Sladkovsky Alexander Vitalievich: biography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

When in 2010 Sladkovsky Alexander Vitalievich came to the post of chief conductor and artistic director of the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan, ill-wishers called him behind his back "Varangian" and "upstart". However, they failed to weave intrigues for a long time, because in a few years the maestro was able not only to completely reanimate the team lying in ruins, but also to bring it to the world level.

Family and music education

On October 20, 1965, the famous Russian conductor Alexander Sladkovsky was born in Taganrog. The family of little Sasha consisted of musicians: his father played the clarinet, and his mother was a pianist. From the age of five, the boy attended the Taganrog Music School. Tchaikovsky. Its leader was Ninel Ivanovna Bortsova. At the age of 10, Sladkovsky moved to Moscow and entered the cadet music school. After 3 years, he ended up in the Great Hall of the Moscowconservatory for a performance by the outstanding Soviet conductor Yuri Temirkanov and realized that he wanted to connect his life with conducting. Subsequently, Alexander Vitalievich entered the military conducting faculty of the Moscow Conservatory. Tchaikovsky. Sladkovsky received his second higher musical education at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Rimsky-Korsakov, where the renowned conductor, choirmaster and teacher Vladislav Alexandrovich Chernushenko was his mentor.

The beginning of a creative career

In 1997 Sladkovsky made his debut as a conductor at the Opera and Ballet Theater of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The first piece of music that the maestro staged was Mozart's opera "Everybody Does It That Way". In the same year, Alexander Vitalievich was accepted as a conductor in the symphony orchestra of the Academic Capella of the Northern Capital.

In 1999, Sladkovsky Alexander became the winner of the Third International Competition for Conductors. S. Prokofiev. From that moment on, the career of a young man begins to skyrocket. In 2001, he was invited to the position of chief conductor of the State Opera and Ballet Theatre, where he made his debut four years earlier. In parallel with this, he continued to work in the Chapel of St. Petersburg. In 2004-2006, the maestro served as its chief conductor.

Conducting in the second half of the 2000s

In 2005, Alexander Sladkovsky, together with Maurice Jansons, worked on the production ofBizet's opera Carmen. A year later, he was invited by the outstanding cellist Mstislav Rostropovich to prepare the Unknown Mussorgsky program. Both projects, in which Sladkovsky took part, took place at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and caused a lot of enthusiastic responses from the audience and music critics.

In the second half of the 2000s, Alexander Vitalievich conducted the New Russia Symphony Orchestra, led by Yuri Bashmet. By this time, the fame of Sladkovsky had spread far beyond the borders of the Russian Federation, and many musical groups considered it an honor to work with him. He collaborated with the orchestras of Dresden, Budapest, Sicily, Belgrade, Lower Saxony, took part in major international projects, performed with D. Matsuev, Y. Bashmet, I. Bogacheva, N. Petrov, M. Tarasova and other stars.

Moving to Kazan

After Fuat Mansurov, chief conductor and head of the State Symphony Orchestra of Tatarstan, died in Kazan in the summer of 2010, President of the Republic Rustam Minnikhanov personally invited Alexander Vitalyevich to take the vacant seat. Sladkovsky accepted the offer of Rustam Nurgalievich and moved to Kazan with his wife Victoria. The new leader in Tatarstan was met without much joy, because there were enough people who wanted to lead the team among local artists. The nicknames "Varangian" and "upstart" were assigned to Alexander Sladkovsky, and because of the tough manner of managing the team, he becamecall it a "soldafone". However, soon the visiting conductor was able to prove to everyone that it was not in vain that he moved to Kazan. After he turned the orchestra into one of the strongest professional musical groups in Russia, the ill-wishers behind him fell silent in an instant.

Revival of the orchestra

What did Alexander Sladkovsky do for the Tatarstan Symphony Orchestra? The conductor's biography shows that in 2010 he got an almost collapsed team, which had neither new instruments, nor a modern rehearsal hall, nor a decent repertoire. The musicians received a meager salary and were not interested in working for that kind of money. Symphony concerts were not popular in Kazan and were held in half-empty halls.

Becoming artistic director and chief conductor, Sladkovsky decided to completely change the orchestra management system. First of all, he secured a regional grant of 120 million rubles. The funds were used to purchase new instruments of the best brands and solve other financial problems of the orchestra. Alexander Vitalyevich managed to do the almost impossible: under him, the salaries of musicians increased by 3 times. This made it possible to make the profession of an orchestra player in Kazan prestigious and in demand. However, the pay increase was only half the battle on the road to success. To make the State Symphony Orchestra of Tatarstan one of the best musical groups in the country, Sladkovsky demanded strict discipline from his subordinates. If you show up earlierit was common for an orchestra player to be unprepared at a rehearsal, but today he is threatened with dismissal for such an attitude to work.

Expanding the repertoire, holding festivals

Artistic director Sladkovsky Alexander has achieved a significant expansion of the orchestra's repertoire. Under his predecessor, the musicians gave no more than 22 concerts per season, while half of them were repeated. Today they play 80 concerts during the same period, 75 of which are new. Alexander Vitalyevich became the initiator of holding in Kazan such international symphony festivals as "Denis Matsuev with Friends", "Rakhlin Seasons", "Kazan Autumn", "White Lilac", thanks to which the residents of the capital got the opportunity to personally attend concerts of world famous performers. The Tatarstan Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sladkovsky is known today not only in Russia, but also abroad. The achievements of the maestro did not go unnoticed at the national level. In the spring of 2016, V. Putin signed a decree on awarding Alexander Vitalyevich the title of People's Artist of Russia.

Symphony Orchestra and children

Alexander Sladkovsky put a lot of effort into popularizing symphonic music among the younger generation. Children, in his opinion, should get acquainted with the works of the classics from an early age, then in adulthood they will be happy to attend concert halls. To stimulate their interest in symphonic music, the conductor regularly invites high school students to perform with his orchestra.

The role of the wife inthe work of the maestro

Thanks to Sladkovsky, symphonic music in Kazan today has become very popular. Concerts under his leadership are held in crowded halls. Managing such a large team of creative people is not at all easy, so music fans are often interested in where Alexander Sladkovsky finds his strength? The wife (photo below, far right), according to the maestro himself, is his main support and muse. Victoria Viktorovna became for Alexander Vitalievich not just a wife, but also a reliable assistant and a strong rear in his difficult business.

Sladkovsky does not get tired of repeating that he took place as a conductor only thanks to his wife. When the conductor was offered to work in Kazan, Victoria immediately supported him and moved with him to the capital of Tatarstan. She deals with all issues related to her husband's work, conducts business negotiations, and draws up concert schedules. Having freed the conductor from the routine, Victoria Viktorovna provided him with the opportunity to fully devote himself to art and not be distracted by extraneous matters.