DNIPROPETROVSK – The conductor of the Russian symphony orchestra Eduard Diadiura originates from Dnipropetrovsk. His concerts have been played to great success in the Czech Republic, the US, Spain, Great Britain and Germany. Diadiura is known for his perfect technique; his manner of conducting the orchestra is clear for the musicians and pleasant for the audience. On January 23 the prominent Russian conductor of Ukrainian origin conducted the orchestra of the Dnipropetrovsk Opera and Ballet Theater. The famous opera by Giuseppe Verdi Aida was enthusiastically welcomed by the audience.
The Day before the opera performance Eduard DIADIURA told The Day about how to get into classical music, the European orchestras and the “state of music.”
You came to Dnipropetrovsk for three days. Is it possible to work well together with the orchestra in such a short period of time?
“Everything depends on the quality of the orchestra and its level. If the level is high, three rehearsals are enough. As for an orchestra with less flexible staff, say, a provincial one, three rehearsals are definitely insufficient — then one must work hard, to have four to five rehearsals to establish contact. Certainly, the contact is established when working with the staff; it depends on your ability to do it. You might achieve it in one stroke or not achieve it at all. That is why when I come somewhere for the first time my first task is to establish contact with the orchestra. It’s very important.”
What is the level of the Ukrainian orchestras compared to the Russian ones?
“You know, the level is the same as we are the same people and we get the same salaries, except for the orchestras that receive presidential grants. There isn’t much of a difference. I like the Zaporizhia orchestra a lot. This relatively small town has a large, descent orchestra. I like the orchestras in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv and Kyiv, the philharmonic and the national symphony orchestras. I didn’t visit such small towns as Poltava or Chernivtsi, but the places I visited have good orchestras of a European level.”
How did you find the concert halls? Many conductors say that in Ukraine there aren’t any good concert halls adapted for the orchestra concerts?
“I agree with this. In Russia the situation is a bit better: they have built a new concert hall in Belgorod, there are concert halls in Moscow, and they are building them in St. Petersburg. This requires enormous sums of money, which is why everything depends on the state. As for Ukraine, I liked the hall in Kharkiv — it is small but very comfortable. The Glinka hall in Zaporizhia is also good, it is large, built during Soviet times, and has good acoustics. There isn’t any concert hall in Dnipropetrovsk; it’s terrible. The orchestra plays in a hall where there are 400 people, the stage is small… The hall is not adapted for classical music. Of course, I wish they built nice concert halls in all Ukrainian cities, in which it would be nice to play, where the audience would come with pleasure, too. Not a ‘palace of culture,’ but a real concert hall with good acoustics, where the audience would enjoy listening to classical music.”
You have worked in the US, Germany and almost all over Europe. What is their situation with concert halls?
“It is absolutely different; there every orchestra has its own hall, and every theater has its own building. In Europe the concert halls are built specially for symphony orchestras.”
Did you go there with your musicians or did you conduct their orchestras?
“I was invited as a conductor, so the orchestras were theirs — American and European ones.”
Didn’t the difference in cultural traditions and mentality hinder your contacts?
“You don’t have to talk much with people, it’s enough to say ‘Hello’ and ‘Please, start.’ If you’re a good conductor, everybody will understand you. The Americans’ and Europeans’ attitude to music is absolutely different as the people get good money for their work, they value it and they are afraid of losing their jobs: if musicians don’t do their jobs they are immediately fired. That is why their attitude is absolutely different. Probably, it’s unnatural as they are motivated by money, but when working with foreign musicians, I don’t have any complaints about the discipline or the sound quality as everyone is ready to work, every musician takes the music home and studies their part. When you arrive they are already perfectly coordinated, they know the material and all you deal with is music and not organization.”
You have conducted orchestras of hundreds of people. What are the emotions when so many musicians follow every gesture you make and there are hundreds of listeners behind you?
“I will correct you — there were a hundred people in the orchestra and two hundred more in the choir. There were 300 people on stage. If you have a good manual technique that is clear for the musicians, it doesn’t matter if there are 10 people on the stage or one or two hundred. If you have bad hands and your manner is unclear then even five people won’t understand your gestures. Certainly, it’s something special when 600 eyes look at you and you conduct this mass of sound, energy and emotions… It’s something fantastic. Imagine that one is playing football on a near-empty stadium, there’s nobody to create the emotions for. The same goes for music. When you conduct so many people, when you create music and the audience feels it, it’s an extraordinary feeling!”
How do you gauge the audience’s reaction? It’s behind you…
“If you brought the audience into a musical state and during the pauses between the parts you have a feeling as if there is nobody in the concert hall, it is the highest appraisal for the orchestra and for me. It happens that in the pauses between the parts people start coughing or fidgeting… That means the audience isn’t absorbed by your atmosphere. When you finish a part and the concert hall is absolutely silent and you even forget about the audience, then you understand that the audience is inside the music — it is absorbed by the musical fiber and shares your state. It is very important.”
Could you tell us about yourself? You were born in Dnipropetrovsk. How did you come to live in Moscow?
“After having graduated from the Dnipropetrovsk Music School I entered the Gnesin Academy, graduated from it, and stayed in Moscow to work.”
Do you often come to Ukraine?
“Yes, this year I’ve already had seven concerts in Ukraine: in Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhia. In a month I will have a concert with the symphony orchestra at the Dnipropetrovsk Philharmonic Society.”
