Gidon Kremer. When music has no place for the ideals of power

Gidon Kremer was born into a family of violinists, and at the age of four, his father and grandfather began to pass on their skills to him. Nevertheless, Gidon was not always happy with his fate as a child from a musical family: practicing for hours while friends carefreely spent time in the cinema did not seem like fun. However, at a more conscious age the attitude towards the family craft changed. He suddenly thought: “Listen, finish what you already know how to do well — play the violin — and then think about something else.” Still to this day he is finishing this work — and with such great success that he hardly suspected at the time.

Until the age of 33 he worked mainly in Latvia and other countries of the former Soviet Union and then went to his parents who had emigrated to Germany. He will never return to Riga to stay but he will create something that will make up for his lack of presence here.

Kremerata Baltica

The Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra was established by Kremer in 1997. The main idea was to support young talented performers from the three Baltic countries — Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The orchestra was created when Kremer himself had not lived in the Baltics for many years already.

Why would a musician who has already achieved fame create an orchestra in his homeland? Kremer has repeatedly said that the creation of an orchestra where almost all participants are Baltic is kind of a bridge connecting his past with the present. He also felt it’s important to share his experience of living in the country where his musicians still live.

And it is also important how Kremer treats “his musicians”. Gidon claims that Kremerata is a family. And even despite the inevitable authority in front of his orchestra Kremer is not a teacher but a mentor here. He communicates with his musicians on an equal footing and his status almost disappears here.

“Family” to which Gidon dreams of conveying first of all his attitude to music and principle of life so that someday they, without his participation, can continue this mission.

“I want Kremerata Baltica to survive without me. I want this family to be as obsessed with their craft as I have been with music all my life.”

Kremer had many examples of good teachers — some he was literally trained by while others simply had a strong influence on him: Harnoncourt, Callas, Brel, Bernstein — these and many others, according to Kremer, were an example of what a true artist should be. And for many years he himself has been an example for others.

Kremerata Baltica has performed concerts in more than 50 countries playing on the most prestigious world stages. In 2002, he won a Grammy for the album “After Mozart”.

Kremerata Baltica festival

For many years, no autumn in Latvia has passed without the sound of Kremer’s orchestra. Traditionally — the Dzintari Concert Hall and a few days of wonderful music performed by Kremerata. Due to the busy schedule, Kremer himself is not always present, but he still comes here often.

Kremerata Baltica

Father and Weinberg

“In the course of my life, the violin has become my second self, something I cannot express in words. I’ve written a few books, but my violin can still say more.”

In 2019, Kremerata Baltica together with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra recorded, among other works, the 21st symphony of the Polish composer Mieczysław Weinberg — “Kaddish”.

It seems that another beautiful symphony by another talented composer has replenished the repertoire of the orchestra. But for Kremerata, Gidon is always trying to find something special; Weinberg became the “special” one for Kremer himself. And his symphony “Kaddish” is also a very personal work. It is dedicated to the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto. In it, the composer spoke very honestly, very openly about the tragedy of the 20th century — the Holocaust.

This is one example where in the symphony that Kremer touched, his violin really told more than can be said in words. And he wanted to tell his father’s story: he passed through the Riga ghetto, losing his first family there.

Praemium Imperiale

The Japanese Imperial Prize is a kind of Nobel Prize in the world of art. Since 1989, it has been awarded to the brightest artists from different countries. The award is given in five categories: theatre and cinema, sculpture, architecture, painting and music. In 2016, it was also awarded to Kremer, the first violinist among its owners. In the same year in the nomination “cinema” by the way, Scorsese received the award.

Gidon said at the award ceremony: “Unlike, say, politics, art is eternal. Too often they try to prove to us that the main mission of art is to entertain people. How wonderful it is to see past and present laureates trying to counter this trend. The mission of a true artist is to swim against the waves of popularity. This is how you get to the deep waters of the human soul.”

To surprise and wonder

What Kremer managed to achieve was to stay true to his music and remain himself while on the stage. He himself says that if music broadcasts ideals, then let them be ideals of nobility, beauty and kindness in a broad sense. The ideals of power, at least in his music, have no place. Maybe this can be called anti-rationalization, but in a sense it is the whole point: let a person forget about the rational at least for a concert. Kremer is sure (and we fully agree with him) that one of the missions of music is to surprise, to evoke emotion in the listener and if the musician can achieve this someone will definitely leave the concert with something important. Even if it is ten people out of a thousand, that is enough.“

Our world is insane. There is not much hope in the struggle of music against madness. But a grain of inner hope, never killed by anything, is what I and Kremerata Baltica are trying to convey with our existence.”

From Mozart to Pärt — not too far

Kremer rarely plays classical music. To a greater extent, he takes up the works of modern composers, many of whom are written specifically for him: Piazzolla, Pärt, Glass, Gubaidulina. In this he sees (one of many) his mission: to discover — first for himself and then for others, those in whose music recognizability is heard. Once, for example, he heard this recognition in the Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, and influenced his further fame. Listen to Piazzolla’s “Fuga y Misterio” performed by Kremerata — it’s beautiful.

It always seemed important to Kremer to find a balance between what was and what is.

Books

Gidon Kremer is the author of four books at the time of writing this article. “Shards of Childhood” was his first work. In it, he spoke in detail and sensually about his childhood and youth spent in Riga: a lot about the house on Ausekla Street 3, in the quiet center of the city where his violinist grandfather lived and where he spent a lot of time. The last book in which he talks about art and musical craft as a whole was published in 2013.

Kremer has said more than once that words just like notes are statements and he has something to say. Therefore he speaks with the same passion on paper.

Mission

In one of his interviews, Kremer shared his thoughts on the purpose — it seems that these words cannot be rephrased. And it seems that it is they who draw the image of Kremer, his attitude to life and what he is trying so hard to convey to his listeners and musicians.

“I am happy that in my life I was able to become a kind of reference point for someone. But that doesn’t mean I got my way. I continue to search further, and for as long as I can live, I will try to inspire others to do the same. I consider it my task to expand the range of emotions and knowledge — whether of listeners or colleagues. It’s interesting to me. It is interesting to live because every second brings something new. So I’m happy there’s more.”