WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE CELLO?
I didn’t really get to choose. My brother played the flute, so when I was brought to music school, I said I also wanted to play the flute. When I had already begun my studies, the head of the string department saw me in the corridor, looked at my hands and asked my parents what instrument I played. They said it was the flute, and she responded that I definitely had to switch to the cello.
GIVEN THE CHANCE, WHAT OTHER INSTRUMENT WOULD YOU LIKE TO MASTER?
I play the electric guitar and want to get better at it. I’m also interested in percussion. However, I wouldn’t want to study wind instruments, even though I absolutely love the saxophone.
WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?
My favourite band is Dream Theater. I like progressive rock and metal: Pink Floyd, Genesis, Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, Ozzy Osbourne, King Diamond, Joe Satriani, Andy James, ac/dc. On the one hand, such music has academic roots; on the other, it has the energy that classical music tends to lack. In modern-day academic music, it’s almost unheard of to play what you’ve written yourself (like Liszt, Chopin or Beethoven used to do) — but it leads to some sort of unique energetic synthesis of all human qualities. I don’t listen to music too often nowadays, though. I need to retain the freshness of perception. I don’t want listening to music to become a routine thing like having a cup of tea in the morning — otherwise, the thrill will be gone, and there will be no point in listening to music anymore.
ASIDE FROM MUSIC, WHAT ELSE ARE YOU INTERESTED IN?
Music doesn’t really leave me any free time for anything else. When I do get some time off, I almost panic. What am I supposed to do with it now? I do love taking walks, swimming, cycling — anything that lets me spend some time on my own. I have to communicate so much every day that sometimes I want to escape the surrounding world, focus on myself, and try to find answers to questions. And I love talking to my daughter, of course — it’s like discovering a whole new world!
WHAT COULD YOU COMPARE A MUSICAETERNA CONCERT TO?
It’s a great pleasure to me. I feel like I’m a member of a rock band transcending the limits. I’ll never forget the words Mstislav Rostropovich said after one of his master classes: “you know, much has been said about what distinguishes great people from common ones. The great can afford to go beyond the limits.” I don’t mean absurd or provocative actions, of course. In musicAeterna, everything is done very sincerely and with immense professionalism.
