Mykhailo Ksida is a young, internationally recognized Odessa-based musician and soloist with the Odessa Philharmonic. Here he talks about his participation in the non-commercial concert of music by contemporary European composers together with the B-Sight Ensemble in Aachen, teachers of the Cologne University of Music and attitude of the Germans towards development of the local cultural industries.
Partnership with B-Sight
The B-Sight musical group creates and plays conceptual European music, improvising and experimenting with new styles. The band is made up of students and graduates of the Cologne University of Music, one of Europe's largest conservatories, with its main campus in Cologne and a branch in Aachen. The ensemble's work has an international character and it promotes the concept of multiculturalism. It is made up of two Ukrainians, two Germans and two Lithuanians, employing violin, piano, guitar, cello and trombone in its performances.
I studied with B-Sight's pianist – Kirill – at Odessa's Stolyarsky Music School; afterward, he moved to Aachen and entered the Cologne University branch where he started concentrating on contemporary academic music. We've worked together on some things before, including joint concerts.
The Cologne University of Music
The trip lasted for two weeks at the end of which we were to perform a concert. In addition, we also managed to take part in a concert by Dutch composer Cynthia van Eijden, who teaches there.
When we began our preparations we ran into some challenges with reading some texts and so we trned to Cynthia for advice. She listened to our sound and suggested we join in her concert of scored improvisational music. Cynthia writes very interesting scores, experimenting with form, something like the guided improvision of American avant-garde composer John Zorn, where he displays cards and the musicians know what to play in that particular moment. Only, instead of cards, she has a sheet of paper where she writes certain patterns for certain instruments followed by a graphic diagam. It's something like a scripted improvisation that follows a particular pattern. So, you can play anything that works according to that graphical pattern.
In Cologne, I met Reinhard Feneberg, who teaches clarinet at Cologne where I visited his open classroom and managed to attend his master class. It was an extremely interesting experience. Keep in mind that in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, musicians play according to the German system, while the rest of the world, including us, follow the French system. Also, at the conservatory they kept telling me that I play quietly – the playing at our post-Soviet woodwind school is loud enough. But Professor Feneberg asked, on the contrary, why I was playing so loudly when the score was marked "piano" (softly). Finally, when it comes to tempo and dynamics they play in a very different, very restrained, northern fashion.
Concerts in Germany
The concert was free of charge. When we were hanging our posters in the city people came up to us, interested in the concert. That is to stay that there's a particular cultural process at work there and, with a little effort, it's not difficult to organise a concert that people will attend. This is totally different from Ukraine. Without financial backing, it's very difficult to promote an event here.
This might be related to copyright practices, which is strictly adhered to in Germany. That is, if you want to listen to an artist you have to pay. That's a particularly mercantile attitude to music. I have a lot of friends who perform in Germany and have become quite popular. In Ukraine, we're still working our way toward that, having to worry first about meeting people's basic needs. When people aren't so worn down by everyday life then we'll see more desire to attend concerts among the population.
It was odd for me to see so many pensioners in the audience and, despite the complexity of they music, they didn't walk out. For example at the "Two Days and Two Nights of Modern Music" festival in Odessa, I'm used to small crowds made up of younger people who are clearly interested in contemporary art.
In Germany, civil organisations exist that support a certain theatre or orchestra. In fact, when a municipality decided to dissolve its orchestra, people self-organized and agreed to pay to keep it going. For a lot of people it's a matter of honour, for cultural development.
Acquired skills and new projects
The professional exchanges and cooperation with European colleagues contributed to my understanding of current trends in contemporary music and, consequently, the improvement of my craft.
Working with Cynthia was very helpful; she showed us options of interpretation available in new musical traditions. That is to say that I picked up the skill of reading unusual compositions quickly as well as learning about graphic scoring. On top of all that, the Cologne University professor's master class really boosted my development and approach to self-improvement. Professor Feneberg introduced me to different techniques in the interpretation of music, something that is helpful when playing 20th-century work with the Philharmonic. This has affected the quality of my overall performance.
When I got back home, my first thought was: "How can I bring this to Odessa?" We've even made an agreement with the Philharmonic that we could use a free hall. But that's where the process has stopped, because bringing an entire group would be quite expensive. Then there's the money you'll need for advertising. In order to get at least 300 people into a concert hall they'll need some serious motivation. And to get everything arranged only to perform to an empty room makes no sense. I'm still hopeful, though, that we'll be able to do something similar in Odessa.
There's talk now about joint concerts in the spring of next year. They're redoing the score to give everything a more scenic look in the hopes of attracting vocalists, and I'm in consultation with the ensemble composer about expanded techniques for playing the clarinet.
Photo credits: Mykhailo Ksida, Angela Bazyk
Video credits: Kirill Korsunenko
