Questions and answers

What brought you to a genre of Russian Romance?
IMAG1126Twelve years ago I came across a record called “Romances of the Golden Age.”
Listening to it I could not understand why the voices are so harsh and monotonous, besides the recording was of the poor quality, why so many of the artists sounded just like the next and are difficult to distinguish. So I continued to study the subject.
I grew up listening to classical, folk, pop and Soviet wartime music, but the romance genre were not seeded in our youth in school, TV may only occasionally slipped it in movies, on the radio and at home at the table.
As it turned out the romance, tango, gypsy song and foreign music was banned by the Bolsheviks in 1925, and the composer, the nobles and intellectuals were expelled from the capital, and in many cases, simply murdered.
It seems to me; from here on the creative people begin to search for a way to hide the genre of Romance in a opera and chamber music under a threat of being put on the “Black list.” The salon romance became classical romance and we heard it played as chamber music and by opera singers. Romance became academic and ceased to be soulful and lyrical genre close to people hearts, and became cold and unfeeling.
Most of the Russian people do not want to listen or understand the beauty and depth of the genre cause of inhibition of all Russian music in the last 90 years.
I want to revive the romance genre to the same former glory and people’s love, that was 90 years ago that our future generations would not have lost their roots and continued to develop and to love this amazing, and not repeatable genre inherent only to Russia. Romance is the pearl of the Russian culture.

What other genre interest you as a performer?
IMAG1126Beside Romance, there is another genre that is close to me in spirit, is the Russian tango, as well as romance, persecuted and forbidden as well, but not forgotten to our older generations.
When, I first heard Oskar Strok Tangos , I did not know anything about it and had not heard of his works. He was a genius in his genre. Mr.Strok, was born and lived in Latvia, where he wrote more than 300 tangos. In the 1930s, he became acquainted with Peter Leshchenko, who escaped from Romania to Riga and Oskar gave him a job at his cafe. “Columbia Records” found him and recorded many tangos that survived to our times. Russian Tango is not like any other tango in the world. It begins as a ballad slow and sad, but only the chorus goes into a tango rhythm. Always poetry in harmony with a melody it stays with you, you hummed it to yourself all day long, or it lifts you up and carries you to the distant memories and occasionally your eyes swell up with tears.

What do you think about influence of internet?
IMAG1126I want to touch on one important topic of free broadcasting without censorship. It is about the Internet and YouTube. The computer Technology of the 21st century become an indispensable part of our lives, it has created the opportunity to put the creativity of all cultures in the eyes of the world. The creative art is no longer dependent on conglomerates, those who impart the taste and habits of the world just for the sake of money and excess profits.
YouTube cuts influence of the special interests and leaves choices to the fans to appreciate the talent, regardless of financial or other interests.

What is you target?
IMAG1127I was not looking for the big concerts or wanted to make money. I would like to leave for our children small part of our culture that is dying day by day in this technological age that has brought progress, but with it came the callousness of humanity, when machines will soon replace parts of our bodies and with that the feelings, emotions, tears, and love …. and this is why I sing