Can you introduce yourself, and talk about your current musical role and responsibilities?
I’m Kirill Karabits, chief conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, with whom this is my last season. My previous conducting positions include music director at Staatskapelle Weimar, principal guest conductor with Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg. I was born in Ukraine and studied in Vienna, started my career in Paris as an associate conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.
For those who haven’t come across it before, can you describe Terterian’s Third Symphony?
This is one of the pieces which is very difficult, and probably not necessary to describe! The music speaks for itself. But I can say just that this is one of the most amazing and unusual pieces of music that one could experience in the concert hall. Just the mixture of everything, the sound world that the composer is creating, using a symphony orchestra, is absolutely unique. It’s a must – for all people who go to listen to classical concerts – it’s an absolute must. (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra are performing it as part of the Voices from the East day-long concert series on Sunday 19th May at the Royal Festival Hall.)
When did you first hear it? What impression did the work make on you?
I first heard it when I was a teenager – I remember the impact that it made on me. I had never heard anything like this before. The sound world, the language that Terterian uses to speak to us, using the symphony orchestra, was something I’d never heard or experienced before. This symphony has the most quiet textures that one could imagine a symphony orchestra producing – and then the loudest and violent textures as well. The symphony is a great mixture of very contrasting dynamics.
What is it like to perform? What were your experiences of performing it for the first time?
I was overwhelmed when we rehearsed it for the first time. I’ve done it with a youth orchestra – it was called I, Culture Orchestra, made up of talented young musicians from Eastern Europe. We performed it in Poland and in Germany. It was almost ten years ago, and I can still feel the impact that the music made on me and on everybody who was involved in the performance. It’s a journey of emotions and the imagination when you listen to it. This symphony: it’s impossible that it doesn’t touch you when you listen to it. The only thing that varies is the degree – how deeply it will touch you. But certainly, something in you will change when you listen to it, of that you can be absolutely sure!
Is there a recording, or a memory of a performance that is particularly special?
There is one recording on YouTube, with me conducting the I, Culture Orchestra in Gdansk, Poland, which was very memorable for me, personally. And there is also the recording made with BSO, on Chandos.
What is your favourite passage in the symphony?
My favourite passage is the slow movement, with two duduk solos. Very quiet and very simple music, repetitive, but it creates such an amazing and fragile atmosphere. When you listen to it, your imagination is working hard! This music is a bit theatrical, in some ways, so as a listener, you will have visual images which are coming to you, when you listen to it. That’s my favourite moment: the quiet bits, with duduk.
Where does the Third Symphony fit in Terterian’s overall output? What makes it distinctive?
It’s a very successful symphony. He was a great composer and experimented with sound and the symphony orchestra. He wrote eight symphonies, and I think it’s one of his most successful ones. Althought I have to say, I would love to do some more of his symphonies, it’s just not easy to find orchestras and audiences who would be open-minded enough to programme his music. But it will come, I’m sure it will happen, I’m hoping one day I can even perform a cycle of his symphonies.
Are there images or thoughts that come into your head when performing this work?
It’s deeply Armenian music. Much Armenian music, in one way or another, makes reference to the Armenian genocide at the beginning of the 20th century. You could relate this symphony very strongly to that tragic moment in Armenian history. But it’s not an obligation, you don’t have to. You can draw you own images, and create your own story. I don’t think it was Terterian’s intention to impose a certain story on you, at all. He’s giving you the material so you can have your own journey, of feelings and images.
What guidance would you give to listeners and performers new to Terterian’s music?
The only thing I can say is that, although the symphony is massive in many ways, but you don’t really need to know anything about it! They just have to listen with an open mind, not worrying about “I don’t know what this means”, or what this movement is telling me. There isn’t anything listeners need to know when they come to the performance.
Can you tell us an anecdote about this work, or an amusing or unexpected moment?
One thing I can recall: we were working with these wonderful duduk players, from Yerevan, who I hope will be joining us in London. They have very little experience with symphony orchestras, and on the schedule on the day of the concert, it said dress rehearsal. So they naturally came dressed in concert gear. I said “why are you dressed up?” They said, “it’s a dress rehearsal!”
Why should one come to hear a performance of Terterian’s Symphony no. 3?
This is music that cannot leave you indifferent. You will be overwhelmed with emotions when you hear it, I guarantee it. It’s a unique experience – you might not be able to hear it live ever again! It’s an absolute must. I’ve been conducting for nearly 30 years, and I’ve never conducted a work like this before. I can only sincerely recommend to come and have that experience. It’s unique, and it doesn’t happen every day.
Kirill Karabits & Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra perform Terterian’s Third Symphony in their day-long concert series Voices from the East, at the Royal Festival Hall on 19th May.
The concerts present music from Ukraine and surrounding regions, including rare performances of works from Kancheli, Lyatoshynsky and Garayev, among others.
Voices from the East:
Azerbaijan & Turkmenistan – 19th May at 1pm
Georgia & Armenia – 19th May at 4pm
Ukraine – 19th May at 7.30pm
This article was sponsored by Southbank Centre.
