I wrote Perspective 650,000 five years ago. Little by little, but relentlessly, time puts every thing in its place. When I read the text some weeks ago, I made my mind up and said to myself that I had to record my own voice and create a spoken version to preserve a reflection on life and humans that, to me, still sounds perfectly right:
On December 21st 2019, the Pochekin brothers offered a charity concert at Auditorio Sony of Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid (ESMRS) de Madrid, Spain. Mikhail & Ivan Pochekin donated their concert for the benefit of ACTAYS and children with neurological diseases at Hospital del Niño Jesús in Madrid.
This charity project was sponsored by Allianz Partners Spain in collaboration with the ESMRS.
ACTAYS helps families with children suffering from Tay Sachs, a rare disease which, so far, is fatal. February 29th is the Rare Disease Day. #RareDiseaseDay
The following works were played:
- Passacaglia in G minor by Georg Friedrich Händel in a transcription for violín and viola by Johan Halvorsen.
- Duo for violin and viola in G major KV423 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
- Asturias by Isaac Albéniz in a transcription for violin solo by Mikhail Pochekin.
- Caprices for violin solo Nos. 10 & 24 by Niccolò Paganini.
- Sonata for two violins op. 56 by Sergey Prokofiev.
- Encores: Duo for two violins no. 1 op. 49 by Reinhold Glière (minute 1:07:16) & Silent Night.
I am Michael Thallium, in search for people’s greatness
I first got to know about him through the cat eyes of his younger brother Mikhail. There is no better letter of introduction than that one of a brother who admires you and respects you, someone who really cares. Since that snowy Sunday morning when I met Mikhail, I knew that the art of Ivan Pochekin had to be something extraordinary. First there were the comments of affection, then the recordings that Mikhail gave me so that I could listen to his brother play the viola and the violin. A year went by until I finally could meet him in person. Before that I had already met the mother and the father of these two musical brothers: Elena and Yuri. They are all a family where art and music flood everything. I saw Ivan for the first time when Mikhail presented his recording of the six Bach’s Partitas &Sonatas for violin solo at Ateneo in Madrid. Ivan and I did not exchange many words back then, but Mikhail had already instilled into me that sincere admiration you feel when you face the artisan, the artist, the true musician who not only plays an instrument, but who also understands music and conveys its in-depth message to anyone who can listen to it. Then some more months went by, maybe half a year, until I saw him again in Madrid. It was Christmas time. Ivan, Mikhail and I had embarked for nine months on a charity adventure to raise funds for the benefit of ACTAYS and the children with neurological diseases at Hospital del Niño Jesús in Madrid. Both brothers offered a concert which will remain in the minds and hearts of all those people who went to the Sony Auditorium in Madrid on that Saturday, 21 December 2019.
Then I had the chance to get to know Ivan a little better. And I realised that in the artist you can also find an easy going and friendly man. Just like I do —and this is something we both “dangerously” love— Ivan loves good food and a good conversation over a good glass of wine. Ivan is human! Many times we are dazzled by an artist of Ivan Pochekin’s virtuoso calibre. You can see him slide his left hand up and down either on a violin or on a viola neck with an astonishing finger precision while his right hand conjures the bow drawing the strings with bewitching movements that create sounds, from the most horrible and piercing to the most beautiful and extraordinary, without apparent effort. Ivan Pochekin combines the colours and hues of his sound palette with exceptional mastery and creates those musical canvases in melodious oil paint which move and touch the deepest of the listener’s soul. Ivan transforms the stage into an artisan’s workshop where the entrails of sound are forged and the work of art emerges.
Now, the last thing of Ivan that I put my hands and ears on is the recording of the two violin concertos by Dmitry Shostakovich. The music of Shostakovich is not nice. It’s pungent, hopeless, breathtaking and only sometimes beautiful. Surely, there will come musicologists and specialists who will write about this album and about the art of Ivan Pochekin. They will give their opinions and they will make it big or ignore it according to their musical tastes and knowledge. As far as I am concerned, the sincerest homage I can pay to the artist is to say that the words of admiration, respect and affection that one day his younger brother Mikhail instilled into me are given sense anew today, because Ivan Pochekin’s recording of the two Shostakovich’s violin concertos will be, for years to come, the recording of reference.
Left to right: Cristóbal Soler, Jordi Mayor, Pilar Jurado & Juan Carlos Alandete
On Monday 10th February the 2nd International Violin Competition “CullerArts” was presented at Longoria Palace in Madrid, the headquarters of SGAE (Spanish General Society of Authors and Publishers). Organised by the Cullera Town Hall and with maestro Cristóbal Soler as music director, this competition opens up a new pathway for composers by incorporating a composition award. The presentation started with a few words by Pilar Jurado, president of SGAE. She spoke about the partnership agreement between SGAE and the Cullera Town Hall to create this new composition award. “There is no better way to celebrate the 120th anniversary of SGAE than by creating an award which can help to generate new repertoire for violinists around the world. It’s one of the many actions we will carry out in 2020 to boost the repertoire and encourage our creators so that they can keep making history”, she said. Then Jordi Mayor, Cullera’s Mayor and one of the main supporters of this project, highlighted the collaboration with SGAE in the creation of the composition award, which will give a greater international reputation to the ‘CullerArts’ violin competition: “It’s an opportunity not only for performers, but also for composers who can do their bit for the repertoire of violin solo”.
Cristóbal Soler spoke about the awareness of some Spanish regional administrations, specially those in the region of Valencia, to carry out sustainable musical projects in case of eventual economic crisis: “When you are creating a project such as this violin competition, it’s fundamental that the administrations can guarantee their sustainability and continuity”.
This second edittion will consist of an eliminatory round where participants will play for 10 minutes each. They will have to perform one Paganini Capriccio of their choice and a slow movement of a Sonata or Partita by J. S. Bach. There will only be eight participants at the semifinal and they will have to play virtuosic works with piano accompaniment (this round will be opened to the general public). The three finalists will perform their works accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of Valencia.
Violinists from around the world aged 17 and 27 can participante in this competition. The registration period will be between February 17th and May 30th 2020. Applications and required documents (see www.cullera.es) will be sent to casacultura@cullera.es.
The event concluded with the signing of the partnership agreement between the Cullera Town Hall and SGAE. The composition prize is endowed with 2.000 €. The award winning work, —for violin solo and 7 to 8 minutes long— will be announced at the final of the 2nd International Violin Competition and it will be performed as a compulsory piece for the next edition of this competition in 2021.
