November evenings in memory of the great musician. Meeting time cannot be changed

MOSCOW. The annual festival dedicated to Oleg Kagan, opened on the eve of his birthday

“Life after life” - the words in the title of the film about Kagan, shot by Andrei Khrzhanovsky in 1997, which can be considered the unspoken motto of the festival in memory of the brilliant violinist. Comparison with Mozart in his case does not seem an exaggeration. Colleagues and friends appreciated him not only for his exceptional talent, impeccable taste, lack of envy and open character. A sunny, delicate, warm person, with whom all who knew and loved him cherished communication. It is absolutely impossible to imagine him slandering at Richter, a creative alliance with which lasted for many years, as pianist Andrei Gavrilov allowed himself in his book and numerous interviews. The status of travel abroad, in which Kagan stayed for a long time, as well as the fatal diagnosis, which took his life at 43, did not embitter him. Already being seriously ill, he continued to work, make plans, fulfill long-standing dreams. Shortly before the death of Kagan, a miracle happened. He played the Mozartian Symphony Concertante in a duet with Bashmet on an old violin that belonged to the composer himself. The power of art at the time of being on stage returned him strength, allowing him to perform complex passages, amazing the audience and doctors on duty in the hall. The festival in Croyte was a long-held dream. He, like the Moscow "Dedication to Oleg Kagan", was organized after the death of the musician by his widow, cellist Natalia Gutman. By the readiness with which the renowned and very young musicians respond to the invitation to perform at both events for all these years, one can judge respect and love for the phenomenal violinist. Thanks to the efforts of Gutman, more than 30 discs were released that introduced the young generation to Kagan. They recorded a lot of their joint duets, the works of Schnittke, Hindemith, Gubaidulina, Messian. Among the participants of this year are Natalia Gutman, her son Svyatoslav Moroz, Yuri Bashmet, Alexey Lyubimov, the Yurlova Choir and many others. The fact that a year later, on the eve of the next birthday of Oleg Kagan, the next festival-dedication will take place, no one doubts.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru