Vladimir Jurowski just finished a four-city North American tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, where he's been the chief conductor since 2007. Last month, the Philharmonic renewed his contract through 2018, and critics have frequently praised his artistic bond with the ensemble. But along with his London ties, Jurowski also has some strong feelings about his native Russia, whether it's parsing the political subtexts in Soviet repertoire or speaking out on present-day civil liberties.
We caught up with Jurowski before a recent Carnegie Hall performance and the conversation turned from Shostakovich to a daring Moscow performance of Britten’s War Requiem that he led this past April. The concert, which was intended to celebrate British and Russian cultural ties – and reportedly attended by many high-level dignitaries – was nearly called off because of Russia's invasion of Crimea. But it continued, and Jurowski viewed the Requiem – written by and dedicated to gay artists – as a way to honor victims of persecution. In this podcast he tells Naomi Lewin how his potentially incendiary remarks were received.
Interview Highlights:
On Shostakovich: I'm absolutely certain that there are political messages in his music but it doesn't make him by definition either a dissident or a brave Soviet citizen. He was neither. I think Shostakovich was the last great symphonist of the 20th century.
On Dissent in Russia: The interesting thing is that you can still say a lot in Russia unpunished if you do it in the right way. The problem is that it can hardly influence the political situation because people who are at the helm of the politics don't give a damn about any criticism coming from below. Like Owen said, 'All that poetry can do is but to warn.'
On The London Philharmonic: We're mainly harvesting the fruits of a long-standing relationship. Now there is this real chemistry and trust on both sides. It's a difficult life we lead there but an extremely exciting and artistically satisfying one.
Bonus Audio: On the art of conducting: