hello and thank you for joining r t with me karen you have got your top stories ecuador gets overwhelming support from fellow american nations in its role with britain over julian assange condemning efforts to undermine the sanctity of the seas. egypt's new leader extends a hand of friendship to china and iran in a gesture seen as the country breaking away from washington's influence. brand new talks between iran and the un's atomic watchdog come to nothing amid fears and that giving assistance to the agency will come at too high a price next insight on russian culture from pop to politics from one of the

country's most renowned musicians stay with us. the app. hello again and welcome to spotlight. on part time album. studio is. a name that sounds at some of. the most celebrated russian conductor in the world when they read their give got his first taste of international recognition at the age of twenty three when he won the major herbert funk carry on the word in burley gives emotional expression and exceptional passion for music has made him one of the most sought after conduct as across the globe he has guest conducted most of the world's major orchestras since

one thousand nine to six he has been the jane you're old director of the mariinsky theatre in st petersburg and since two thousand and seven principal conductor up to london symphony orchestra. the several major international musical spectacular events most notably the white knight festival in st petersburg and moscow east of festival one of the foremost international conductors of all time give has never been shy to react to major world issues especially those concerning his native caucasus after the two thousand and four busline school massacre he conducted a series of concerts in tribute to the victims following the two thousand and eight war itself to say he came to conduct a concert. hall a man building in memory of those who died in the conflict. i.

was. hello mr gifford welcome to the show thank you very much for being with us today my pleasure while the first of all i would like to ask you. you do different things you do so many things in your life except music well you lots of things along with music so music for you is in a trade a business or admission can you choose one of three music is my world saw in mourning. but. it doesn't really matter if i'm in moscow or new york if i am was music event was orchestrated and was a singer was

a chorus is well i know what i have to do i think and. it is also important for me to say that. moscow and new york are big big cities but i find it more and more pleasant to go to this unknown places smaller towns are wonderful music lovers. always good i think they always waiting for a really important musical events and that's where my heart tells by have to go more and more often you conducted one person verdi's requiem with the merriest cork history in london this year you also are the principal conductor of the london symphony orchestra so what are you preparing for london this year so it's something interesting i just came from london there was just three days ago four days ago we perform. a very long ober a beautiful bit of a kind of violent. and famous wreck feel very young so that was very

recently in my next return visit to london is in may it will be totally dedicated to russian composer stravinsky yugoslavians key is arguably the most famous composer of plenty of century and maybe one of the absolutely most important musicians of the century and i am always on the road to just conduct his music everywhere in russia in america in europe or so in london it will be the striving ski season what about the olympics will you be performing in london during the games well my august there will be involved in the seven august i will be there myself for the closing ceremony and i think we will all hope for fantastic games and i personally hope also russia. well so you here you are pretty. active i mean socially politically recently recently you you. endorsed put his

presidential campaign why did you decide to to to give your popularity a name to to put his campaign it's very simple i think russia needs a strong leader russian yes a leader who knows the job well it's a little bit like orchestra. choosing a conductor because the fate of orchestra or big opera house very much depends on the leadership i think put in those even better than four years ago how to lead this country who knows economy better than maybe ever before and he will need a very strong team and the by far the most important question will be who will be the team members especially key members when we say we are of the same generation usually when we see a strong leader we have second thoughts we have the history of total a terrible regime in russia when you say putin is

a strong leader and you want him as a president don't you have anything years and second thoughts do you think do you think he has enough will and enough wit to keep not falling over the edge you know what i mean i don't think he wants to be acting as. a leader who is really ready to. push too far. and make an impression that he is doing something what big big majority of people will not take very well i don't think so the recent events in december. i thought show that russia is growing russia is changing but there was no blunt most importantly there was no blood i don't think it was any harder on demonstrators than in any other country nor myself. i myself hope very much that whatever happens on the streets it will be peaceful and things what it was peaceful

so i think it's a big step forward for any country in the world to do it to have demonstrations protesters about to make sure that their lives hell for their well being absolutely not. and i think russia is moving and moving in the right direction that's my feeling but i am artist i'm not spending hours and hours myself on the streets sure even in st peter's work i work in actually i hope a lot of people of russia will do this they just work quite hard that's why i'm interested in your opinion because the opinion of politicians are more or less easy it's a game for them but for you it's not a game it's a piece of sheet music is your world and this thing it's part of your world of this so so this is why it's very important for me to know your point of view what do you think and many people say that artists should this isn't this this themself from politics some power they should be out there oh and order not to lose not not to

lose the love and devotion of the other people of different political views do you think this is correct i absolutely agree with this position i was in no way involved in any party in the last twenty years and i think it's appropriate to say a famous man you know on that only subject once came to my house and he wanted me to be. he not only joining the party which he wanted to form but also to be what you call in the first three are you so you will ignore one or two one or three days i believe i was offered to be a number three. was or all the respect and very politely yeah i told scheme it was maybe in one thousand nine hundred three ninety four and i had to tell him well thank you so much i am very honored but i think i have to do what i do conducting leading the marine ski and for me it is totally important.

young or old communists or nationalists everyone who comes to the money is key for me the most important public public and they're all equal to me if they want to hear cause mozart of wagner a very deep very equal would have to act well we have to perform seeing dance we have to do a very high quality and everyone who is in the auditorium he's equally important to us and to me personally as a leader oh last question about politics we saw many artists many of your colleagues campaigning for putin this break why so some say they did so to secure their projects the answer is charities or movies whatever do you think that art is so very much dependent on politics in russia is the reality of india for example the best strategy to just survive is not a lesson i will be very very honest. it's not maybe

a very nice word to prostitute it's not what you can apply to the actions of some of the very distinguished famous and actually brilliantly gifted people we are all grown enough to have an opinion i have very very firm opinion myself today no one is better prepared for his job than what he might put in what will happen in the four five six years in very much will depend on putting himself but i repeat also what his team for example what mr quadrant will do. this is fine as well it's not only for maher it's also the best we've heard yet it's very important and i believe this question's not only important also to many many artists and intellectuals but. when people i my younger friend for example the nice months is a brilliant pianist you know us here in this studio is very very nice person i think

he's also very smart he's very organized i don't think he has to do something special or something tricky he doesn't have to sell himself he's doing what he does brilliantly he's playing piano but also leading his generation. i don't think it's correct and i think it's smart and i don't think it's polite to think well if i want to support or maybe he needs something from putin i think it's a very very big mistake it's exactly what was done. thirty years ago by the way i'm never very critical of everything what happened in soviet union of course not for example education system was quite strong quite brilliant health care many firsts the art of art is literacy and credible really but when we were told don't listen to the words of america why. oh you can't because there lies the telling lies that's the it's the same mistake what

sound somehow people repeat now if people today have their opinion and they say well i think i like this candidate oh no or you have some interest so you maybe want the to get some money or we want to get some. some kind of very special. you know. help which you personally need if you just boyce it out that i like this candidate but not another one but maybe some people like this kind of because they think is the best candidate i myself happen to think that to do with russia cannot afford an experiment where someone who never let anything. jumps to the chair of the president of the country especially in the world which believe now says why did he give a gift principal conductor of the london symphony orchestra and director of the muddiness keep it in st petersburg life will be back shortly after

a break so stay with us and. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture. more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images. from the streets of canada. giant corporations are rooted.

welcome back to spotlight i am our love and just a reminder that my guest on the show today is valerie get the principal conductor of the london symphony orchestra and director of the martin ski theory. which again gives the annual easter festival easter music festival which which is your child your hero one of your beloved children it's opening this weekend so isn't becoming like a world event you hear when you found it you promised you would make it a world world event is the geography increasing first of all it's called moscow is

the first of its clearly indicates that it's a russian cultural group but be event starts in moscow traditionally and comes to me and also is a big concert in moscow in between. it's also leading singers some of brilliance always instrumentalists the violinist or pianist cellist. visit many regions of russia every year the map is. good differently we go east so it will be perry more you cotillion more cordial i've been scoring more go almost where they built on the stick new hole by the way gnomes very quickly they build that hole this time we go two more months which is part of the door thinks it was a was our congress then we go back to you. and then moscow sure we plan intend also to perform in kiev and great russian opera. in kiev is

a big project we're working on it we will go solve the rest of we will go to verona national go to class and we'll go to kiss lovat's probably to start reporting to volgograd and then back to moscow you see we how many people take where we are sometimes a thousand though we're well covered and china will be about three hundred people it's a great great russian orbit and i think it's going to be hopefully what a gig beautiful beautiful event as well and then a minimum hundred people travel with me just an orchestra right for this year's event you chose so keep her coffee yes why why him mr well tchaikovsky who we love and his music. still you need what you call more and more recognition because he's not only author of not cracker or swan lake or fifth symphony or six symphony there are many many other beautiful compositions but

prokofiev stravinsky shows the college. the great great composers of twentieth century and russia some people don't even maybe understand how incredibly much russia was given the world through twentieth century and these three composers just for example stravinsky prokofiev just the coach nearly every week in my plans i know well i've noticed that your orchestra is playing more russian composers of the twentieth century stravinsky just coffee if you just mentioned the then then there ever since you you you poor and she calls. and i don't know traditionally well known is that what we started with is it because music for you isn't just business but it's a mission you want to promote the people that you think are. a little bit forgotten in some places you see great composers they are able to work at

least twenty five thirty years maybe schubert or mozart were not so lucky and in leave that long but we need twenty five thirty or forty or fifty years they compose a lot some of those pieces compositions become very things even verdi is more famous opera and less famous so the truth about your costly is that even joe koskie has more famous. compositions and then that sort of real world in general is hugely popular means key years prokofiev as well shostakovich getting more and more popular but i'm lookin that all life story of prokofiev and i find it important today to play all his symphonies all his piano concertos to push a little bit up stage for from backstage to. go the eve eve i am

a soldier and my organs start with me of course man his cue is in this case my knees go because there is a good strong army so we have to fight we are ready to fight who we defend we defend great composers of our nations in the first place and i think we have to be needs a good army to defend his music that isn't an easter fest so we call that easter first of all does it have any religious component any anything that will for example feel a lot of bells will sing for most going for other cities these days and all the churches of moscow but also in many marriages of russia will be opened for choral singing we will perform in the great hall of conservatory in moscow which is the best hall in moscow but also will perform in st petersburg about when your whole embodied ski will perform in many other cities i just mentioned them already and it

will be a festivity i think. it is sacred music which makes it more close to the heart of simple people because everyone knows that if you go to the church and you will be very grateful also not only to the church and the most are of russian easter but also to the music which makes this list of eighty even more beautiful i think it's appropriate you have recently expressed your amazement the fact that most of the russian population are listening to cheap pop music that there are not enough what very few classical music in the air and the classical radio stations easily because you want to start or the classical station or what you know i never speak against any

music. cheap music or pop music or. my says mass culture so be nice but you may be ok with it maybe junk you were talking about junk box music and while we don't know what i mean there isn't junk in it we all know it is this is some of it is just noise but but i will never do it speak against any music what i will do i will of course act and try to build more and more facilities and create opportunities for classical music to either way i don't think there is a crisis was crushing classical music in russia i don't think you travel a lot do you see a need did you see a market because f.m. and f.m. station is a business is there a market for classical music in russia and a large scale not only among moscow's intelligentsia but i mean in all those cities you just mentioned i think there is a. huge number of people who are in love with classical music i swear we will go to these ten c.d.'s the halls will be full no one will

force people to go there here's marion's key he's famous years some people know my name but i think it's a love for music and people will expect something magical to happen something beautiful i'm not worried about classical music in russian i'm not worried about a lack of interest i'm not worried about a lot of good taste now well here we can then we can improve i think we can improve overall but this is the case with many many countries i don't think we are doing. badly i don't think the country is in much better shape i don't think so far as i mean really in the schools there is no subject of music. we have music and i was school still maybe not enough. you have recently opened your musical school in western siberia this winter actually and the news is that

the graduates of your school in siberia will get an opportunity to work with you in the marines get their insane piece is it a unique project or the other project like that few words about it look it's a small project but every conductor should try to do something small then all together we will make a progress because and not possible even to think that ok there is one man and he will just change everything we all have to serve cause school music and i think we don't have we we don't have to forget we a country of czerkawski where country or most of ski this is maybe not allowed it's a moral code no one tells me every day by the way you cannot forget you live in russia country because it's just it's for me like waking up and maybe michel really think it will things going. in russia and my country gave so much of the world of music

recently used in my fairly classical musical in the marine skill which are classical classical music here in st petersburg lots of people criticized you why did you do that i don't think people criticize me i think there were twelve performances sold out. which means there is an interest my fair lady is a beautiful story it's a little bit of cinderella story it's a much loved story in the world and in russia this is the replacement in the classical on the other classical stage i mean putting putting in the the the pump i mean you're going pop well look at i didn't do it instead of course. i did it on top with to do what we did. mighty magics are very important here marian skier performs more than seven hundred fifty times a year i repeat not two hundred fifty times seven hundred fifty times a year seven sixty to be precise. if. five hundred

fifty dollars are using pewter and two hundred i would cite it as well and outside russia as well for example recent london performances or birmingham boccardi for paris dortmund or munich very recently geneva that was just the last fifteen twenty days. that's good i think we mustn't doors without being off fish early part of minister for the figures but we're cultural ambassadors i find it very appropriate again and i find it also because i know because my distance was more risky he's full of many many events and my fair lady is just one of very many events you know he's a leader i plan quite intensive program so the company works no one can accuse him of his good being lazy being what you call underperforming underachieve or underachiever that don't think you can apply to marine ski but one production is

brilliant the other one is maybe less brilliant would regret but you know unified one director when he went another director you might question designer said designer and then you hope that it goes well and then after premiers say well that was great this was maybe a little bit less good i hope you you you you always have this fire in your eyes because i see it now and as long as you do it as long as you have it you can do whatever you want as long as you have fun thank you thank you very much for being with us and just a reminder that my guest today was the principal conductor of the lot of them so they work a truck and director of the martins here in st petersburg and that's the kind of problems here spotlight will be back with more. on what's going on outside russia until then stay on our team and take a.