As a former westerner, but now a 6- year resident of Ukraine, I was asked to comment on the changes I had observed in the academic (“classical” or non-pop) music in Ukraine. Well, no changes whatsoever have taken place. Ten years after the collapse of the USSR we obediently live, work and concertize in the old Soviet traditions: we continue to bestow “state titles” (“zvannia”) on those who do and who do not deserve them, spend embarrassingly large sums of money on glaring state “mass-concerts” with hundreds of participants of umpteen genres all thrown together and directed by the renowned director of “Soviet concerts without taste,” and as obedient servants, forever bow to Moscow musicians, “because we don’t have our own.”
Living in total isolation from the western world, not giving its musicians a chance to find their place on the world music market, the USSR was forced to create its own scale of “who’s who” artificially, where not the market (audience) but the state decided the level of greatness of a musician, by giving him a state title. But today? We are entering Europe — but these “titles” do not go over very well there. I feel sorry for our musicians who proudly place their state titles in their biographies and send them out to the west — but over there they only laugh at us — “provincials, indeed.” This state title is, in fact, a fake, a consolation for the artist who feels as if he has accomplished something, but in truth, all he has achieved is a pay raise, which today is an important factor (the same could be done via the accounting department without titles). Let’s face it — these state titles are worth absolutely zero in the real artistic world.
WHAT IS FROM MOSCOW IS THE BEST
The invasion by Moscow artists (including those from other formerly Soviet republics), promoted still in the times of the USSR, is killing the Ukrainian academic music market. As long as they come in such numbers, we will not be able to develop our own stars. The Soviet upbringing taught us to obediently applaud those who were pointed out to us and this continues till this day. All, or at least a sizeable majority got used to the idea that “all the stars are in Moscow — we don’t have them” and today’s cultural policy in Ukraine lives, works and instructs exactly by this principle. We have a great number of talents, but as we know, a talented artist needs to be nurtured, given ample opportunity to perform and promoted for a long time until he/she can become a star. But when the market is occupied by those who are stars already, there is no room for those who are still “growing up” (professionally).
DO WE WANT STARS OF OUR OWN?
This is a serious national issue. Finally everybody understood the need to protect the domestic manufacturer — and the native musician? Levying the same kind of tax on concerts of foreign artists as it does on foreign goods, the state would not only take the side of the native musician, which is its sacred duty, but could also draw profits. Paradoxically, we have so many music institutions, perhaps more than any European country, and speak so much about equally large numbers of talents, yet we have almost no stars in the academic music. Why? In the Soviet times Moscow “invited” talented musicians, made them into stars and called them their own, while those who remained in the provinces (Kyiv) were not promoted. The Moscovites preserved their star status till today, while we failed to develop any of our stars (clearly not for lack of candidates). The making of a star requires an audience who, with the help of publicity will fall in love with that new star. Starting from scratch, it takes a colossal effort to convince the listener to turn his head in another direction — and it is at this point that the competition of the visiting northern stars is very untimely.
WHO NEEDS HUNDREDS OF PIANISTS?
If we have no need for stars, then what is the point of keeping those 350 music institutions in Ukraine? Their maintenance is very costly — so why not close them down and continue attending concerts of foreign stars? Although logical, such a move would hardly find support. Then if we are not closing down the music institutions, the state which maintains them should have a return on its investment. This is the number one principle of market reforms. If not money, then the state should be able to at least enjoy the prestige of having internationally- renowned stars. But teaching the balalaika (not a Ukrainian instrument) or hundreds of better or worse pianists (where will they find jobs? The world is filled with them to the brink) has no future. We must change our thinking. We should wake up and step out of the artificial Soviet fairytale where the state planned and decided everything for us. We must now take a realistic view of the world in global perspective.
THERE IS A WAY OUT
Despite everything, there is a way out of the crisis. All we need to do is clarify what it is that we want: are we a full fledged European state, proud of its culture and musicians, or a faceless ex- Soviet country without any ambitions. The latter stance requires no effort — everything remains status quo. We continue spending millions of hryvnia on music education with zero results and attend concerts of foreign stars. But if we want something better for our country, we should exert an effort to:
Restructure the field of music education with the aim of a better utilization of funds and gaining of more effective and promising scholastic results.
Using Western models, and without state aid, establish a system of developing and producing music stars.
Basing ourselves on Western experience, create non-governmental boards which would be responsible for the very existence and operation of their favorite cultural or educational institutions. (More details in the next article “On market reforms in the academic music of Ukraine II.)
Creation of a cultural image of Ukraine — we are totally unknown to the world, except in sports. Our cultural image is also fundamental for the development of our stars. And the fact that our mass media quite often comment on a certain musician after his/her one or two trips abroad that he/she is already “well-known” in the outside world or at least in Europe, proves that they haven’t the slightest idea what this means. The world is filled with all kinds of musicians, including hundreds of real stars, that to make such a statement about somebody, he/she would have to tour all of Europe (literally) at least four times in four consecutive years at the invitation of renowned managers to perform in prestigious concert halls.
Hence, there is a choice — all we need is to make a decision. We must bear in mind that in music Ukraine is totally unknown in the world. Hence, we can either firmly hold on to our mother-state’s hand and in a chronic state of dissatisfaction bog down in this “little culture” or get rid of all that is keeping us from entering this harsh and merciless, but such a beautiful world, update ourselves and finally enter it.
