Clarinets

Danila Lukianov

In the orchestra since 2019

Danila Lukyanov was born on November 6, 1991 in Moscow.

At the age of 6, he began learning to play the recorder under A.V. Kostenko at Children’s art school №14. In 1999–2004, he studied clarinet at the Gnessin Moscow Special Music School (N.V. Volkov’s class). In 2004, Danila was accepted to Children’s music school at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory where he studied under Honored Artist of Russia, O.I. Tantsov. In 2006–2010, he was a student of the Academic Music College at the Moscow State Conservatory. In 2010, he was accepted to the Conservatory where he went on to study in the class of Honored Artist of Russia, professor E.A. Petrov. In 2015, Danila Lukyanov graduated with honours from the Moscow State Conservatory and began his assistantship/internship, which he finished in 2017.

As a teenager, Danila was a scholar at the Elina Bystritskaya Foundation. He is a 3rd place laureate of the Moscow open competition for young clarinetists and woodwind ensembles (2008), a 3rd place laureate of the “Czech Clarinet Art 2013” First international clarinet competition (Horice, 2013), a laureate of the XIth international clarinet competition in Carlino (Italy, 2013), and a participant of the All-Russian clarinet seminar. In 2011, he obtained the diploma of a participant of the Kristianstad international music festival (Sweden). He is also a laureate of the I. Mozgovenko international clarinet competition (2019).

As a performer, Danila Lukyanov has taken part in master classes by Pascal Moragez (France), Alessandro Carbonare (Italy), Nicolas Balderoux (France), Philippe Berrod (France), Stephen Williams (USA), and David Schwimberge (Belgium). He has also participated in master classes by Wenzel Fuchs (Germany), Jörg Widmann (Germany), Matthias Mueller (Switzerland), Charles Neidich (USA) and Philippe Cuper (France) as a listener.

In 2013–2016, Danila was a member of the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Singing Center orchestra. In 2016–2019, he was a regulator soloist at the Moscow Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra. In 2015–2019, he collaborated with stage director S. Zemlyakova at the Mayakovsky Moscow academic theatre. Currently, Danila Lukyanov is a member of the musicAeterna orchestra conducted by Teodor Currentzis.

CAN YOU IMAGINE BEING ANYTHING ELSE BUT A MUSICIAN?

I could imagine being a sound engineer, an acoustics specialist, or some sort of IT specialist. I could also help people by becoming a family or corporate psychologist: I’m interested in studying ethics and human relationships.

I’m a musician due to my parents. It often happens that children from non-musical families come to music schools: if the parents are musicians themselves, they realize what a complex and somewhat controversial occupation that is, so they try to make their children go a different way. On the other hand, non-musical parents are enchanted by the romantic image of a musician as a member of the intellectual elite.

I loved singing as a child, and I adored anything I heard: 90s’ hits, songs from Soviet movies, bard songs that my father sang while playing the guitar. Nobody thought I’d become a musician when they brought me to music school. Like many other children, I started with playing the recorder. At music school concerts, I first got acquainted with the world of classical music, and I was particularly impressed by J.S. Bach’s works. I once asked my parents to buy me a recording of the Toccata and Fugue in D-Minor which I had heard at a concert; they bought me a CD where the piece was played by organist Lionel Rogg. I was absolutely struck by it and listened to the recording every day: Bach’s music combined with the sound of the organ was a colossal discovery for me! I still have the CD to this day. Ever since then, Bach’s music has been my model of unreachable beauty, power, originality, wit and intelligence. I soon began showing good progress in solfège, and my wonderful teacher — Olga Nikolaevna Neklyudova — drew my parents’ attention to that. She convinced my mother to take me to the teachers at the Gnessin school, which she did. And that’s how my professional journey began.

PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR INSTRUMENT.

I’ve been playing the clarinet since I was 11 years old, so I can’t imagine my life without it anymore. I loved how the organ sounded, and I imagined a choir or a clarinet ensemble to be the closest to that. I didn’t fancy being in a choir; the clarinet, however, proved to be very appealing to me — besides, my father learned to play it for a while in his youth. It’s commonly believed that the choice of the musical instrument influences one’s personality. I partly agree with that but also think that the repertoire (both solo and orchestra) has an even greater effect. Intonation, phrasing — that’s the composer’s voice that we’re trying to transmit to the audience. Thus, I view every orchestra instrument as a particular character within a music piece, and the clarinet is no exception. Composers may assign vastly different parts to the clarinet: from transparent lyrical themes to impudent replies and skilful solos. I love that. The most expressive clarinet solos have been written in piano and pianissimo. That’s where the clarinet’s true calling is. Such solos can bring out all the warmth and meekness, as well as all the finest movements.

WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL SCHEDULE ON THE DAY OF A PERFORMANCE?

I need to be well-rested, and to me, that means sleeping till noon and getting proper meals. Before going up on stage, I prefer to keep my talking to a minimum and to ignore others’ conversations. Ideally, I try to stay in complete silence so that I can visualize my whole upcoming performance, feel the mood of the music piece, and highlight the important nuances. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn” — this phrase by John Maxwell helps me overcome anxiety. Whatever happens, it ends up as experience and food for thought.

WHAT MAKES MUSICAETERNA SPECIAL?

musicAeterna is a place where living, eternal music is born. It’s a place where musicians play freely and sincerely. This place exists in Russia due to the circumstances — and also against all odds. It is the most progressive modern ensemble with a bright future. It gives world-class performances of a huge musical repertoire from various eras. For some ensembles, their history ended long ago. But musicAeterna’s history is being made right now! The orchestra is a trendsetter for modern style, taste and sound; it is the modern avant-garde. This is all due to the unified effort of Maestro (who is “like a flying demon”) and the top-notch musicians.

WHAT MUSIC PIECE WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR PERFORMED, AND BY WHOM?

Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet, performed by Richard Mühlfeld.

WHAT DO YOU DREAM TO PERFORM?

My own music, which has yet to be written.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING IN THE WORLD, WHAT WOULD THAT BE?

I’m not sure but I think our country has at least one thing that we could change collectively to make the future of Russia glorious.