“If we can abstract from everything that happens right around us, the view must be clear.” Conversation with Emil Zilbert

Publicity (Jānis Deinats) photo

Diāna Jance, “Latvijas Avīze”, JSC “Latvijas Mediji”

In the Round Hall of the Valmiera Theater, the moments of the drama written by the screenwriter Alvis Lapins in two parts have been premiered – a performance about the composer Emils Darzins “I am not a piano player”. The composer of the performance is Emīls Zilberts, the long-term director of the musical department of Valmiera Theater.

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Emīls Dārziņš is one of the brightest and most Latvian composers, whose life was interrupted at the age of 33. Before the tragic death of the composer, he was publicly accused of musical theft. The show “I’m Not a Piano” tries to find answers to what really happened then and why.

Is there more music or lyrics in the show than the composer?

E. Zilberts: This is a newly created play by Alvis Lapiņš, but the author has adhered very closely to the facts found, researching all available materials, including literature, stories and stories. The play will show a lot of what people already know, but there will certainly be such kniffs who may have slipped past. It’s a dramatic show, and the music is only present, not dominant. The play emphasizes Garden more as a person, reveals it as a personality, it tells about all his human weaknesses, the torments of love, friends and comrades who have witnessed the composer’s short artistic activity.

What do you portray in the play?

I can’t say that I play, I sit at the piano and sometimes I play. There could be several versions of how to understand my role as perceived by the viewer. It is probably like a bridge between artists, composers and contemporary composers of the last century. Maybe I’m there as a reflection of the Garden, the spirit of the Garden, an alter ego. I am at the piano and a bit with the piano sounds describing the mood, feelings of the moment.

How much of Emīls Dārziņš ‘own music is played in the show and how much is your composition and arrangement?

Although Dārziņš’s compositions are practically non-existent in the performance, at the same time references to his works are constantly heard and felt, I cannot even count them exactly. Unfortunately, the composer does not have so many compositions that have survived, mostly solo songs and “Melancholic Waltz”, that’s all. There is no surviving instrumental music, which, of course, could be played in the show. However, I use themes from the songs, you could say that they are more paraphrases, variations on the themes of the Garden. And then there is my own music, which was created under the influence of Dārziņš’s compositions.

Is Emils Darzins music close to you?

I am close to romantic music, the theme of love in music and art. Darzins’ main guideline was also the theme of love. Therefore, yes, I definitely feel connected to the Garden. I have felt the closeness of Dārziņš’s music all my life, I used to study at Dārziņš Music High School myself.

You are the director of the musical department of Valmiera Drama Theater, clarinetist and drummer, arranger, composer and member of the groups “Bus in the Sky” and “Gerani”. Is there enough work for a professional musician during a pandemic?

I would say that it is enough – as much as I work, there is so much work. If you wait for someone to bring you something, then of course nothing happens. We have to work, we have to look for opportunities. I like to be active in different directions, also in the field of rock music with the group “Bus in the Sky”. It has been with us since I was a boy, I rest there, I ventilate my head, I don’t consider it a really professional activity, because I’m not a drummer at all, it has become an integral part of life, although concerts are less and less frequent. In turn, the association of singing actors “Žerāri” plays in rural culture houses, less often on the big stages of Riga, and our goal is to please people.

I have been a theater musician in Valmiera since the seventeenth year, and there have been many performances. Our theater is currently undergoing reconstruction and I have been given a room above ground, for the first time in my theater years I have been working in a room with a window and my outlook on life is bright. I think if we manage to abstract from everything that is happening right around us, the view must be bright. Also in the context of the show, the view is bright, because even if the end of Dārziņš’s fate was tragic, we have the opportunity to learn from his way of life and his musical heritage remains.

What would you like your ideal visitor to the theater? It is now widely mentioned that theater is one of the few opportunities to socialize. Should theater be called entertainment?

Probably the theater worker who would say that he wants the viewer to be just happy and applaud would not be really honest. We all want a thinking audience, a listener who goes into the show and, last but not least, a viewer who understands what we want to say. But – of course, there is a question whether in the future the theater will turn into just entertainment. I think that this will definitely not happen in Valmiera, rather they will be some of the big theaters in Riga, which already have such a tendency. It is necessary to be able to balance between the attractiveness of the offer, while playing for the unprepared viewer and still not lose the interest of thinking theater gourmets. It is a fact that it is becoming more and more difficult to attract the public, but I do not think that we should go for the production of cheap, easily digestible materials. It is not a road, and it would no longer be a theater, but a mess.

You are both a theater and a film composer. Is it not a pity for a moment that the compositions remain only in performances, that they do not survive their musical life in certain recordings?

This would probably be the ideal option for every composer. I also sometimes review my theatrical music and would like these compositions to sound somewhere else. To some extent, this is a matter of entrepreneurship, you should arrange the notes, let them play. Just recently, on pandemic-free evenings, I re-instrumentated music for the symphony orchestra from Copper Brasla’s latest film, Grandfather Dangerous to the Computer. The sheet music will now be available and you can play it if you want. It is often the case that I would like to play, but there are no sheet music, only prehistoric videos are left of the performances. The composers themselves are already sinning by the lack of such sheet music material.

Have you thought about how it happened that Dārziņš’s “Lonely Pines” and Sibelius’s “Tonela’s Swan” resembled similarly? What influenced both compositions? This is probably one of the most tragic unanswered stories in Latvian culture – the composer’s response to the accusation of plagiarism.

The more you read, study and go deeper, the more it seems – the notes of “Lonely Pine” cannot be lost. They’re probably throwing them somewhere – God knows when and who will find them. It is clear about one copy – it burned in a fire, another went to Russia, but the one that was sent to Finland should theoretically be. I, too, still hope that the notes will still be there. In the play, Jurjāns says: “I sent my copy of the“ pine ”to Sibelius. I haven’t received a refund. ” All the archives have been studied, but this does not mean that the work cannot be found even after a hundred years. Maybe it will happen sooner.

No one can judge how many similarities there were. It is also not known how many seconds or minutes Sibelius spent comparing the two scores. Yes, something similar could have happened – we are quite related, Latvians are closer to Northern Europe than to Central Europe, our sense of music could be similar. The garden was born and raised in nature, and Sibelius also loved his Finnish countryside.

My opinion – Sibelius did not go into a special letter from Riga, about a piece written by an unknown composer. It was just a formal unsubscription. The show also has some of my visions of “Lonely Pine”, I use it as a kind of guiding principle.

The end of Emils Darzins’ life was tragic, there was no shortage of experiences during his life – Probably that is why he was able to create such beautiful and felt compositions. Maybe in order to create art, the creative spirit needs some dose of life drama?

I have to agree – the more a person has a wider range of feelings, the more he has lived in life, the more he gives him as an artist, it is an experience that can only be improved. Probably not many colors are formed from a happy, happy life. As far as we know, composers mostly write their happy works to order, but seriously, their heartbeat is not always joyful and fun.

The artist is only enriched by the suffering he has experienced, of course, also by moments of happiness. It is also true that artists are more vulnerable to the everyday world, they are always open to emotions.

The time of the garden at the beginning of the last century is in many ways similar to today.

Probably. I almost feel ashamed and I do not understand those Latvians who are now trying to follow Western and Europe. There was no shortage of such people even then. I do not understand how to be ashamed of my Latvianness and despise the language… I may perceive it exaggeratedly, but I have always had an important Latvian identity, national feelings.

Why is it important today to talk about the composer Emils Darzins, not only about the compositions, but also about his life?

He remained true to his ideals, burned with his convictions, even though it might not have been good for him at the moment, it even cost him friendship. It shows what an artist should be, how much he should burn for his culture, his nation, and ultimately his love. Do everything with the best conscience, without thinking about what will happen. After all, it may sound pathetic, but all nations and national interests must be raised above their own interests. That is a fact, and I think so.

Themes

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