Vera Tariverdieva biography. I Just Live: An Autobiography

"Died with him"

This happened in the summer of 1996. Tariverdiev, known for his music for “Seventeen Moments of Spring” and “The Irony of Fate,” went out onto the balcony, lit a cigarette – and that’s it...

“Mikael Leonovich was seriously ill, but we resisted in every possible way,” recalls the fragile woman, the composer’s wife Vera Gorislavovna. “I wasn’t ready for this.” No one is ever ready to die. It’s hard to put into words how you feel when a loved one passes away in your arms... It seems to me that I died with him. This is such pain... it’s not even pain anymore - it’s a feeling as if you were cut in half and you live here with one half. And the other half is there...

There were relatives nearby, the composer’s son from his first marriage, Karen. On the 41st day, she sat down to finish the book “I Just Live,” which her husband did not have time to finish.

“Mira Salganik, the named sister of Mikael Leonovich, helped me a lot during that period,” Vera recalls. – We lived together for 8 months. It was impossible for Mira to be alone. Probably me too.

When the book was finished, the decision about how to live further came naturally.

“Since I couldn’t imagine life without Mikael Leonovich, the only way to survive was to stay with him and study his music,” explains Vera Gorislavovna.

The first International Organ Competition, the program of which necessarily includes the performance of works by Mikael Tariverdiev, was held in Kaliningrad in 1999. Today it has grown, become well known in the world, and winning it is considered very prestigious. And then there were no such competitions, or indeed organ competitions in general, in Russia.

“In the case of the fate of Mikael Leonovich, there is one difficulty,” says Vera. – For many years he was known as a composer of film music. But the fact is that cinema is the “top” of his life. There was also a hidden side to his activities. He wrote ballets, operas (some of them were staged), instrumental concerts, organ music, and vocal cycles. This is something that was little known to people, but was the main meaning of his life. And I had to definitely state this main meaning of his life. After all, he himself had not heard much of what was written.

Everyone knows this now: it’s not enough to compose anything. The “product” still needs to be properly promoted. Any means are used: large budgets, large-scale PR... Soviet people thought in other categories and acted on a whim. Some were rescued by influential friends, others by resourcefulness. Tariverdiev had neither one nor the other.

“Mikael Leonovich worked outside the space of orders,” says Vera. – I wrote on the table and did not promote myself. This was contrary to his human principles. When we were together, I also faced other tasks. I needed to take care of Mikael Leonovich, love him, be a part of his life.

Today Vera is trying to give life to what is on the shelves. Mikael Tariverdiev left a significant legacy. Literally. One ballet, “The Girl and Death,” stored in a suitcase, a kind of symbol of the composer’s work, weighs 17 kg!

The music for “Seventeen Moments” was called plagiarism

This was one of his most difficult experiences. After “Seventeen Moments of Spring,” Tariverdiev was accused of plagiarism - as if he borrowed the theme of the prelude, which became the hallmark of the film, from the French composer Francis Ley. It all started with an anonymous telegram addressed to the head of the Union of Composers of the USSR Tikhon Khrennikov: “Congratulations on the success of my music in a Soviet film. Francis Ley." People who know creative morals guessed that Nikita Bogoslovsky was behind the harassment campaign, but there was no evidence of this.

“At the end of his life, Nikita Vladimirovich admitted that it was he who sent the telegram,” Vera comments. “Francis Ley still wonders why people ask him about this.”

If anything, the garage will help out

...The seemingly completely innocent word “producer”, which accidentally flew off the tongue, suddenly makes Vera perk up.

- I'm not a producer! – she declares decisively. – I am an anti-producer. The producer is the one who earns money, but I only know how to spend it. And I spend it. Just over the last year, I was given the orchestration of the opera “The Marriage of Figarenko” (this is Mikael Leonovich’s last opera). We have reconstructed the score of The Deer King stolen from the Cinematography Orchestra using drafts and recordings.

– Thank God, I can afford the life I lead. And don’t think about your daily bread. Today this is true. And if something happens, I have a garage that can always be sold.

Olga Saburova.

A famous Soviet composer passed away 15 years ago

During his lifetime, Mikael Tariverdiev became famous. He was immediately loved when the musical film “The Deer King” was released in the late 1960s. When the famous melodies for “Seventeen Moments of Spring” and songs for the New Year’s film “The Irony of Fate...” were written, Tariverdiev was already at the height of his fame. He liked to work only at night, so next to the music studio he set up a darkroom, capturing only what he loved most in life: the sun, grass, blue sky and... women. There were many novels in the life of Mikael Leonovich, but his love for the fragile blonde Vera was his last. They lived together for 13 years. Tariverdiev affectionately called her “my Verochka” and was grateful that she understood his eastern soul overwhelmed by passions.

— Probably, the second Tariverdiev was never born in our post-Soviet space. It’s hard to imagine a composer whose music you remember the moment you pronounce his name. Did Mikael Leonovich feel his uniqueness during his lifetime?

- “Can’t you see that I’m the only one?” - this is a phrase from Mikael Leonovich himself. True, he pronounced it due to the fact that he had no brothers and sisters, he grew up as an only child in the family. Although, it seems to me, the feeling of his separateness as a person and a musician accompanied him throughout his life.

— Did he often remember his childhood?

“His connection with his childhood, the atmosphere of Tbilisi, where he was born, was never interrupted. He had a special relationship with his mother, Sato Grigorievna. “Everything good I learned, I learned from my mother,” he said. Sato Grigorievna was an amazing woman who loved her son madly. But one day, when she saw Mikael and the boys frying a beetle in the yard, she put his finger in the fire, saying that the beetle was in as much pain as he was. Young Tariverdiev remembered this lesson forever.

I first had to come to Tbilisi 15 years ago, after Mikael Leonovich left, at the invitation of Mark Rudinshtein, together with Kinotavr. It was necessary to go on stage in a three-thousand-seat hall and say something. I remembered the story I heard from Mikael Leonovich. In his youth, he wanted to come to Tbilisi in a Mercedes with Lolita Torres (Argentine singer, popular in the 1960s - author) sitting in it. In Tbilisi they understood me right away. From that moment on, it became my city for me. By the way, Mikael Leonovich eventually acquired a Mercedes. And he also met Lolita Torres.

— After all, it was in Tbilisi that Tariverdiev received his first fee...

— Yes, in 1949, when he made his debut as a composer. Mikael wrote two ballet scenes, which were staged at the Paliashvili Opera and Ballet Theater. This was the first public appearance of the composer Tariverdiev. And he was paid a fee. It was a hungry time. My husband’s father was in the camp at the time... And what do you think Tariverdiev spent his fee on?

- For food?

- No! He bought a hat! He even has a photo of him wearing this hat. This is very Tbilisi, in the spirit of Mercedes and Lolita Torres.

— It is known that Mikael Leonovich was very athletic, he was even a member of the Georgian swimming team.

- This is true. By the way, my husband never really kept in shape. He was simply interested in sports: horse riding, cycling, boxing, swimming. However, philosophy, photography, microbiology and astronomy too. And I always read a lot. We came to Sukhumi, which he loved since childhood, to the House of Composers, he took, for example, the collected works of Balzac and read it through and through. Sport for him was not a matter of form, but something else. For example, Mikael Leonovich received a license to drive a boat and was one of the first in the USSR to become interested in windsurfing. Moreover, he and Rodion Shchedrin, his friend in Sukhumi and sports, went to study with the Union windsurfing team. And they became candidates for master of sports!

— Despite his love for sports, Tariverdiev never gave up smoking.

“It wasn’t his weakness—Mikael just smoked.” On the day our romance began, I personally quit smoking. But he told me: “You don’t have to quit, you have to smoke.” He even has a monologue based on the poems of Ludwig Ashkenazy: “Don’t take away women’s cigarettes...”

— Is it true that at one time Tariverdiev had to unload cars in order to survive?

— It was during my studies at Gnesinka. The husband was then offered an easier way to earn money - to play the piano in a restaurant. But for him such bread was unacceptable. Mikael preferred to unload the cars at the Rizhsky station. By the way, he often acted contrary to generally accepted opinion. For example, he was one of the few composers who traveled with film crews on expeditions. There, Mikael seemed to be immersed in the process of creating a film. There was even a case when, during the filming of one of his first films, “Youth of Our Fathers” (based on Fadeev’s novel “Destruction”), he pushed a dolly with a camera. Because only he at that moment knew what music accompanied this scene. It sounded in his head. And the rhythm of the music must match the movement in the frame. One of Tariverdiev’s most favorite films was “Goodbye, Boys” by Mikhail Kalik. And, of course, “The Deer King”, “The Irony of Fate...” Eldar Ryazanov was dear to Mikael for his sense of the poetic word. Imagine, mid-1970s. And suddenly - “The Irony of Fate...” with poems and music based on poems by Tsvetaeva, Pasternak, Akhmadullina, Yevtushenko! Of course, Tariverdiev was happy!

— Mikael Leonovich wrote the famous “The train will go to Tikhoretskaya” long before “Irony...”

— “Tikhoretskaya” was written for a performance by Rolan Bykov at the Moscow State University Theater in the early 1960s. Then she entered the opera “Who are you?”, staged by Boris Pokrovsky at the GITIS educational theater. Theaters and companies of the sixties attended it. By the way, Volodya Vysotsky sang this song. Ryazanov also knew her from there. True, I didn’t even know who wrote it. Then I was extremely surprised.

By the way, it was Mikael Leonovich who introduced Sergei Nikitin to Ryazanov, bringing him to “The Irony of Fate...”. Then problems arose with choosing a singer, and Mikael remembered Pugacheva, whom he recorded for “The Deer King.” She did 33 takes of the song “I like that you...” But what a result!

— And yet Tariverdiev no longer worked with Ryazanov.

— Eldar Alexandrovich was devoted to composer Andrei Petrov. It’s just that during the filming of “Irony...” Petrov was busy with the film “The Blue Bird”. Tariverdiev became the composer of “The Irony of Fate...” by irony of fate. And then everything returned to normal. Ryazanov worked with Petrov. And until the end of his life, Mikael Leonovich kept waiting for him to call him again. Ryazanov turned to Tariverdiev’s music only in 1999 for the film “Quiet Pools.” But this was after the death of Mikael Leonovich.

— Alla Pugacheva admitted that “Tariverdiev brought her to the stage.”

— Mikael met Alla when she was only 19 years old. She had just graduated from the Ippolitov-Ivanov College and was cast as Angela in the film “The Deer King.” Tariverdiev was already a legend of the 60s. Alla Borisovna recalled that every Sunday she listened to the “Good Morning” program and once heard Tariverdiev’s song “I am such a tree,” and since then she has literally become sick of this song. She called Tariverdiev her “progenitor”, who made her sing.

He called Pugacheva a child of noble burghers. She was then a thin reed, shy. In general, this is exactly the kind of singer Mikael Leonovich needed to voice “The Deer King” and “The Irony of Fate...”

— They say that the tragic story that happened with Tariverdiev and actress Lyudmila Maksakova prompted Ryazanov to the plot of the film “Station for Two.”

— You named Maksakova, not me. I don't want to announce names. Mikael really got into trouble. He and his beloved woman were driving a car, and she was driving. A man suddenly crossed their path, and then it turned out that he was drunk. The man did not survive. Mikael took the blame upon himself and got behind the wheel of the car. The trial lasted two years, he was convicted, but soon he was granted an amnesty. There could be no talk of any romance; for Mikael this story turned out to be a terrible mental trauma.

— The music for the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring” brought him fame and... the crazy envy of his colleagues.

— Michaela was offered to work in the film by the director Tatyana Lioznova herself. True, he thought for a long time. Because he had already worked on “Resident Error” with Veniamin Dorman, and he didn’t want another spy story. But when I found my theme in the picture, I agreed. Lioznova later admitted that Tariverdiev was her luck. Like Vyacheslav Tikhonov, because of whom she broke her destiny as a woman.

— After the release of “Seventeen Moments of Spring,” a big scandal was associated with Tariverdiev’s music. He was accused of plagiarism.

- Stupid, pointless. All this cost Mikael a lot of health. But he survived. Probably due to his being right and not being involved in the envy of his colleagues. In the end, it turned out that all the accusations of plagiarism were planned by someone in advance...

— Do you remember the moment when you first heard the music of your future spouse?

— I was 13 years old, I was visiting the Artek pioneer camp. Once I was sitting in a clearing - I don’t even know why I ended up alone and in exactly this place. From the loudspeaker I heard the song “The Little Prince”. Immediately after the announcement of the death of Lev Kassil, whose books I read and loved, a song began to sound. This is one of the poignant memories of my childhood. I didn’t know that it was Tariverdiev, but I remember well that I felt a sadness squeezing my heart.

When Mikael Tariverdiev was already over 60, everyone called him one of the sex symbols of Russia. They say women were crazy about him.

- It would be strange if this were not so. He was smart, handsome, charming and knew how to make people fall in love with him...

— Were you immediately fascinated by the famous composer?

— At that time, as a columnist for Soviet Culture, I communicated with many famous people: Georgy Sviridov, Valery Gavrilin. I didn’t really imagine Mikael Leonovich. But the very first meeting with him, the first contact created a feeling of something important, unusual, extraordinary. He admitted that he imagined me as a fat woman. But it turned out that a thin girl came to him for an interview. Then we met by chance at a music festival. It seemed that fate brought us together itself.

Mikael Leonovich looked after me very beautifully: flowers, gifts, poems. Only he didn’t compose music for me. He didn't write it for anyone at all. It was as if she was coming down to him from above. And I couldn’t stand singing. He started doing this only because no one could perform the music he wrote. “I am such a tree” or Shakespeare’s sonnets. He lived the songs. But I didn’t start singing because I had a good life.

— They say that Tariverdiev was a great gourmet.

- He loved meat! I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I loved big companies at the beginning of my career. Then the filmmakers sat in restaurants. And in the end I couldn’t stand them anymore. And I didn’t celebrate birthdays. Ran away from anniversaries. He said: “There is nothing more stupid than sitting at your own anniversaries.” He had the best holiday on his 50th birthday, when he and Rodion Shchedrin went to sea surfing. We took a small bottle of cognac with us and drank it on the open sea. For him, the main thing was that a loved one was nearby. My husband loved comfort. But not in the generally accepted sense. He couldn’t imagine himself without his large sofa, where he rested, sitting in the corner. He joked that this was his homeland.

He was very conservative in his clothes. Tariverdiev had an innate elegance. Suits from Moskvashway fit him like suits from Dior.

— Did he often confess his love to you?

“I didn’t admit it at all.” He lived in it! We both lived in love... You know, in recent years his life was divided into two stages - before and after the trip to Chernobyl. He got there immediately after the accident. He went to perform, received a dose of radiation... Chernobyl reminded him of the Apocalypse. He felt that everyone, not just him, needed to realize this. Then he created a symphony for organ “Chernobyl”. Then my husband started having heart problems. In 1990, he underwent surgery at the Royal London Hospital to have an aortic valve installed.

— Do you think Mikael Leonovich had a presentiment of his death?

- He knew about her. I foresaw what would happen... A few months before his death, my husband woke up one night and sat down at the piano. By that time, he had long been using only recording equipment in his studio. I asked what happened. And he replied: “I say goodbye to my piano”... We spent the summer of 1996 in his beloved Sochi. At this time, Kinotavr was taking place. We lived in the Actor House of Creativity and on July 25 in the morning we flew to Moscow. I remember, on the eve of departure, my husband couldn’t sleep, he went out onto the balcony and said that here there was everything he loved: blue sky, green grass, sea... And in the evening he was gone...

— Are you dreaming about Mikael Leonovich?

- Very rarely. Only when it warns about something dangerous. But I often think about Mikael and whisper before going to bed lines from my husband’s vocal cycle based on the poems of Semyon Kirsanov:

Come to me in a dream.

Write a letter on the sandy bottom...

I ask,

Come to me in a dream!..

27-08-2011

No. 640, August 27, 2011 Zoya Master says, Vera Tariverdieva

"He who loves must master the art of losing and finding."
(Paulo Coelho)

In August of this year, admirers of Mikael Tariverdiev’s work celebrated his anniversary - 80 years since the birth of the composer, who passed away 15 years ago. Tariverdiev's name is associated primarily with music for the films "The Irony of Fate", "Seventeen Moments of Spring", "The Deer King" - in total he wrote music for 132 films. Very often, the life of the songs from these films turned out to be much longer than the creative life of the films themselves. This, for example, happened with the song “The Little Prince” - few people remember the existence of the film “The Man from the Equator”, but the song is still loved. New generations of performers and listeners are finding in it what is so lacking in modern songs - sincerity, professionalism, that bright nostalgia that brings tears to the eyes and a feeling of happiness from contact with true talent. Unfortunately, a significant part of Tariverdiev’s work is less or not at all familiar to the general public. This “underwater part of the iceberg” is vocal cycles, ballets , operas, organ concerts - largely thanks to the dedicated work of his widow Vera, he is gradually taking a well-deserved place in the repertoire of Russian and foreign musicians.
Vera Gorislavovna agreed to talk about the man who became her only love, husband and teacher (Tariverdiev was 26 years older than Vera), about the fate of some of his works, and about how the memory of her husband, working with his legacy helps her live.

In the photo Mikael and Vera Tariverdiev

- Vera, tell us about yourself. What family are you from?

I was born in Almaty. My grandfather once graduated from the Kiev Polytechnic Institute and spoke six languages. In Kazakhstan he became one of the founders of the republican publishing house. His wife, my grandmother, Polish, the daughter of an Orthodox priest, who had never worked before her husband’s death (he died under strange circumstances in 1934), began teaching mathematics, became the head teacher of the school, and was awarded the Order of Lenin. Father is a journalist, the first doctor of science in this profession in Kazakhstan. Mom is a professor of philology. Students still study from her books.

Therefore, there were no musicians in your family, and you are a musicologist by profession. Did the music choose you or did you choose the music?

I hope it was a mutual choice. In our house there was an old Becker piano, with candlesticks and ivory keys. Sometimes my father sat down at the instrument and played some pieces. It’s hard for me to say what drew my attention to music more - my father’s playing or the piano itself. But from early childhood I demanded that I be taught music. First they took me to a private teacher, then they sent me to a music school, then I entered a music school. The choice of profession took place precisely in those years. Moreover, even then, not even a thought arose in me, but a desire and confidence that I should live in Moscow.
At the music school I studied with fanaticism, which somewhat worried my parents. For example, for four years, every day, I came two hours before the start of classes and independently worked on the development of absolute pitch.
- Is it possible to develop absolute pitch? I always thought that this quality was innate?

Yes, an ear for music can be developed, I was convinced of this by my own example.
- I know from myself that to enter the musicology department you need to pass 11 entrance exams.

Yes, right. And I entered the Institute. Gnesins (current Academy of Music named after Gnessins), from which she graduated with a diploma thesis “Early forms of polyphony in music of the 13th-14th centuries in France.”

That is, you intended to engage in research work in the future, but came to journalism. Did someone advise?

Rather, he influenced me with his passion and professionalism. The education and atmosphere in Gnesinka in those years were amazing. Among other subjects, there was musical criticism, a subject taught by the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Musical Life” Ekaterina Dobrynina. It was thanks to her that I wanted to try myself in this profession. My father’s student, Moscow State University professor Vladimir Gorokhov, took me to the newspaper “Soviet Culture”, where I already did an internship in my 4th year, and they hired me. Moreover, immediately as a correspondent. The newspaper of the CPSU Central Committee did not immediately hire people like that. And they gave me a place that was being prepared for Irina Andropova (daughter of Yu. Andropov - author's note). Her father called the editor-in-chief and said that one member of their family was enough for the newspaper.

- Did he mean his daughter-in-law, the wife of Igor’s son?

Yes. I was just lucky. I became a journalist and quickly mastered the skills of this work. She wrote about modern music, reviews of concerts, ordered and edited articles, while naively arguing with her superiors. At the age of 26, she became deputy editor of the music and choreography department. On one of my business trips, in Vilnius, I met Mikael Leonovich.

-You were 26, he was 52. Half a life older. You were married to your classmate, and you already had a son. I read that you quickly became disillusioned with that marriage and called it “absolute evil.” Are these your words or journalistic hyperbole?

Disappointment - yes. And “absolute evil” is hyperbole. How can something that gave birth to my child be absolute evil?

- Your son stayed with his father. What kind of relationship did you have in the future? Has your son forgiven the fact that he was not the main person for you?

It would be wrong to say that with the appearance of Mikael Leonovich in my life, my son or mother ceased to exist for me. Tariverdiev became my favorite person, my teacher - the person who determined my destiny. As for my son, when I had to decide whether to leave or not, Vasya agreed to move with me. Mikael Leonovich accepted him as his own son. Even in the questionnaire he indicated that he had two sons. In general, he was amazingly able to communicate with children; the boys felt in him something that is rarely found in life. We lived together for several years, and these years were very important for all of us. Vasya was with us during the period when Mikael Leonovich had heart surgery, and he was a very good friend and helped us. Now Vasya is 31 years old, and he believes that the main educator in his life was Mikael Leonovich. His father, who doesn’t need him even now, then, out of jealousy and revenge, incited him against us in every possible way. As a result, Vasya returned to his father (though he later lived with his grandmother), and now he regrets his decision at that time.

-Does Vasya communicate with Karen, the son of Mikael Leonovich?

Lately, no. Vasya lived in India for two years, now in Cambodia. Karen also has his own life, his own work. He fought in Afghanistan, was wounded twice, and now writes short stories. We had a period of frequent, close communication. But now I communicate more with his daughters.

- How did others react to your romance with Mikael Leonovich?

People around me didn’t know about our relationship for a long time. Fortunately, they were secret for some time. It was a relationship between two people that no one interfered with or influenced. In secret relationships there is that intimacy that is absolutely necessary for people to understand each other, to see each other with their own eyes. Besides, mystery is always romantic.

- Did you “match” or did you have to change a lot in your own habits, tastes, lifestyle?

I didn't have to change anything about myself. Because I met a person in whom everything was dear to me, everything coincided with my understanding and idea of ​​what a person should be. In a word, this was MY man. At some point I changed my place of residence - I moved to Mikael Leonovich, and then I changed my last name. In general, I no longer needed close relationships with anyone. Somehow my girlfriends and friends fell away. We have everything in common, including close people. Even today it is difficult for me to communicate (and I do not communicate closely) with those to whom Mikael Leonovich is not close, incomprehensible or does not touch. And our friends - they were friends and remained. That's why they are friends. I am very glad that we sometimes get together, they come to our concerts. They treat me very well. Even friends from Mikael Leonovich’s past appear, with whom he had not communicated for many years. And I’m getting to know them now.

- How did your parents perceive this marriage?

My parents treated Mikael Leonovich very well. They loved him very much, just as he loved them. My father consulted with him, my mother adored him. He was like an older comrade to them, even though he was younger. There was some kind of instant understanding, instant sympathy. This is probably exactly how it should be - when you perceive a person as a whole, along with his world.
In a sense, our biographies have something in common. Mikael Leonovich is from Tbilisi, he is an Armenian from Tbilisi. My mother taught at school, my father was a bank employee, and was imprisoned in 1949. He, like me, wanted to go to Moscow. I ended up in Tbilisi after he left and fell in love with this city as if it were my own. I never miss Almaty. But I really miss Tbilisi... Both cities are multinational, colorful, surrounded by mountains...

Was there equality in your relationships? For example, did Mikael Leonovich listen to your opinion about his writings? Were you always able to express your opinion honestly?

You know, I had no reason to argue with Mikael Leonovich. It may sound strange, but no one argued with him at all if they came into contact with him. Apparently, our understanding of him was also connected with an understanding of his music. He was counting on me in this sense. When I practically forced me to work on an autobiographical book (I wrote it down under his dictation), he got angry and said that it would be better if I wrote a musicological book about him. That's what I did when the time came. These are the happiest moments of my inner life after he left. Because when I studied his scores, his manuscripts, notes, I was happy from communicating with him, from an even deeper understanding of him as a person and a musician.

- Tantum cognoscitur, quantum diligitur. (We know as much as we love.)

Apparently so. He liked to show me what he had just composed. There was never a time when I didn't like it. Because Mikael Leonovich never wrote a single extra note or untalented note in his life. This is true. At least that's how I perceive it.
And he was very aware of what he was doing. It was very important to him that I understood his music, and music in general. He was very proud of what I was doing. How I write, how I feel what I write about.

In the program “Orchestral Part” you said: “The first persons of music today are not composers, but performers.” Let's talk about both. Which performer did M.L. prefer and why?

Mikael Leonovich created not only his own compositional style, but also his performance style. He needed performers of his style. He wrote only the music that he heard inside himself. I always say this. But this is not a repetition of one thought. This is a statement of fact, my testimony of how he wrote music. He wrote it, and then he needed a performer. He looked for him, sometimes brought him up, as was the case with the duet Besedina - Taranenko, with Kamburova, the trio "Meridian". He created their style, or rather, taught them his style. And when he couldn’t find a performer, he sang himself, as was the case with monologues based on the poems of Grigory Pozhenyan, Andrei Voznesensky, Ludwig Ashkenazy, and Shakespeare. And no one can perform his monologues on these poems like this. Only Olga Dzusova is close to this style.

After the film “The Irony of Fate,” Tariverdiev asked Alla Pugacheva not to perform his songs anymore. What exactly did the author not like about the “post-film” manner of the prima donna’s performance?

He worked with Alla Borisovna for a long time - both in “The Deer King,” when she was 19 years old and had just graduated from the Ippolitov-Ivanov School, and then in “The Irony of Fate.” He and Ryazanov spent a long time looking for the right, suitable performer. After all, in “Irony” there are not songs, these are romances, very complex melodically, harmoniously, and rhythmically. They are not easy to perform (with the exception of “If You Don’t Have an Aunt” and “On Tikhoretskaya”). And romances based on poems by Tsvetaeva, Pasternak, Akhmadulina are very difficult things. Then Mikael Leonovich remembered Pugacheva. They found her and brought her to the picture. There were rehearsals, there were many takes during the recordings. The result was that everyone knows and has difficulty recognizing Pugacheva. And when the recording was made, no one knew her yet. In the fall of 1975, she won the Golden Orpheus and became very popular. And the picture was released on January 1, 1976. After the success of the film, Mikael Leonovich was invited to Kinopanorama. And Alla Borisovna too. Mikael Leonovich believed that she would sing live, and he would accompany her. When they tried, from her manner, in which she sang and which Tariverdiev demanded of her, there was nothing left. And then he asked her not to sing his songs anymore. This was a different Pugacheva and her manner was alien and unacceptable for Mikael Leonovich. That’s the whole story.

- Why didn’t Tariverdiev, unlike Pakhmutova and Babajanyan, write songs for Magomayev?

Mikael Leonovich, with rare exceptions, did not write works for anyone at all. He sometimes dedicated works - for example, to Zara Dolukhanova or Bashmet. By the way, the Concerto for viola and strings is not only dedicated to Bashmet, but was also written taking into account his extraordinary sound. That is, in this work the timbre of the viola, a certain timbre, plays a very important role.
And Magomaev performed two songs by Mikael Leonovich - “Don’t think about seconds” and “I ask, at least for a little while” for the film “17 Moments of Spring”. But he was not approved. They invited Kobzon, Tariverdiev also worked with him. And he fit into the style of the picture flawlessly.

- And to be honest, I liked the performance of “I ask...” by Leonid Agutin more. The song seemed completely out of his style, but he sang it unusually lyrically, even piercingly, but without pathos. Well, who do you consider today to be the best performers of Tariverdiev’s songs and why?

Tariverdiev has few songs. For the most part, this is what I call musical poetry - monologues, recitatives, vocal short stories, romances, madrigals. What the Meridian trio does is what I call madrigals. Almost no one sings or sings even without coming close to the desired manner. Sorry, only an early music ensemble from Novosibirsk. Monologues, including men's - Olga Dzusova.
Shakespeare's sonnets - Dmitry Pevtsov, whose sense of material and meaning is remarkable. Tamara Gverdtsiteli sings “Music” and “Don’t Disappear” well.

- Are you personally involved in approving participants for anniversary concerts? How does their “selection” take place?

I invite people I work with and are friends with to participate in concerts. These are all the already listed performers (the trio Meridian, Joseph Kobzon, Tamara Gverdtsiteli, Besedina-Taranenko, Dzusova), the instrumental duet from Tokyo Hide-Hide, the Japanese duet White classical Band, Dmitry Pevtsov, Alexey Kozlov, theater and film actors). But the selection is carried out by the TV channel that films the concert. And our selections often do not coincide. Or they don’t coincide in everything.

- Well, let’s say, did you like Vaenga’s performance of “On Tikhoretskaya”?

Well, why not trust her with this song? Singing “To Tikhoretskaya” is not at all difficult.

“But it seemed to me that at times it was difficult for her to hit the notes.” In general, is it permissible to change the harmony, as Glukoza did in “The Little Prince,” or the melody, like Ani Lorak in “Angela’s Ballad” from the film “The Deer King”?

The way GlyukOza sings - in this version I like the work of Max Fadeev better. One can argue about some of his liberties, but he did it on purpose and this is his dialogue with the author. In general, when there is dialogue, respectful dialogue - even if it is somewhat unusual, unusual - I like it. Example: we asked some very famous performers to sing several songs for a concert in the Kremlin Palace - they could not, they could not cope with the material. No one could even perform “There Will Be No One in the House.” But we are talking about the stars that Channel One offered. This, in my opinion, is a very significant fact.

And yet, how are such “liberties” justified? I understand that you can change the interpretation, nuances, arrangement, but failure to hit the notes seems to me like elementary musical illiteracy. And as a rule, the fusion with the text is disrupted, and therefore the meaning that the composer put into each musical phrase.

Nothing, of course, justifies such liberties. And you are very right about the lyrics. In general, Tariverdiev’s songs are not intended for conventional pop performance. There is poetry there, deep, real, and it requires understanding and careful treatment. Just like music, where every note is meaningful. If this is not the case, there is a feeling of falsehood, a violation of the harmonic series.

- And I get the feeling that some star performers don’t bother to look at the sheet music at all and learn the pieces by ear. But their hearing leaves much to be desired. And hence the result...

Absolutely right, this is the result of a simple failure to read the musical text. Unfortunately, such performers do not understand what they are talking about and even get offended when rhythmic or harmonic errors are pointed out to them.

I don't even know if this is funny or sad. If we already touched on the topic of variety music, I want to ask this: isn’t it strange that “Property of the Republic” has not yet made a program about Tariverdiev. Are the opuses of Igor Matvienko or Garik Sukachev a greater asset than Tariverdiev’s music? Have you received an offer from Channel One?

Not yet.

Tariverdiev would have turned 80 this August. You know, it’s very difficult to imagine him in today’s atmosphere of show business. Perhaps because it was business that replaced creativity. Composers “hanging out” at various talk shows that have nothing to do with music, endlessly appearing in glossy magazines, flaunting their personal lives, talking about “cool” watch brands and fashionable diets. Sometimes I want to ask: when do you have time to create???

Yes, Mikael Leonovich not only couldn’t stand hanging out, he categorically avoided it. He liked to go to Kinotavr because there were a lot of people there with whom he worked, his comrades. But he couldn’t stand today’s parties at all. He even took offense when he was called a secular man. Although he is precisely a secular person in the correct sense of the word. That is, a person who, with his manners and behavior, cannot and does not want to offend another.

- When I listen to Tariverdiev’s music, especially his vocal cycles, it seems to me that this is a recorded improvisation. Tell us how it worked?

How did you work? In part, I have already said that M.L. I wrote only the music I heard. She condescended to him. He was like a receiver. He had his own magical wave. To preserve it, it was necessary to remain a pure and internally focused person - so as not to lose it. He never lost her. Impressions, experiences, people, life - these were important to him. Traveling, helping others - all this was fuel. Photography, which he has been passionate about all his life, since childhood. If suddenly he experienced a period of internal tension, even a little irritability, it meant that something was being nurtured, something was being born in him. But as a rule, people and events became the impetus for the creation of a work. For example, in Pitsunda he heard Lyudmila Gambria, a beauty and a very good organist, play. A few days later he wrote a concerto for organ "Cassandra".
Or I visited Bashmet on the “Station of Dreams” program and talked with him about romanticism. Bashmet asked the question: “Why don’t you write a concert for me?” Two days later, suddenly M.L. sat down with his sampler instruments in the studio and played a concerto for viola and strings in a romantic style. I immediately recorded myself. And then in the summer, in Yalta, at the sea, which he loved very much, he recorded the score. At these moments, he needed a clean table (certainly clean, without any objects), a sharpener (he had an electric sharpener, which he was proud of) and TM-2 pencils. I really love his pencil manuscripts. They are very beautiful.

- How did Mikael Leonovich treat talented people? Did you help me get through?

Mikael Leonovich was very fond of any manifestations of talent. He might not know the person, but if he liked his work or film, he called and talked about it. He never had jealousy towards any talented person. He adored this mark of God. Probably because he was sure that talent came from God. How can you not love the manifestation of the Divine in man?
One day he heard “Skomorokhi” by Valery Gavrilin on television. He was delighted and called Valery Alexandrovich. He was happy, like a child, and spoke to him like that. In response, Gavrilin sent him a letter, which Tariverdiev kept as a treasure. Gavrilin wrote about what kind of musician and person Mikael Leonovich was, who was formed under his influence - musical and ethical. And again, I quote verbatim. "You are a kind person, despite the fact that YOU are a musician."

- Yes, the subtext is quite sad and, unfortunately, can be attributed not only to relationships in the world of music, but also to the creative environment in general. Did Mikael Leonovich have any students?

Mikael Leonovich never taught in any institution, although he could and would like to. People came to him, often just calling, as we say, from the street. He looked at their manuscripts and gave advice. Some of these people have become professional composers and consider Tariverdiev their teacher. These are good people. Very touching. There are also good musicians among them.

- Andrei Voznesensky figuratively called Tariverdiev “an elegant note in our concrete days.” People familiar with Tariverdiev call him a knight and at the same time often remember his quarrelsomeness.. How was this old-fashioned “chivalry” manifested in our prudent age, and what was his quarrelsomeness?

He was not at all quarrelsome; just a person with his own principles, his own outlook on life and certain values. He could not, and should not, drop his valuables in order to make someone else feel comfortable.
And he showed chivalry, that is, nobility, in his attitude towards women - in principle, towards the concept of friendship, towards music, towards his profession.

- Vera, tell us about the foundation you head. Who does he support?

Our Foundation is called the Mikael Tariverdiev Creative Heritage Support Fund. This is a forced formal measure in order to be able to work on the Mikael Tariverdiev International Organ Competition and participate in organizing concerts - although I, for example, do not organize anything other than the competition itself. Rather, I "participate" in concert organizations or halls. I can give an idea, a concept. I draw up a program, sit at rehearsals, invite performers. Whenever possible, we support talented people. The wonderful and exceptionally talented Termine Yeghiazaryan has been living with us for two years now. Two years ago she was a graduate of the Yerevan Conservatory, today she has already made her debut at the festival in Aix Provence, and will sing at the Lyon Opera. I think she has a great opera career ahead of her. We support our laureates and organists - if we consider creative cooperation as support. And we maintain our fund ourselves - our friend Hovsep Torosyan, chairman of the board of founders of the fund. Together with him we received our premises and maintain it. And the competition and concerts are supported by sponsors. There are few of them, and we are grateful to them.

How did the idea of ​​organizing an organ competition come about? How did you manage to implement such a large-scale project? Were there any difficulties? Who is helping?

When I was left alone with the enormous creative heritage of Mikael Leonovich, some of which was unknown and unclaimed, I stubbornly thought about what to do so that other music by Mikael Leonovich would be recognized. After all, this is not just a question of the completion or non-execution of works. It is also a question of the scale of the individual, the scale of this legacy. I am deeply confident in its value not only for me, but for people. Different people. The scale of Tariverdiev is still visible to very few people, although it is performed more often today. Any large quantities unfold in time. And there is a law: the greater the value, the more time it takes to comprehend it. I was looking for a shortcut. It was the idea of ​​the competition that seemed to me to be the beginning of the path I am on today. It was in 1996, when we gathered at the Union of Cinematographers, called our meeting the Commission on the Creative Heritage of Mikael Tariverdiev and drew up an action plan. It included the publication of a book, memorial plaques in Tbilisi and Moscow, concerts, and something else. And there was an International Organ Competition. Then everything was accepted with understanding. And the idea of ​​the competition was accepted out of respect for me, although at first glance it seemed strange and incomprehensible.
You know, now in Kaliningrad, where the competition is held, they believe that Tariverdiev was almost born there. The idea turned out to be fruitful, the venue was very successful. The competition is developing. During its existence, more than 200 organists took part in it (not counting the jury members). And each of them performs works for organ by Mikael Tariverdiev every two years as a compulsory piece. Some perform only at competitions. But many people keep this music in their repertoire as a precious acquisition.
As part of the competition, we sometimes perform other works by Mikael Leonovich. For example, the world premiere of the Viola Concerto took place there, at the opening ceremony of the Second Competition. And from the Fourth Competition, we moved the first round outside of Kaliningrad and are holding it in Hamburg and Moscow. From the Fifth the North American tour joined, first in Worcester (Massachusetts), and from this year the competition was registered at the University of Kansas, one of the best organ centers in the USA. This year we are holding the Asian Tour in Astana for the first time. The competition is accompanied by concerts. For example, in Kansas it was a small festival with a concert by the 2007 first prize winner Robert Horton (USA), lectures on Russian music, and a film screening. In Astana, the competition will end with the “Az and Ya” concert, which we dedicate to the memory of our friend Chingiz Aitmatov. Various music will be played, including Tariverdiev's. A competition is also a way of communicating, explaining to the world, searching for loved ones, forming, establishing one’s own criteria, in which I always rely on Mikael Leonovich.

No. If I appear on television or radio, it means that someone has shown interest primarily in the work of Mikael Leonovich. For my part, I do not seek to draw attention to myself. I don’t have time to participate in various TV shows on my own behalf or make my own (and I was offered this). I have more important things to do.

The fate of M. L.'s songs (I dare not call it pop music) and film music was more successful than the fate of his operas and ballets. One example is the ballet "The Girl and Death", filmed a week before the premiere at the Bolshoi. How can one explain the disinterest of theaters in the ballet, which was once rehearsed by the Bolshoi stars - Nina Ananiashvili, Andris Liepa, Lyudmila Semenyaka?

The ballet was actually staged. There is even an amateur video recording from one of the pre-general runs. And it was removed by decision of the Bolshoi Theater artistic council after an acute conflict. In fact, it was not this ballet as such that was objected to. The struggle was between the Bolshoi soloists and Grigorovich. Ballet became a victim of this struggle.

- So, until now this ballet has not been presented to the public?

- Are the operas “Count Cagliostro”, “Who are you?” performed today (and where?) (based on Aksyonov’s story, “Waiting”?

- “Waiting” is performed in concerts, at the New Opera (new production, terrible!), and at the Pokrovsky Chamber Theater, where it is sung by Maria Lemesheva, our friend and a wonderful singer, for whose voice this song was written opera, like Count Cagliostro. "Count Cagliostro" is not showing anywhere today. I'm very surprised by this. This is a brilliant, cheerful comic opera, at one time gorgeously staged by Boris Aleksandrovich Pokrovsky. This is something that people would love to go to. And not only in Russia. In general, very little modern opera is staged. And in relation to Tariverdiev’s operas, the relevance of the issues that he touched on should appear. It is obvious to many even now, but the environment itself, which reproduces the cultural product, still lives in the conditions of pop culture and total postmodernism. So there is no malicious intent here, the time just has to come. They say manuscripts don't burn. But those that do not corrode and smolder do not burn. I see that Tariverdiev’s attitude towards music is changing, and now, largely thanks to the competition, he is no longer associated only with classics, music from films. In any case, I will do everything in my power for this.

- Finally, I would like to ask you a very personal question. Recently, in an essay or story, I read the idea that a wife who devoted herself to her genius husband, who lived by his interests, experiences relief and liberation with his departure. Do you agree with this statement?

To say something like this, you have to be either a stupid or immoral person. I will compensate for what happened to me with my life. There are different types of suffering. Some bring nothing but disappointment and pain. Others, without removing the pain of loss, discover a lot. With his departure, Mikael Leonovich did not make me suffer pointlessly - he revealed something new to me, and I know for sure that I am living my life.

Conducted by Zoya Master

The music of Mikael Leonovich Tariverdiev is unfamiliar only to those who have not seen the films “Seventeen Moments of Spring” and “The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!” That is, in the vast post-Soviet space there are practically no people unfamiliar with his work.

Childhood and youth

He was born in August 1931 in Tbilisi, which at that time bore the old name - Tiflis. The family of the future maestro was of noble Armenian-Georgian origin. Grandfather Grisho Akopov, mother’s father, was the owner of a huge orchard. Grisho Akopov had a luxurious house on three floors, in which Mikaela Tariverdiev’s mother, Sato, grew up.

Despite her noble origin, Sato Akopova became interested in Bolshevik ideas during the Civil War. She even had to spend a short time in prison, where the Mensheviks put her. According to family legend, she met her future husband Leon Tariverdiev, the red commander of the cavalry regiment, precisely on these days. Leon's regiment was the first to break into Tiflis, liberating it from the Mensheviks.

Mikael Tariverdiev was an only child. Mom dedicated her whole life to him. It was she who took her 6-year-old son to the music school at the Tbilisi Conservatory. At the age of 8 he wrote several pieces for piano, and at 10 he became the author of a symphony.

At school the boy's situation was somewhat worse. Due to lack of time, after lessons he had to rush to the music school; he had little contact with his peers. The guys kicked the ball around the stadium and, having formed two enemy groups, fought with each other. He was disliked for his lack of participation in public life.

But Mikael wrote the anthem for his native school. True, this did not save him from expulsion. In the penultimate class, he spoke at a Komsomol meeting, defending a classmate. He became deaf from a blow dealt to him by the school principal. I had to finish my studies at night school.

At the age of 16, the young musician entered a music school. He graduated in a year. This was the time of the first triumph. The choreographer of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theater asked the talented guy to write two one-act ballets. He coped with this task brilliantly. Both ballets were part of the theater repertoire for two years. Tariverdiev spent his first fee on a beautiful hat.

Mikael Tariverdiev’s youth was not cloudless. In 1949, his father was arrested. At that time he was the Director of the Central Bank of Georgia. The son and mother were forced to hide, moving from apartment to apartment. I even had to go hungry. In order to somehow survive, the young pianist gave music lessons.

Then there was a short period of study at the Yerevan Conservatory. But Tariverdiev didn’t like it here, and he went to Moscow. It is noteworthy that at this time the ardent young man almost got married. He became interested in the niece of the famous. But the girl cheated on him, and Mikael broke off the engagement.

At the Gnessin Institute, Tariverdiev had to take an exam from the uncle of his failed bride. But Aram Ilyich was fair. The guy turned out to be the only one who received a solid A from Khachaturian upon admission and overcame a huge competition. Moreover, he soon became Aram Khachaturian’s favorite student.

Music

In Gnesinka, the young composer and musician finally determined his range of interests: opera, chamber vocal music and film music. My studies went well, but life in the capital turned out to be too expensive. In 1953, after his death, his father was released from prison. But the parents could not help their son. He had to work part-time as a loader at the Rizhsky railway station.

There he met VGIK students like him. Once the future actors shared that they were looking for a composer for their course work. This is how the first music of Mikael Tariverdiev, a 4th year student, appeared, written for a film. It was called "Man Overboard." And in 1958, music was written for the film “Youth of Our Fathers.”

The first vocal cycles appeared in Gnesinka and the composer’s debut took place in the Great Hall of the capital’s conservatory. Tariverdiev's romances were performed by the famous singer Zara Dolukhanova. They had considerable success.

In the 1960s, the composer discovered himself in a new role, which he called the “third direction.” The maestro tries to convey poetry to the music he wrote. This is how monologues appear on poems by Grigory Pozhenyan and.

Soon Mikael Leonovich begins to collaborate with performers who, in collaboration with the composer, become famous. This is how Tariverdiev managed to create the trio “Meridian” and the vocal duet of Galina Besedina and Sergei Taranenko. And also help you find your style and debut. The future Russian pop diva first became famous for her songs for the movie “The Deer King.”

The human qualities of Mikael Leonovich could be judged by his noble deeds. Almighty, who headed the Union of Cinematographers of the Soviet Union at that time, sent Tariverdiev to present Kalik’s film to France. But the director himself, who served time in the camps, was not allowed to travel abroad. The composer refused to go without him. During this time, he was not allowed to go abroad for 12 years. No, he was not hounded or trashed in the newspapers, but the atmosphere created was as if Tariverdiev did not exist.

The next wave of popularity, which brought the composer to the top, was associated with the cult film “Seventeen Moments of Spring.” Today it is unthinkable to imagine this film without the music of the brilliant Tariverdiev, although at first he wanted to refuse this work. Mikael Leonovich thought that we were talking about another “spy” series.

But after reading the script, I immediately agreed. We auditioned for songs for the film and. They sang wonderfully, but the voices, according to the musician, were not suitable. He was chosen, which became the reason for Magomaev’s long resentment.

How important director Lioznova considered the composer’s music can be judged by the unprecedentedly long “musical” episode of the meeting with his wife. This scene lasts 8 minutes without a single word or action.

The series became a cult immediately after its release and brought enormous fame to everyone involved with it. But Mikael Tariverdiev was not included in the list for the USSR State Prize. This happened due to a damaged relationship with Tatyana Lioznova. She decided to include herself in the credits not only as a director, but also as a co-screenwriter. I opposed this. They turned to Tariverdiev as an arbitrator. He sided with Semenov.

But people's love did not bypass Tariverdiev. His songs from “Seventeen Moments of Spring” were endlessly played on the radio and received two first prizes at “Song-72”. Such fame did not please his less fortunate colleagues and became the cause of a dirty intrigue that took away a lot of the composer’s health.

There was gossip that Tariverdiev stole the music for the film about the legendary Stirlitz from the French composer Francis Ley. Allegedly, exactly the same music was written by a Frenchman for the film “Love Story”. First there were calls - allegedly from France - to the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. Then a fake telegram came to the Union of Composers with the text:

“Congratulations on the success of my music in your film. Francis Ley."

The cruel joke was developed. Many colleagues who were previously considered friends turned their backs on Tariverdiev. His works were heard less and less on radio and television. At Mikael Leonovich's concerts, he receives notes asking whether it is true that he stole music from a Frenchman and the Soviet government paid a huge fine. The composer is curtailing his concert activities. And when he is already on the verge of a nervous breakdown, his friends help him contact Francis Ley himself, who refutes this rumor.

The fame that came to the composer in 1977 seemed to be compensation for all previous humiliations. The cult film “The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!” was released. Mikael Tariverdiev's music for songs based on poetry was magnificent. The songs themselves were performed by Alla Pugacheva.

For the music for this film, Tariverdiev received the USSR State Prize. Largely thanks to Eldar Ryazanov. After all, the music commission for state awards opposed it. Apparently, the reason was Tariverdiev’s choice of authors of poems who had recently been disgraced. Mikael Leonovich was awarded the title of People's Artist in 1986.

The composer wrote not only film music, which made him famous, but also operas, chamber vocal works, organ and instrumental music, and ballets. He worked, as a rule, at night. Then the muse came to him most often.

One of the musician’s last known works is the organ symphony “Chernobyl,” which he wrote after a trip to the contaminated zone shortly after the accident. He later shared that he had no intention of writing anything. The symphony was born unexpectedly, inspired by the tragedy he saw.

Few people know that in the spring of 1987, the ballet “The Girl and Death” to the music of Tariverdiev was supposed to be released at the Bolshoi Theater. But a week before the premiere, the performance was suddenly cancelled. These were intrigues against director Yuri Grigorovich. But the composer took this blow hard.

During his life, Mikael Tariverdiev wrote music for more than 130 films. But fans of his talent also value the composer for his excellent music for plays, operas, organ concerts, ballets and romances.

Personal life

Not only the creative, but also the personal life of Mikael Tariverdiev turned out to be stormy and rich in events and passions experienced. The composer was extraordinarily handsome and impressive. Tall, slender, thin, he dressed well and followed fashion. Women adored him, he paid them in the same coin. But his marriages and affairs often ended badly.

He did not live long with his first two wives, Elena Andreeva and Eleonora Maklakova, and divorced. In his first marriage, he had his only son, Karen. Subsequently, he graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne School and took part in the war in Afghanistan in the GRU special forces units.

Of the composer’s numerous novels, the most famous is his affair with the actress, a beauty, with whom he was in love for a long time. The tragedy happened when the couple was returning to the capital in Tariverdiev’s car. Maksakova was allegedly driving. Suddenly a man ran out onto the road. He died from a collision with a car.

The composer took all the blame. The investigation lasted for two years, and then the humiliating trial. The musician’s beloved did not appear at the decisive meeting. Rumor has it that she preferred to relax with friends. Mikael Tariverdiev did not forgive her for this.

It is noteworthy that the actress herself claims that the whole story about Tariverdiev taking the blame upon himself is a monstrous myth invented by his third wife. They say that Eldar Ryazanov later adopted this plot for his film “Station for Two.”

Mikael Tariverdiev’s personal life changed after meeting with musicologist Vera. They met at the Moscow Autumn festival in 1983. Finally, the maestro found the only woman with whom he felt calm and comfortable. They lived together for 13 happy years. In his book of memoirs, the composer wrote that for the first time he felt that he was not alone.

After the death of her husband, Vera Gorislavovna Tariverdieva published the book “Biography of Music”, in which she wrote about the life and work of her brilliant husband.

Death

At the end of May 1990, Tariverdiev underwent heart surgery in London. His destroyed heart valve was replaced with an artificial one made from the same alloy from which the Shuttle's skin was made. The composer joked that he now has a heart of iron with a 40-year guarantee.

But death came to Mikael Leonovich much earlier, in the summer of 1996. He was vacationing with his wife in the Sochi sanatorium “Akter”. On July 25, early in the morning, the composer passed away. On this day, he and his wife were supposed to return to Moscow.

Mikael Tariverdiev was buried at the Armenian cemetery in the capital.

Mikael Tariverdiev won over his future wife when she was only 13 years old with the song “The Little Prince.” They met only 13 years later...

Don't disappear in me forever,

Don't disappear for just half an hour.

You will return again in a thousand, thousand years,

But your candle is still burning...

Andrey Voznesensky

On August 15, Mikael Tariverdiev would have turned 81 years old. The composer has not been with us for 16 years, but his piercing melodies and songs from films, recognizable from the first bars, still sound from film and television screens, in concert halls and on discs. At the same time, layers of his music previously unknown to the general public are constantly being revealed.

This is the great merit of Vera Tariverdieva, who after the death of her husband devoted herself entirely to continuing his work. Founded the only International Organ Competition in Kaliningrad in Russia. She has released more than 20 discs with little-known works by Tariverdiev - from the opera Count Cagliostro to Memories of Venice. She published a book with his memoirs “I Just Live” twice, supplementing the second edition with her “Biography of Music” about his life and work.

At the beginning of August, Vera Tariverdieva visited Tallinn, giving a lecture at the XXVI International Tallinn Organ Festival that accompanied the screening of the documentary film Quo vadis?, which was based on the organ symphony “Chernobyl”. And under the arches of the Niguliste Church the choral preludes “Imitation of the Masters” and the organ concert “Cassandra” by Mikael Tariverdiev sounded.

She has a rare patronymic, Gorislavovna, and an amazing destiny. At 26, she met a man crowned with fame and twice her age, who coincided with her in everything and who became her lover, friend, teacher, husband. They lived together for 13 happy years, and after his death she devoted herself entirely, no, not to perpetuating his memory, but to continuing his work.

“Love is a process... A process of getting closer, recognizing, comprehending and understanding more and more... and it never stops. Love is an endless feeling,” says Vera Tariverdieva. We are sitting on the open veranda of a café in the Old Town, and she recalls how, more than twenty years ago, she first came to Tallinn on instructions from the editors of the newspaper “Soviet Culture”, where she then worked. “They received me wonderfully, and Lennart Meri, a wonderful person, just a writer in those years, took me around the Old Town.”

The birthplace of our novel is the Baltics

– How did the main meeting in your life take place, which determined your entire future destiny? You were very young at that time...

– I was 26 years old and married. And she even managed to visit Afghanistan - as part of a delegation of leaders of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, who held the “Days of the USSR in Kabul”. I was there for more than a month, and I had a music salon, which was considered a rarity in those parts where women wear veils. There were many impressions, and upon returning to Moscow, I wrote an article about it. It was 1983, exactly the year I met Mikael Leonovich. Our romance began in Vilnius, and before that I called him with a request to write to “Soviet Culture” about a new work by Rodion Shchedrin. Mikael Leonovich did not immediately agree, but in the end he wrote an excellent article, and we both ended up at a festival in Vilnius, which was held by Rodion Konstantinovich - at that time he was building a dacha there and collaborated a lot with Lithuania. So the Baltic states are the birthplace of our novel (smiles).

– What impression did Mikael Leonovich make on you when you first met? Did you feel like you were seeing a famous composer?

– Mikael Leonovich had a rare, simply magnetic charm. He made an indelible impression on everyone, and he never strived for this; he was easy to communicate with. And in his relationships with women, he was a true gentleman of the old style, while at the same time being a modern man. When in the morning we were all gathered in the lobby of the Lietuva hotel to then be taken to lay flowers at the Lenin monument, I saw Mikael Leonovich coming towards me, who was all beaming: he was very pleased that we published his article in its entirety, and people were already calling him and thanking him .

– Was it love at first sight?

– You know... what is love? Love is a process. This is a process of rapprochement, a process of recognition, comprehension, understanding... Understanding is not instantaneous. There is an instant feeling of closeness - we had this from the first minute of our acquaintance. And then there was a process, and it never stopped. Almost immediately, Mikael Leonovich taught me the main lesson: he had a clear position in life and was always faithful to it. Sometimes they talked about him as a person with a difficult character, inconvenient, but in fact this is not the case. He just had his own system of views and values, an understanding of what he was called to do.

– What of his music did you know then?

– Well, of course, I watched “Seventeen Moments of Spring”, “The Irony of Fate”, I knew the songs. But the world of Mikael Leonovich’s music was practically unfamiliar to me. Although I remember my first childhood sensations. I'm 13 years old, summer day at Artek. I’m sitting on a hill alone, the song “The Little Prince” is coming from the radio. I didn't know who wrote it, but it touched me deeply. Only when I met Mikael Leonovich did I find out that he was its author. And the first step into the world of his music was the First Violin Concerto, at the rehearsal and premiere of which I attended at the Moscow Autumn, even before my trip to Vilnius. And at the festival in Vilnius this particular concerto was performed, played by Grisha Zhislin.

He was a prince and "a graceful note in the concrete age"

– It seems to me that there is something symbolic in the fact that the first song with which your acquaintance with Tariverdiev’s music began was “The Little Prince”. Mikael Leonovich himself was such a prince, a romantic, a knight among Soviet composers. Or, as Andrei Voznesensky said, he was “an elegant note in the concrete era.”

“He was a prince, he was a deer king, he was an aristocrat, a man of refined culture. Not only due to his origin and upbringing. He was gifted by God with an unusually subtle perception of the world. He wrote only the music that he heard and that was sent to him. And in order to hear it, you need to keep yourself pure. Mikael Leonovich committed actions that seemed crazy to others, but for him they were natural. For example, the story with Misha Kalik, his friend and co-author of such films as “Goodbye, Boys”, “Love”, “Destruction”. After the film “Man Follows the Sun,” both woke up famous and were invited to Paris. But Misha was not released, since he was imprisoned in Stalin’s camps, and Mikael Leonovich said that he would not go without Misha. After that, he was banned from traveling abroad for 12 years. Few people know about this, he was always considered a successful person, he had a lot of awards, but he was completely incompatible with the Soviet system. He always did only what he wanted, he didn’t even have a work book. He managed to live his life as a completely free person. This does not mean that he could afford everything, but he had an amazing feeling of inner freedom, his own separate world.

– How did he write music – with an instrument or not? Fast or painfully long?

– His gestation process was often long, and his birth was quick (laughs). The music descended on him, he was like a receiver. At some point, something clicked in him, he sat down at the instrument and played the entire piece. It was a miracle, because the whole idea, from the first to the last note, came to him in its entirety at once. He recorded himself, his playing, and then sat down at the table and wrote the score, never resorting to an instrument.

– In general, the whole work appeared like an apple in the palm of your hand - this comparison is usually used when talking about the miracle of the birth of Mozart’s music.

– Mikael Leonovich has this phrase: “You cannot offend Mozart. The Mozarts always win."

– But next to Mozart there is always Salieri.

– In my opinion, he was friends with Valery Gavrilin?

– It cannot be said that it was close friendship and communication. An amazing spiritual connection and empathy arose between them. It was a surprise for Mikael Leonovich to receive a letter from Valentin Alexandrovich, in which he wrote that Tariverdiev had always been an example for him. This was a great consolation given what he had been going through throughout his life.

– Probably one of the most difficult moments was associated with Nikita Bogoslovsky and his wild prank after the release of “Seventeen Moments of Spring”, when the Union of Composers received a telegram, allegedly from Francis Ley: “Congratulations on the success of my music in your film.” .

– It was creepy, but it was not the worst thing that Mikael Leonovich had to experience in his life. In a certain sense, he needed tragic experiences, since they later resulted in music. As an extremely vulnerable and delicate person, living according to different laws, it was difficult for him in this world. Although there was a lot of joy in his life. Because so many people loved him, and most importantly, the public loved him. And the listeners brought him into history with their love.

Symphony-testimony and opera-grotesque

– The book “I Just Live” is illustrated with his photographs. Was this his hobby?

– Yes, and he also loved sports. In his youth, he was interested in boxing, horse riding, cycling, and motorcycles, and later – windsurfing and photography.

– How did you spend your vacation?

– Until 1991 inclusive, we went to Sukhumi for two summer months. He water skied during the day and worked at night. This was the most productive time for him. He loved to work at night - either at sea in Sukhumi, or at home in Moscow.

– Have you kept the apartment intact – everything is as it was under your husband?

– Yes, so intact that some things already require repair (laughs).

– I know that you have a huge archive at home, and you continue to open new pages all the time. So much unpublished?

– And Mikael Leonovich published almost nothing. Only in the last period, in a total of 300 copies, were organ works and vocal cycles published. We are now putting everything on the Internet. Not everyone agrees with this, but I believe music should be accessible. Today, few people publish it: it is a very expensive pleasure. Mikael Leonovich even has compositions that have never been performed. For example, the opera “The Marriage of Figarenko,” which is currently only available in the clavier. He did not know which theater would perform it, so he did not write the score - which is rare for him; usually he first wrote the score, and then the clavier. A week ago I received an orchestration of an opera from Armenia, which was made by two wonderful Armenian composers. I am very grateful to them and will meet with them in the fall, maybe I will be able to stage Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko at the Musical Theatre. “The Marriage of Figarenko” is a very funny grotesque opera. In 1990, when it was written, it was not clear to many who it was about. And it’s about what happened later in our lives when the new Russians arrived. It is still relevant today.

– Like the organ symphony “Chernobyl”, written in 1987, which still sounds like a warning.

– This symphony is a testimony, this symphony is a call. Mikael Leonovich considered it his main work. She asks us all the question: “Quo vadis?” (“Where are you coming?”). The question that Christ asked Peter when he met him coming from Rome: “Quo vadis, Petr?” Peter turned around and went to martyrdom.

– Now, thanks to you and the Foundation you head, a whole layer of Tariverdiev’s music is being rediscovered. But for most, the name Tariverdiev is associated primarily with film music. Did he have any feelings of regret or even resentment that much of what he wrote remained, as it were, in the shadows - I mean wonderful vocal cycles, instrumental and symphonic music, ballets, operas, works for organ?

– Of course, Mikael Leonovich had a feeling of dissatisfaction, since he perfectly understood who he was and what he was doing. But this is the natural course of things: organ music cannot compete with the music from “Seventeen Moments of Spring” or “The Irony of Fate,” which are shown on television every year and gather a colossal audience. However, there is a certain pattern: large values ​​are revealed at a distance. Therefore, it takes time for the scale of Mikael Leonovich’s creative heritage to be understood and appreciated. I communicate a lot with organists who come to our competition (International Organ Competition named after Tariverdiev. - T.U.) from all over the world, and they begin their acquaintance with Tariverdiev’s music with organ works and are very surprised when they find out what he wrote music for films. That is, they start from the other end, and we move towards each other. The moment will come when we will all meet, and the different facets of Mikael Leonovich’s work will unite.

Help "DD":

Vera Tariverdieva was born on May 15, 1957 in Alma-Ata into a family of writers (her mother is a professor of philology, her father is a journalist). She graduated from the Gnessin Music Institute with a degree in musicology, defending a diploma on the topic “Early forms of polyphony in the music of the 13th-14th centuries in France.” She worked for the newspaper “Soviet Culture”, wrote reviews and articles about modern music. Author of the book “Biography of Music”, President of the Charitable Foundation Mikaela Tariverdieva, art director of the International Organ Competition, which since 1999 has been held every two years in Kaliningrad, as well as in Moscow, Astana, Hamburg and the USA.