Victory in Osaka!
Andrey Rubtsov's Notes From the Road
"Are we really going to Osaka?" This thought swam around in my head as we quickly packed our bags. It was rather difficult to explain to family that we really didn't know when we would return, as that would depend on the results of the first and second rounds of competition. A sleepless night. A last chance to check that everything was in order, that I had not forgotten anything, and off we went -- five musicians heading for Sheremetyevo-II Airport early on the morning of May 14.
And so it has begun. We will soon find out just what sort of ensemble we are. We have been playing together for five years, and not without a small measure of success. We have played in Spain, the U.S., Great Britain, Singapore... recorded a CD... been filmed for TV... debuted several pieces for Russian audiences and successfully experimented in different musical genres, like pop and jazz.
But what we are venturing into now is something very different and special. The Osaka Chamber Music Competition is one of the most prestigious in the world.
Last fall, we made a recording of two compositions from the competition program, as required -- we actually had to record at night, since we were so busy with the orchestra, and sent it off to Japan. As winter neared, we received the answer: just 20 of the 80 submitted recordings had been accepted, including ours!
)
All winter and into the spring, it was like a long nightmare. Chamber rehearsals after work... rehearsals in the evening... rehearsals early in the morning... preparatory concerts... more rehearsals... And now, as we sit in the plane for the tedious 13 hours of flight to Osaka, we can only hope that we have done enough.
Upon our arrival, we learn that we will be competing against ensembles from Germany, France, Japan and other countries where chamber music gets considerably more attention than Russia.
;)
We played in the amazing Izumi Hall, which has acoustics that captivate and inspire -- we can only dream that such a hall would some day appear in Moscow.
;)
Each of the three rounds lasted about one and a half hours and we had to play several works. We played Hindemith and Ligeti, Denisov and Yun, Barber, Ibera and Danzi. Keeping all these works straight in your head is no simple thing. And we had to play them all better than all the other ensembles.
On the jury of the competition, which was founded in 1993 by the violinist Yehudi Menuhin, there are many famous musicians from Austria, Australia, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Japan and other countries. According to the competition's strict rules, we could not even come within a cannon shot's distance of the judges. A fair result trumps all!
;)
To be completely honest, after the announcement of the results, we still did not believe what had happened. Could it be a joke? Never in the entire history of our country had a wind quintet from the capital won the top prize at this level of an international competition.
The German and Japanese ensembles were no less surprised than us. They never expected such a result.
;)
A gold medal was awarded to us by the head of Japan's Chamber Music Association, an important organization which seeks to promote this genre throughout Asia and the world.
;)
And here is our certificate. I obviously don't need to translate it; it is surely clear to everyone!
;)
Now each of us has one of these medals. It is proof that everything that has happened is real, that "Russian wind musicians demonstrated their supreme mastery" (Intermedia), that everything we did in preparation was worth it.
;)
After returning from Japan, the quintet did not have a minute to rest on its laurels. Three days later, Alexey Serov and I played our final exam in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, in effect, finishing our Conservatory education (and receiving the highest possible grade). And then, a few days later, the Russian Wind Quintet was performing in Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod, proving that being musicians requires not only a high level of professionalism, but also a high level of energy!