New_Zealand_Listener_09_14_2019

54 LISTENER SEPTEMBER 14 2019

BOOKS&CULTURE

by ELIZABETH KERR

R

ussian violinist Viktoria Mullova’s

high-profile defection to the

West during the Cold War made

international headlines. It began

with a Soviet regime-sanctioned

recital tour in Finland in 1983, requiring

elaborate deceptions about the piano-play-

ing abilities of her conductor boyfriend,

Vakhtang Jordania, who travelled as her

“accompanist”. They gave a KGB minder

the slip and were driven across the Swed-

ish border, knowing that any mistakes

could mean exile to the gulag. Famously

abandoned on her hotel bed was Mullo-

va’s state-owned 1720 Stradivarius violin.

To ensure her defection gained career-

enhancing publicity in the West, Mullova

arranged for it to be revealed by a Finnish

newspaper on a Saturday, timing that

almost scuttled their plans. She and

Jordania arrived in Stockholm to discover

the US Embassy closed for the July 4

Independence Day long weekend. After

two terrifying days hiding in their hotel

room without political asylum, they were

eventually driven to the embassy by Swed-

ish police in a bullet-proof car, farcically

disguised in blond Harpo Marx wigs. Two

days later, they were in Washington.

In her mid-twenties when she defected,

Mullova had already established an

international reputation, winning the

Sibelius Competition in Finland in 1980

and a gold medal at the Tchaikovsky

Competition in 1982. In the former, she

played the famous Violin Concerto, which

she will perform in Auckland this month

in very different circumstances. In film of

the 1980 event, the young Mullova is a

tense, unsmiling soloist in a demure, long-

sleeved white dress. Her strong command

of her violin, however, is nothing short of

astonishing. In a recent conversation with

the Listener, she explains the austerity of

her youthful stage demeanour.

“A big chunk of my life as a young

musician was being scared, terrified of

making a mistake or not doing it right

and the thought of not winning. This feel-

ing accompanied my life from age four.

Studying in Russia, I had to achieve really

good results and win competitions. That

was the main thing. I had to prepare the

repertoire very well and win; second place

was not enough. I had to be best and I

had to be perfect. That’s a lot of pressure

for a child.”

N

ow close to her 60th birthday, and

still considered one of the world’s

great violinists, she describes her

defection as “a turning point, the best

decision I’ve made. I gradually began to

open up. If you’re scared, it’s an obstacle

to making music, as you can’t make the

music give something.”

Mullova will play with the Auckland

Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton

of another Russian defector, Vladimir

Ashkenazy. “I really admire his talent and

musicianship, he’s a great musician.”

She claims her conception of the Sibel-

ius concerto hasn’t changed greatly since

that nervous competition nearly 40 years

ago, but that she has changed as a musi-

cian. “It’s easier for me to play technically

now, which is strange, because usually the

older you get, the more difficult works are

for your fingers.”

With the Russian “cult of perfection-

ism” behind her, Mullova blossomed

in the West, collaborating with other

musicians and developing broader rep-

ertoire interests. Acclaimed for her Bach

performances, her approach to Baroque

composers was hugely influenced by

performing with the Italian ensemble

Il Giardino Armonico and other “early

music” greats. The abandoned Stradivarius

was replaced by her Jules Falk Stradivarius

Defection

from

perfection

Ahead of her NZ

concerts, violin star

Viktoria Mullova

recalls her escape

from the USSR.

“A big chunk of my life

as a young musician was

being scared, terrified

of making a mistake or

not doing it right and the

thought of not winning.”

CLASSICAL

G
ET

TY

IM

AG

ES

Viktoria Mullova: “I don’t

have to prove anything

to anyone about how

well I play the violin.”