On December 9, 2016 the works of classical music will be performed in an unusual, improvised performance in the Great hall of the Moscow Conservatory. The Janoska ensemble from Austria will perform their interpretation of “Mephisto waltz” by Ferenc Liszt, Adiós Nonino by A. Piazzolla, Adiós Nonino, Caprice No.24 by N. Paganini, Fantasy from the Bizet’s Opera “Carmen”, F. Waxman and other works. A producer and a special guest of the concert is a Russian-American cellist Borislav Strulev. The Organizer is Moscow Nights.
Borislav Strulev was born in Moscow, graduated from the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory (Central music school), a protege of T. Khrennikov. 1991-2006 – work and study in USA, performances in Carnegie Hall, Kennedy center and then around the world. “I see my instrument, – Borislav says – through the prism of Opera. I obtained it through the brilliant singers, such as M. Callas, E. Obraztsova, etc”.
The immediate reason for the concert was a Germany’s disc release of performers called “Janoska Style” at Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music. Borislav Strulev will tell the readers of the “E Vesti” magazine about more details.
EV: Borislav, could you please tell us about your acquaintance and cooperation with the Janoska ensemble?
Strulev: We know each other for a long time… A key event and a milestone in our relations was a visit of my friends, three Janoska brothers and their brother-in-law, of the 5th anniversary of my festival BelgorodMusicFest “Borislav Strulev and friends”, held in Belgorod.
These people are the winners of international competitions, including the first prize in the competition of F. Liszt, they are outstanding musicians. The brothers were born in Bratislava (Slovakia), then, they went to Vienna, where they received a rigorous and unique education and entered the classical world. They play a sort of Gypsy undertone. In 2013, they decided to unite in one group, because they felt that they were able to create a new style in classical music, based on the possibilities of improvisation.
A string player is the one who learns a play in 2 months and plays it. Ask a violinist, bassist, or even a pianist to play a piece from 6 different symphonies of Tchaikovsky. He just can’t do it. He can strum a theme, but he will not be able to improvise it, or moreover, make it a in a quartet.
We will see four composers, who improvise so, that the Niagara fall of the most popular tunes run through a prism of a unique Janoska style will stream in the ears.
A proof of this genius and virtuosity is the album released on Deutsche Grammophon. This label, created long ago in Germany, has already become a standard classic.
EV: The Janoska have already been in Belgorod and are familiar with the Russian audience. I would like to know how they were treated there there, at your festival? What were their impressions?
Strulev: They came, and they did not have the opportunity to have a rest after the road. They had to be on stage at eight, and the first part of the concert lasted about two hours. They stood in evening dresses, waited, and they came on the scene after a long break. It was a concert in another one, starting from the first composition, when the Janoski just came out and people heard that sound, the new language, the new musical speech, the sound – it was an absolute musical magic. People understood that their ears first perceive this colorful harmony, this musical intrigue, this is an outright thrill. The success was phenomenal, the Janoski charmed Belgorod.
We already have this program with the Symphony orchestra, we’ll make it to be frequently played somewhere on one of my festivals. Maybe, it will even be an open air, for example, in Arkhangelskoye in Moscow. Because it’s really a miracle, it is what people really want and will perceive with joy, smile and sincerity.
EV: Who visits their concerts in Vienna and other places of the world,? What is their main audience?
Strulev: You know, they have absolutely whole audience. They have an insane amount of people who love Strauss, Mozart, and those, who sometimes would like to listen to hip-hop or Michael Jackson, because they know that they will also have it, as both tango and rumba. That is, people come and know that, during those two hours, they’ll get the adrenaline and an incredible positive energy. So, every person, who will come on 9 November, will not leave indifferent, I guarantee it.
My job and what I do – cello with diamonds, combination of different styles, all this is a response to our time. If I just sit in a church and play Bach, the young wouldn’t know about it in 10-15 of such work. And the cello will not get a certain promotion, they will say that it’s boring. I believe that, when I arrive in a city and I see these the young faces, and they say that the cello is cool, and they want to buy a CD and listen it in the car, than it means I have slightly performed my mission. This is my know-how, my vision and my life, I feel so. It is a humor and some musical flair. Sometimes I allow myself to play standup at the end of separate programs, like a violinist, with a sound flying in the sky. Naturally, I never afford this when playing with the academic orchestra. I’m talking about the programs, where it impossible.
EV: Did you play with them before?
Strulev: Yes, we came up with a few numbers and performed them in the framework of my festival. Of course, I had a feeling, that it was an orchestra, at least a chamber orchestra with a symphonic slant, rather than just an ensemble or a quartet. In general, the quartet is a first violin, a second violin, a viola and a cello. And they have the first violin, second violin, piano and contrabass. That is, it is really an ensemble, a “Quartet ensemble”, a new and breathtaking. Of course, nobody knows about it in Moscow. Being a Muscovite, I say: “Friends, dear Moscow, do you want a holiday, do you want a Vienna New Year’s miracle?
EV: How the program is made up and what will be your personal involvement? Will you have a separate performance?
Strulev: The Janoska will hold a presentation of the disc. They will play the “Mephisto Waltz”, which was originally written just for piano, and a Paganinoska (Paganini + Janoska, the author style performance – approx. ed.)… In the twenty-first century, we will see a fight between Paganini and Michael Jackson and the works of Strauss that gets an incredible energy from “Dorogoy dalneyu.” This song turns into a really awesome music, not a restaurant hit. A famous Mozart’s concert turns into a dance of rumba and the Cuban Fiesta, such a Latin style. And all this will be played with an incredible, impeccable technique. Each of us will have a an incredible adrenaline rush. This is going to be epic, the Vienna New Year’s miracle. I am the guest of the program, I will have some numbers, where I will “sing” with them on the cello. I cannot but support my friends.
