The timelessness of music is becoming more apparent with each new generation of musicians. Rediscovering music of the past seems to be an interest that many composers and performers hold strongly. Forgotten pieces of music that are nearly a century old are being researched and played with a renewed passion by some of the world’s most talented and respected musicians.
Two such musicians are pianist Viktor Valkov and cellist Lachezar Kostov, who have separately performed in recitals and competitions across Europe, Japan, and the United States. Their most recent project has been researching and performing the music of Soviet modernist composer and sound organization innovator, Nikolay Roslavets.
Last October, the musicians collaborated on a small concert performance in the Choral Hall of the Staller Center. They were kind enough to participate in an interview. Kostov discussed his and Valkov’s musical backgrounds, as well as the controversial life and works of the composer whose work they have recently dedicated themselves to.
Both from Bulgaria, Kostov and Valkov started professionally collaborating on works composed for the piano and cello in 2000. They have each received numerous awards and critical acclaim for their performances. Valkov, described by critics as “sensational” and “lion of the keyboard,” has won several impressive prizes at international piano competitions in Bulgaria, Germany, and England. He has also given recitals in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Italy, Germany, Japan and the United States, and received a full scholarship to the 8th Hamamastsu Piano Academy after completing an extensive Japanese tour in 2002.
Kostov made his orchestral debut at age 15 and, as a guest soloist and chamber musician, has performed extensively across Europe. In 1999, he played as a soloist for the European tour of the “Dobrin Petkov” Chamber Orchestra in Germany, Belgium, and France, and has appeared as a guest soloist and recitalist in the United States, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom and Bulgaria. Recently he has collaborated with prominent composers, including John Harbison, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and Harvey Sollberger, through a residency at the Tanglewood Music Center. He is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma at The Yale School of Music.
Their appreciation for Nikolay Roslavets’ work is interesting, as they have focused on exposing the life and music of the controversial composer to audiences in this country. A skilled musician of Ukrainian descent, Roslavets worked for most of his life in Soviet Russia, becoming a prominent figure of leftist art there after 1917.
Roslavets was often attacked by proletarian musicians for being “counterrevolutionary,” a “bourgeois” artist, and an enemy of the proletarian class as a result of his criticisms of inappropriate identifications of music with ideology. He was later accused of supporting propagandist music and counterrevolutionary literature. His works were purged in what became a professional prohibition. He published one last song before suffering a fatal stroke in 1944. Though Roslavets was buried in an unmarked grave and many of his works are believed to be lost, many of his unknown manuscripts have recently been found and continue to be discovered.
A concert followed the interview, where the duo played several of Roslavets’ pieces composed for piano and cello. From the start of the recital, I was impressed with the professionalism with which the two musicians regarded their performance. It was not only evident through Roslavets’ composition, but by Kostov and Valkov’s interpretations, that the piano and the cello are capable of achieving an incredible harmony.
The arrangement of the pieces alone was mesmerizing and beautifully volatile. The music was soft and flowing at one moment and then suddenly, clashing and unsettling the next, as I recall from hearing “Dance of the White Maidens,” which was performed along with “2 Sonatas” and “Meditation.”
The duo has a certain chemistry that works wonderfully, which is a strong testament to the years Kostov and Valkov have spent bonding and collaborating. Their skills as musicians are remarkable. It was clear that they are dedicated to their work. In person, they were also both very charming and welcoming.
After their performance, they worked on recording the whole program in New York City for the prestigious NAXOS label. It was recorded in only two days, according to Valkov. Look for their album of these rare recordings of this once-forgotten Russian composer. It will be in stores by March.
