Press Conference on Concert by Youth Symphony Orchestra

 

Young artists from the former Soviet States — Georgia among them — would commemorate the sixty-fifth anniversary of the end of the Second World War with a concert at United Nations Headquarters showcasing the importance of tolerance and preservation of cultural ties, reporters were told today at a Headquarters press conference sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation.

The Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) would perform at 7 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall, said Ruslan Bakhtin, First Secretary of the Russian Mission.  The concert was organized by the Mission and the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Cooperation, with support from CIS Missions.  In three days, the orchestra would perform at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris.

“We have felt the need to preserve the cultural ties that bind us”, said renowned Maestro Vladimir Spivakov, who would conduct tonight’s performance.  He had thought extensively about what had been passed down to younger generations after the War — perhaps a sense that life was worthless, or that “might makes right”.  However, it was most important to communicate that children were loved. He had designed a programme that reflected the global character of the United Nations, notably with a piece by Tchaikovsky, an “internationalist” whose music crossed a range of genres, from ballet to opera.

Joining Mr. Spivakov were pianist Denis Matsuev, and Mikhail Shvydkov, Special Representative of the Russian President on international cooperation on culture, and co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Foundation.

Asked how the children had been selected for the orchestra, Mr. Spivakov said the process was based on video and audio recordings.  Some candidates did not speak Russian well.  However, music was universal — it required no translation.  Citing Rachmaninoff, he said music was born in the heart and flowed from the heart.

To a question about why international orchestras were so popular, Mr. Shvydkov said young orchestras taught children to play together and welcome the world.  Back in the day, a Russian-American orchestra had formed during a complex period of international relations.  Today, another brought together Israelis and Palestinians.  The CIS youth orchestra was created to provide a model of tolerance.  Experiencing emotions together formed an ideal symbol for how to live together.  “It is simply impossible to live without idealism in this world,” he said.

Asked about the Georgian orchestra member, Mr. Shvydkov said, “we never, ever discuss issues directly related to politics.  Our task is to ensure that culture is open to all.”  The Foundation involved eight countries:   Armenia; Belarus; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Russian Federation; Tajikistan; Uzbekistan; and Azerbaijan.

As to the prospects for involving children from other States, Mr. Shvydkov said the Foundation worked only with those from the post-Soviet area.  Financial resources were contributed by States, and if the Foundation’s leadership made the decision, it could start working with countries that were further afield.

Asked how he felt about performing in the General Assembly Hall, Mr. Spivakov said he was very pleased.  Recalling that he had been born towards the end of the War, he said his father had volunteered for the Ukrainian front and, after an injury, had been sent to work at a factory in Ufa, where he repaired bomber engines.  His mother lived in Leningrad and put out fires that had broken after the bombings.  “The War has impacted my whole life,” he said.  Other family members had been sent to camps at Dachau and Auschwitz and died there.

Later in life, while with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, he said he had been invited to play at Dachau.  Explaining his initial refusal, he said, “It felt as if I was having a number tattooed on my forearm.”  When he eventually accepted, he conducted a Shostakovich symphony dedicated to the victims of the War, and a piece by Bach.  A cosmic silence followed.  The audience, all German, then stood up and cried.  A newspaper critic approached him to say thank you and bow.  “It was just unbelievable,” he said.

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For information media • not an official record