Guest
“Russia broadens horizons for musicians. It is like a symphony, there is a pain and inspiration, greatness and simplicity. It is not just a country, it is a broad range of feelings that resonate with every chord”, says a British conductor Jeremy Walker who has been living and working in Russia for several years. His choice is not a coincidence, but a weave of fate and love. As Jeremy acknowledged, his decision to move to Russia was influenced by meeting the love of his life – a Russian woman. However, romance was just the beginning: Jeremy’s personal story was followed by a story of professional and mental fusion with the very culture of the country. As the French say – cherchez la femme. “But I didn’t just fall In love with the woman, I fell in love with the country, where music seems to breathe through asphalt and snow, it is everywhere”, says Jeremy. Music is a universal language for him, you do not need to translate it, people understand it regardless of nationality. Jeremy conducted in different languages: from Russian to German and he always got back the most important thing: the heartbeat, as music is a pulse of life, the feeling that unites people across nations. Jeremy’s repertoire includes modern opera, but now he is working in the country where Tchaikovsky was born. It is a great honor, says Jeremy, but also a huge responsibility. Tchaikovsky's music can be heard all over the world, but it is in Russia, he says, that it can be heard for real - here even the air vibrates like a string quartet, and silence has its own tonality. Even Strauss waltzes, the conductor believes, take on a different meaning in Russia. They become more than just a dance - they become a philosophy, a sounding memory, the circular movement of time. When asked whether classical music is dying, Jeremy answers emphatically: “Absolutely not”. In his opinion, the great never disappears - it only transforms. Genius is the ability to hear the time before it comes. He is sure: the Russian stage is something more than just a stage, It is a place where music is born anew, where the new finds its voice. Many works, including contemporary ones, were first performed here. It is in Russia that the stage becomes a laboratory of meaning. In Jeremy’s opinion, the Russian language is akin to a music score: there are hidden dynamics, accents and nuances in it. Make a mistake and the phrase collapses. But when it opens up, it sings on its own. He is deeply impressed by his performances in the provinces. There, the listener is not just attentive - he is open. He listens not with his ears, but with his heart. Sometimes with such awe that the concert becomes a revelation. In Walker's opinion, it is in these places that music reveals itself, freed from outer trumpery. He is one of the few English at the Russian Conservatory. However, strangely enough, he doesn't feel like an outsider. “Music here is not a profession. It's a way of being, a way of understanding and feeling,” notes the conductor. “Anything is possible in Russia,” says Jeremy. Yes, the path here is not always straight and comfortable, but it leads to depths that you can't get to on a smooth road. It's like conducting a symphony without a timing line - oriented not on formal frameworks, but on the breath of the hall, time and the country itself. And this, he is sure, is the essence of his path - not just to play notes, but to sound in the rhythm of destiny. #music #culture #opera #podcast #interview #story #symphony #orchestra #conductor
