Double bassist and producer Vladimir Volkov about the program of the Volkov Manifest festival

From March 5 to 7, the Moscow recreation center “Rassvet” will host the VI Volkov Manifest festival, which is annually held in Moscow and St. Petersburg by double bassist and producer Vladimir Volkov. Igor Gavrilov asked Vladimir Volkov tell us about the festival program.

— Volkov Manifest was first held in 2014. What were you missing in the music world that you decided to create such a festival?

“It was the idea of ​​Denis Rubin, who was then the director of music and theater programs at the Erarta Museum in St. Petersburg. I often performed there in different lineups and in different projects, there were many of them, and Denis suggested uniting musicians, artists, actors, performers who were somehow connected with me in one event.

— The Manifesto website says that the festival is attended by “prominent representatives of the unofficial culture of St. Petersburg, Moscow and abroad.” This definition is “unofficial culture”; does it even mean anything now in the context of the festival?

– Now this word seems a little inaccurate. This year we will have the Divertimento chamber orchestra playing, and it is in the official niche – this is the Petersburg Concert orchestra. But violinist Ilya Ioff, who leads the orchestra, comes up with a variety of programs, playing both minimalists and something from the avant-garde. And it was his idea to perform Sergei Kuryokhin’s music, which is not actually performed, since there were no scores for it, but only audio recordings. When Ilya creates such programs, he probably represents unofficial culture. Mostly those who take part in the festival are independent musicians.

— They write a lot about Sergei Kuryokhin and seem to remember him, but still rather in the context of rock music and mass art. Which Kuryokhin do you want to show?

— First of all, we want to show Kuryokhin the author. For example, “Sparrow Oratorio: Four Seasons” was born as an independent work. When she was recording at Lenfilm, Sergei showed us, the recording participants, only some fragments played on the piano, or sang. The music was recorded, then the phonograms were mixed, Sergei added something else, but he didn’t have the scores. In this they are similar to Oleg Nikolaevich Karavaichuk. So it was no coincidence that they ended up in the program of the first day of the festival together. Their methods are similar and they were known to be friends.

— There is a well-known story about how Karavaichuk accepted Kuryokhin’s invitation to participate in one of the “Pop Mechanics”, and then simply did not come.

“He sometimes didn’t come to his own concerts. I knew Sergei better; I participated in his “Pop Mechanics” and played in chamber ensembles, for example with Anatoly Vapirov. But we also met with Oleg Nikolaevich. For example, I participated in the recording of his music for the film “Wild Swans”. Before that, I had only heard a large number of anecdotes about how Karavaichuk works, but here I saw how the actual recording of his music takes place, what this whole process looks like, unlike anything else.

— The festival program says that there will be works “written under the impression of the music of the legendary Oleg Karavaichuk.” What does it mean, “under the impression”?

– Exactly like that, and not “in the style” or “in imitation” of Oleg Karavaichuk. No imitation. For example, vibraphonist and composer Alexei Chizhik wrote his own waltz, and this is a certain state that he tried to convey, but there are no quotes in it. And I also wrote a waltz, back in the 1980s, and this is also an “impression”.

— The second day of your festival is filled with folklore, especially the second part, in which Sergei Starostin and Taisiya Krasnopevtseva participate. Do you think Russian folklore, to which they devoted their lives to research, can still bring surprises? Or is there nothing more to dig there, all the songs have been collected and all that remains is to endlessly interpret them?

— Folklore cannot be exhausted. Sergei Starostin performs works collected by him in different regions, constantly interpreting. And his original songs are difficult to distinguish from folk ones. You see, this is how this music was once born. It had authors, it did not come from outer space. It’s just that now we no longer remember where the author’s beginning is and where the later layers are. In the same part of the concert, the arrangements will include cello and double bass, that is, classical influences will be woven into the songs of Starostin and Krasnopevtseva. And in the first part, pianist Stanislav Chigadayev, Igor Lisov, Semyon Fedotov and I will play pieces imbued with oriental flavor, interpreted through modern jazz improvisation.

— On March 7 you will play German Baroque. What exactly do you take from the German Baroque?

— We will play Bach’s contemporaries and those who worked even a little earlier—Dietrich Buxtehude, Heinrich von Bieber, Johann Schmelzer. The program will include a performance of Bieber’s sonata “The Annunciation”. Alice Ten will sing Johann Sebastian Bach’s aria “Agnus Dei” from the Mass in B minor. “Requiem” by Rust Pozyumsky in the second part will be performed on baroque instruments such as viola da gamba, viol d’amore and harpsichord. These instruments rarely appear on stage. There will also be a zinc woodwind instrument, also known as a cornet. It was mastered several years ago by the famous saxophonist Oleg Maryakhin.

— What is interesting to you personally as a musician now? What do you want to do besides numerous collaborations?

— Everything that arouses interest in the world around us. Sometimes the unexpected happens. Now the French director, cellist and pianist Siegfried Debreban unexpectedly appeared in Moscow. I invited him to take part in the program of Kuryokhin’s works, although this was not originally planned.