My father. He taught me to play the violin. If not for him, I would not be playing in an orchestra now. But I really had no options other than becoming a musician. Both of my parents are violinists, so my path to the music world was pretty straightforward.

Certainly! And it is not just academic music. I love bands like Korn and Rammstein, as well as all the classics — Queen, Nirvana and the like. The thing is, I cannot put on music just as a background. Even listening to hard rock, I try to pick up on all the details and imagine how I would play certain parts. This is a kind of professional deformation. Attending someone else’s concert is pure torment for me: I simply cannot ignore the technical side of music. However, if they play well, I do enjoy the concert greatly.

I guess it would be hard to find the same emotions anywhere else. Besides, rehearsals and concerts make up pretty much 100% of our lives, so we have no time for anything else, really. I am keen on sports. And I love theatre, especially drama theatre. Eleven years ago, when I was still living in Omsk, I bought my first digital camera and took pictures actively for a couple of years, but after I entered the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory, there was not enough spare time left for that. It was only a year ago that I returned to my hobby, and it was film photography in particular. I started taking a camera with me on every tour — the Zenit at first, and then Nikon FM2 — and filming the life of the orchestra. I capture moments that are usually not revealed to the audience, I show this inner kitchen of musicAeterna. The film fascinates me, it creates a unique atmosphere capturing memories like a diary. In addition, there is certain unpredictability and anticipation in the very expectation of the film development process: you never know what will appear in the end. I also do portraits, street photos, but, of course, I don't consider myself a professional — this is exactly my hobby, which you can switch to when you have time.

Days off scare me, to tell you the truth. I really have no idea how to spend them. I prefer having a double rehearsal in the morning, then a rehearsal or a performance in the evening. At the end of the day, my heart feels better if I know I have done a lot. Anyway, I really like to organize concerts myself bringing musicians together — I need it as much as I need the air to breathe.