RUDOLF BARSHAI — INTERPRETER OF SYMPHONIC WORKS IN EPISTOLARY LEGACY. FOR THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH [РУДОЛЬФ БАРШАЙ — ИНТЕРПРЕТАТОР-СИМФОНИСТ В ЭПИСТОЛЯРНОМ НАСЛЕДИИ. К СТОЛЕТИЮ СО ДНЯ РОЖДЕНИЯ]. DIVISI OR NON-DIVISI.

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the epistolary legacy of Rudolf Borisovich Barshai, an outstanding violist, conductor and composer-orchestrator of the second half of the twentieth century. The article «Divisi or non divisi» of the second half of the 1990s, published here for the first time in its original language, is the result of many years of painstaking work by Rudolf Barshai, covering at least half a century of intensive concert activity with many of the world's leading orchestras on almost all continents of the globe. Life surrounded by music and life in music, the highest level of dedication in tireless creative self-development and exploration, as well as the fidelity to the musical text and careful attitude to the smallest details of Urtext — these are the distinctive features of Barshai, preserved both in his correspondence and in hundreds of his audio recordings. Weinberg wrote about the true creative joy for composers when Barshai took on the performances of their works. A devoted interpreter of Shostakovich, Lokshin, Mahler, Beethoven and many other composers on concert stages, Barshai appears as an interesting, fascinating and erudite writer who is thoroughly knowledgeable of musical literature. He inspires the reader to think with a vision for further perfection.