, cloakroom attendant, waiter or trainman, it doesn't matter what they are. There are some rules agreed between me and my musicians, the main one being that we should help each other. The key foundations of an orchestra are human love and love for music. Spivakov's conducting style is as emotional as his play. But however emotional his gestures may seem, they don't interfere with the musical image and form of a peace. Even now he says he is still in the process of mastering the complicated art of conducting. His idols are Yevgeny Svetlanov and Yevgeny Mravinsky. Spivakov's childhood passed in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) where he took lessons from Liberman, a concertmaster in Mravinsky's orchestra. Mravinsky's rehearsals and concerts were a brilliant school to the young musician. Later, other great conductors emerged on his way, one of them Leonard Bernstein. "He said he had faith in me and gave me his baton as a keepsake. I never part with it," Spivakov says. Spivakov is the organizer of numerous festivals featuring prominent Russian and foreign performers. The most significant of them are "Vladimir Spivakov Invites" in Moscow and an international festival in Colmar, France. His talent manifested itself in other fields, too. Much of his public activity is devoted to charity. For one, he created a special fund to support talented children with a gift in music and art in Russia and other CIS republics, helped disabled children and organized charity concerts in "hot points" with all the proceeds transferred to the victims of a disaster or terrorism. He can mobilize people for a noble cause. "I want to set up a trusteeship board of the Moscow House of Music and a club of the house's friends, enlist support from various people and companies, from large-scale business. Businessmen are coming to understand that material wealth is transitory, while spiritual values are eternal," Spivakov says. He celebrated his birthday with a jubilee concert in the Moscow Conservatory Great Hall. Besides the maestro himself, who appeared both as soloist and conductor, the participants included his colleagues and young musicians, winners of Spivakov Fund's scholarships.

ST. PETERSBURG'S FOOD MUSEUMS

St. Petersburg is famous for its museums, among them the huge Hermitage with its rich collection of artworks, as well as numerous smaller museums - historical, military, theatrical, as well as memorial apartments of outstanding poets, writers and composers. It also boasts something you won't find in Moscow and other cities, for instance, food museums. The Museum of Bread is filled with tantalizing aromas of fresh bread and bakes. Inside it looks as a chic bakery with a wide assortment of goods: ordinary bread for dinner, rich bread, scones, the famous Moscow kalach, gingerbread, and more. Of special interest is bread for cosmonauts, every slice packed to make it easier to eat in conditions of weightlessness. Here you can also see soldiers' dried crusts dating from World War I, and the 100 g of black "siege" bread - a daily ration distributed among citizens in Nazi-besieged Leningrad during World War II. Compare the reconstructed interior of a mid-20th-century baker's shop with the showcase of a contemporary baking factory. As you stroll through a gallery of halls, the history of Russian culinary traditions passes before you eyes. Russia has always been famous for its pies. The museum displays wax replicas of huge pies of the late 16th, early 17th centuries, which graced the table of Czar Boris Godunov. Pies were stuffed with mushrooms, potatoes, berries, about 50 kinds of fillings are known to date. Czar Peter I ordered a giant pie to be baked for royal parties, known as assemblies. And in the midst of pleasure live people would jump out suddenly out of the cake. Czar Peter issued a decree ordering to set up bakeries in St. Petersburg. The price of morning bread was lower at the end of the day. The museum conducts regular bread festivals with tasting ceremonies. Schoolchildren are invited to play the "baker's shop" game followed by Russian-style tea-drinking with a genuine samovar and delicious rolls. Nearly every country has a museum of national beverages. Last year St. Petersburg followed suit by opening a museum of vodka. The figure of ancient monk Zosima, considered to be the founder of vodka production some 5 centuries ago, welcomes visitors in. "Vodka" as a brand-name asserted in the 1920s. Before that other terms had been used, among them "bread wine" and "medovukha". "All Russian vodka is made of grain and non-boiled water, while foreign analogues are made of potatoes and boiled water. It's the basic mixture," says the museum's administrator Yelena Sorokina. The first drinking places called "kabak" appeared under the rule of Ivan the Terrible and were for men only. The state monopoly on alcohol production yielded huge profits. "Catherine II closed "kabaks" and opened "traktirs" (taverns) where drinks were to be accompanied by appetizers. Under Catherine, in the 18th century, the quality of vodka improved to such an extent that the empress did not considered it improper to give it to her foreign friends as a gift. Back in those times there were as many brands of vodka as there were letters in the Russian alphabet: cranberry, cherry, apple, dock, and other varieties of vodka. While in St. Petersburg, don't miss the Museum of Chocolate located on Nevsky Avenue in the heart of the city. An absolutely chocolate, smiling African wearing an 18th-century livery will greet you at the entrance. A few steps down - and you find yourself in a chocolate kingdom: ducks, dogs, cats, dolls, bells, chess figurines, baskets, planes, Easter eggs and much more - all from chocolate and all for sale. "There are chocolate museums in Holland, Switzerland, Belgium and France, but they exist separately from shops, while we decided to bring the two together," says the museum's director Irina Zaitseva. "Our museum is fairly well-known. A Korean television made a documentary about it and not long ago we had a delegation from Finland. We have top-class chocolate designers capable of fulfilling the most sophisticated orders. We have read plenty of literature on chocolate and found some ancient recipes. Our table-top book is "The History of Chocolate" published in Moscow in 2002." Prices are fairly high because all exhibits are handmade, but that doesn't scare chocolate lovers. Here you can also buy chocolate sweets with the addition of juice, fruits, nuts, and even olives.
10/18/2004