Вера Дулова. Воспоминания. Статьи. Документы - Наталия Хамидовна Шамеева

избрана в директорат конгресса как представитель от России и своим великолепным выступлением в концерте как бы подтвердила высокую честь, которая ей была оказана этим избранием.

Н. Шамеева — корреспондент журнала «Новости арфы», выходящего в США, Франции, Великобритании и Швейцарии, и постоянный член жюри Всесоюзных и Международных конкурсов.

Поздравляя Наташу Шамееву с присвоением почётного звания заслуженной артистки Российской Федерации, я желаю ей дальнейших творческих успехов и верю в них.

Статьи о В. Г. Дуловой

First harpist[70]

Konstantin Telyatnikov

HER HARP HAS the sonority of a full orchestra — the quaver of the strings, the deep-throated rumble of the double bass, the tinkle of the harpsichord, and even the organ’s chorale. At her touch, this instrument, created for pizzicato, takes on the mellowness of a violin or of the human voice. Her technique is flawless. Pierre Jamet, famous French harpist, described Vera Dufova as the world’s finest harp performer.

«Femininity Incarnate»

That she became a musician is hardly surprising.

Her father, Georgi, was professor of violin at the Moscow Conservatory. Her mother, Maria, sang at the Royal Mariinsky Opera in St. Petersburg before becoming a concert singer in Moscow. Her grandmother was a pupil of Nikolai Rubinstein, that brilliant pianist who founded the Moscow Conservatory.

Vera was five when she took her first piano lesson. But she was drawn to the cello. Her father thought the cello was unsuitable for ladies. He offered her a choice of any other instrument. She hated scales and wanted an instrument that dispensed with them. He told her that you had to practice scales on all instruments, including drums. Since it did not matter she chose the

harp. Her father approved. «That instrument,» he said, «is femininity incarnate.» And so she became a harpist. lf you ask Vera why, she has no answer. She was not especially taken with the sound of the harp, or with the performance of any harpist. But for music her choice was a happy one. It gave us a great harpist.

It Began with a Card Game

Chance played a large role in the history of Russian harp playing. It began with Alexander Slepushkin, a dashing hussar, who led the dissipated life of an officer until he won a harp at a card game. From sheer boredom, he took a few lessons and enjoyed them so much that he left the army and went abroad for serious study. He finished his musical education at the age of 27.

On his return to Russia, Slepushkin became a professor at Moscow Conservatory. He wrote several books on teaching the instrument [he didn't write any. — N. Sh.] and a number of his students became famous harpists. One of the most talented was Maria Korchinskaya, who graduated from the conservatory in 1915 [1911. — N. Sh.] with a gold medal.

Years of Study

When Dulova entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1922, Professor Slepushkin was no longer there; he had died in 1918. She studied with Maria Korchinskaya. In 1925 she played at a concert given by conservatory students for the benefit of homeless orphans. People’s Commissar of Education Anatoly Lunacharsky was there. A cultivated man, he immediately recognized the young harpist’s unusual talent. When she graduated from the conservatory, Lunacharsky gave her a scholarship to continue her education in Germany. There she studied for two years with Professor Max Saal and gave a few concerts which were applauded by the German press.

Dulova returned to the Soviet Union in 1930 [1929. — N. Sh.], a mature musician with a good repertory. In 1932 and thereafter she was a soloist with the Bolshoi Theater orchestra, and in 1935 won first prize at the countrywide competition of musicians in Leningrad. Two years later she began to teach at the Ippolitov-lvanov College of Music, and since 1944 [1943. — N. Sh.] she has been a professor at the conservatory.

Virtuosity

A great musician always enlarges the potentialities of his instrument. It becomes part of his hands, his thoughts, his very soul. He enriches the musical language of his time no less than the composer, for it is the performer who translates the abstract laws of counterpoint into objective reality. It is not uncommon for a work to be composed for a particular performer. For Dulova, Sergei Vasilenko and Alexander Mosolov wrote harp concertos; Alexander Baltin, a sonatina; Yevgeni Golubev, a quintet (for harp and string quartet); and Georgi Kreitner, Ivan Shishov, Andrei Volkonsky and Nina Makarova, musical pieces. Dulova herself has arranged for the harp several works written for other instruments and for the orchestra.

The place in musical history of even great performers is measured, in part, by the pupils they train. Dulova’s pupils are in the leading Soviet orchestras. Their solo performances are praised by audiences and critics, and many of these pupils are teachers in their own right.

In September 1965, our harpists entered their first international competition. It was held in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Many of their fellow contestants arrived with experience at international competitions and festivals. The Soviet Union was represented by DuIova’s pupils Emilia Moskvitina, Natasha Shameyeva (Strebkova) and Natasha Tsekhanovskaya. Though this was their initial big test abroad, they came through with flying colors, winning the second, third and fourth prizes respectively. The first prize went to Martine Gcliot, a French pupil of Professor Pierre Jamet.

Our Interview

The first international competition of harpists to be held in Connecticut has been organized by the Hartt College of Music of the University