When the brass wind quintet Kyiv Brass performs at the National House of Organ and Chamber Music, the house is usually full. No wonder: the combination of two trumpets, a French horn, a trombone, and a tuba, multiplied by the virtuosity of each bandsman and the genius of their favorite composers, could even raise the dead from their graves.
The trumpeters Andrii ILKIV and Hennadii Shepel, Mykhailo Zhelizniak (French horn), Serhii Kashyn (trombone), and Vitalii Demchenko (tuba) have been playing as a team for more than a decade now. Their record includes hundreds of concerts, numerous tours, and fantastic artistic achievements. And, of course, there will also be pains caused by the uncertain future of brass music in Ukraine, inactiveness of formal unions in this sector of domestic art, the absence of adequately equipped concert halls, faults in the system of education, and the unpreparedness of the public for modern music.
The current bandleader, the trumpeter Ilkiv is a unique musician, who easily combines work in the band, solo performances, and also plays in Justus Franz’s famous international orchestra, The Philharmonic of Nations. These three components — solo, band, and orchestra — enable him to know virtually the world’s entire musical repertoire for trumpet. Ilkiv considers it good tone to avoid speaking about his own victories in domestic and international contests, as these are things of the past. Yet he has what to boast about. The World’s First Talent (an honorary title awarded by the Society of Amateurs of Music in Toulouse, France, in 1995) does have a ring to it.
Ilkiv’s trumpet has played at the inauguration of the reconstructed St. Michael Golden-Domed Cathedral and the Golden Gate in Kyiv, at Peace Corps forums, and diplomatic receptions. His orchestral solos can be heard at the National Opera of Ukraine (Tchaikovsky’s Nut-Cracker and Sleeping Beauty, or Gounod’s Faust). In between concerts the musician sits on juries at various contests and festivals, holds master classes, and makes recordings for the National Radio Company of Ukraine.
THE KYIV PHENOMENON
Andrii, when did the current structure of the brass quintet take shape?
“The brass quintet is the product of the mid-20th century, although similar bands did exist in the 19th century, too, while in baroque times quite different instruments were played, untempered and tonal, which were very popular in Handel or Telemann, for example.”
Was the structure of the brass quintet influenced by the string quartet, comprising two violins, a viola, and a cello?
“I wouldn’t say that the brass quintet dates back to the string quartet. It is rather about the general music principles of vocalism. This composition is typical of a mixed choir, with parts for sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses. Their counterparts in the contemporary brass quintet are two trumpets, the French horn, the trombone, and the tuba. This is the most convenient version of a brass wind band, for which an immense amount of music has been written.”
How popular is this kind of band nowadays? Can you name any notable examples of such bands?
“There are many bands of this kind. In such centers of wind music as Germany, France, Britain, and the US, you will find a very good band in virtually each city. This tendency can now be felt in Ukraine as well.
“Our band was born at the end of the 1980s as Brass Quintet Ukraine (I wasn’t a member of the very first team). What prompted the creation of the quintet was the performance of The Empire Brass on the stage of the National Philharmonic in 1988. The Ukrainian musicians saw that a strong and professional wind quintet could perform full-fledged concerts on its own.
“During the first two years, the members of the quintet kept changing, and the band as such existed only as a project. It finally took shape only in 1992, when it was taken on the staff of the House of Organ and Chamber Music. Concert tours immediately followed, and an extensive repertoire was developed.”
And is that when you joined the band?
“Yes, early in 1993. I think that the band became really professional during a tour in France, when we saw what the Western world lives with. You surely remember the ruin of the 1990s. Theaters and concert halls were like stores and shops: artists did not care for art, people were just trying to make both ends meet somehow. Only those who toured abroad could survive as artists. We also got a lucky ticket, and were able to earn a decent living, support our families, and our image. International tours were an incentive for self-perfection.
“Of course, all that was accompanied by changes in the composition of the band. The current composition has been unchanged for the last 20 years. Besides me, there is the trumpeter Hennadii Shepel, the French horn player Mykhailo Zhelizniak, the trombonist Serhii Kashyn, and the tubist Vitalii Demchenko.”
Who was responsible for the organization of the tours?
“The House of Organ and Chamber Music provided us with the facilities for rehearsals and performing. And went on tour in Ukraine, following the remnants of the Ukrconcert tour routs. But everything related to international tours was paid for with our own money. At first it was only France, then we added Germany, Italy, and Spain.”
Did you perform in conventional concert halls or on alternative stages?
“In the Western world, there is no such narrow concept as the concert hall. If someone wants to listen to some organ music, they go to a cathedral. In the mid-1990s, when we performed at the Summer Music Festival or in Corto, the famous chamber concert hall of Paris, we selected a certain program. If we played in cathedrals, which happened not infrequently, we would mostly perform spiritual music. The program depends on the hall just as much as choosing the hall depends on the program.
“Over these two decades, we have played innumerable programs. Among them were the concerts to celebrate the anniversaries of Isaak Dunaievsky, George Gershwin, and Louis Armstrong. One of the most essential conditions for our work is the continuous cooperation with our composer and arranger, Anatolii Serebrennikov and Andrii Bilousov.”
You are the only musician in Ukraine who was able to learn to play a baroque trumpet or clarino. Could you say something more about this instrument?
“It involves lots of problems and details. As you might know, all contemporary instruments were tuned in a baroque tonality, in which the A equals 415 Hz. The modern tonality pulls at 440 Hz, or even 444 Hz in Kyiv. To have this trumpet in a band, you need an organ or a harpsichord, tuned up to 415 Hz. There is only one such harpsichord in Kyiv, at the conservatory. Violinists are also a problem: many of them are used to a pitch of 440 Hz. Even if you tune the violin to a lower note, a musician with a perfect pitch will still have difficulty playing it.
“The first person to show the clarino to the Ukrainian public was Edward Tarr. In 1996 he was invited to hold a series of master classes at the conservatory, and to perform at the Organ Hall, where he played a Viviani sonata on a clarino trumpet. At the International Trumpet Contest in Kyiv in 1998, masterminded by the Trumpet Guild (that was when I became its winner), there were two clarino trumpeters among the honorary guests.”
During your performances there are instruments on the chairs in front of you, in addition to those in your hands.
“The tuba, trombone, and French horn are self-sufficient instruments by themselves, whereas trumpets have an extensive range. Each instrument has its own distinct sound and timbre qualities. The most widespread is the trumpet in B. Then there are trumpets in C, in D, in Es, the trumpet piccolo A, piccolo in B, the flugel horn, and others. If the sound has to be mat, obscured, you take one instrument. If you want the trumpet to sound sharp, to squeak, or to whistle, you take another. You choose the instrument depending on the desired coloring of the sound. In a sense, this is pure physics: the longer the trumpet, the lower the sound, and vice versa. In ancient music high-pitched instruments were used a lot more frequently than now. By the way, the same is true of violins. A 17th-century violin does not have such a ‘massive,’ ample sound as present-day instruments do.”
What are the landmarks in the band’s 20-year history?
“Since the band’s foundation, the participants have changed several times. Besides, we often play extended programs, inviting other musicians. We have always looked up to the Canadian Brass. Their first trumpet and bandleader Fred Mills visited Kyiv several times, coming here in 2004 for the first time. Together we would prepare big programs, with a maximum of 16 participants. Sadly, he died almost two years ago.
“Last year, we held a memorial Fred Mills concert in Kyiv. Meeting this person is the most serious, most important event in our band’s biography. As a student, I literally worshipped the Canadian Brass. I could never imagine that there would be a time when I could speak with these outstanding artists. Every time we meet such people, we ask them to work with us, and we ask for advice concerning technology, technique, and style.”
So, this is how you get master classes from renowned colleagues from abroad?
“This is what the entire music world is built on! In Germany I watched renowned professors learn from each other in master classes. It’s a normal thing, just not in Kyiv. Just go to another professor here, and you are finished. I call it ‘the Kyiv phenomenon,’ it only exists here and is totally unknown elsewhere.
“Once, when we came to France, a professor at the Toulouse conservatory asked us to audition his students, as they knew little about the Slavic manner of playing. It turned out that one of the students did a five-year course at the conservatory in nine years; after each school year his advisor would send him away for a year, to learn from another teacher: first in Germany, then to London. Thus, the teacher was stimulated by the possibility of constantly updating his school.”
TRUMPETERS, UNITE!
Is there something like a world association of trumpeters? If so, do you feel party to a certain “system”?
“There are several official organizations. The Trumpet Guild is a hierarchical structure, which functions on an international level, in many countries. Even Ukraine has its own Trumpet Guild. There are also various associations. But the type of controversial relations seen in the world of music can hardly be found elsewhere, and not only in Ukraine. When musicians cannot find a common language, they quarrel and fight. Many organizations simply serve to confront others.
“Yet the absolute majority of trumpeters are quite free, and they just communicate among themselves. At the moment I am not a member of any formal association. I am convinced that no organization is the strongest kind of organization.
“In my notebook I’ve got about a thousand contacts, trumpeters from all over the world. If I come to Munich and fancy having some beer and a frankfurter, I will easily find half a dozen fellow trumpeters, with whom I can enjoy it. Last year I traveled to the US with the Philharmonic of Nations orchestra. After the concerts trumpeters came up to talk and exchange contacts. This sort of ‘association’ is vital and efficient, since it is accompanied with an exchange of information and know-how.”
Do you think new music styles can win their way into the repertoire of the Kyiv Brass?
“If we start playing a lot of modern music at the Organ Hall, we are going to scare the public for five years to come. The new music is rather specific, our audience can only take it in small doses. Although just for change, as something exotic, Antagonism No.75 or a symphony by Gilbert Amy does the trick.”
You mean that in the West you play fully fledged programs made up of modern pieces, while you think that the Kyiv audience is not prepared to hear them?
“Such programs are meant for specific audiences that come to hear modern music. There is no point in playing them in Kyiv. I’ll try to explain my point here, although I do not claim to be absolutely right or objective. It seems to me that the 1990s have drawn Ukrainians into chaos so deep that only ‘positively concrete’ art can help them out.”
Have you got pupils of your own?
“The form of teaching I find acceptable is known in Europe as ‘master classes.’ I work with those musicians who come to me from other countries to get exactly what I can offer. I cannot work with children, and I was dismissed from the conservatory where I had been teaching for 9,5 years for ‘playing truant’ – and that on The Day of my solo gig at one of the most prestigious concert halls of Europe. I found working with students very easy and absolutely fascinating, especially with those who would work. Learning from the West, I tried to pass my own experience on to my students.”
Are there any rivals to the Kyiv Brass among domestic bands?
“I have long discarded such notions as ‘enemies’ or ‘rivals.’ There are very many similar bands in Ukraine. We maintain good relations with many of them, exchanging sheet music, new methods of work, or meeting during joint projects. What I dislike the most about my job is contests, they are never fully objective…
“In olden days, awards were hard to win, and they were worthy and inspired a sense of dignity. A musician took pride in his victory and was proud to wear the title of a winner. Nowadays, awards and prizes are often the result of backstage talks: behind the scenes, at a restaurant, or even in bed. Of course, the artistic future of such an excuse for a ‘winner’ will be questionable. Neither me nor the Kyiv Brass has ever been one of them. Everything we were able to achieve is the result of day-to-day work, faith in ourselves, and the support from our families, and also good luck and fortune. I will always thank my stars for it.”
