Steven Isserlis pays tribute to Daniil Shafran, who was born 100 years in the past this week however was confined to the Soviet zone of Europe.
DANIIL SHAFRAN – born thirteenth January 1923
A private memoir on his centenary:
by Steven Isserlis
I first grew to become conscious of the genius of Daniil Shafran after I was about 12 years outdated. My trainer, Jane Cowan, gave a speak about nice cellists; in direction of the tip of the night, she performed an excerpt from (I imagine) Shafran’s recording of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata with Lydia Pecherskaya. I used to be instantly ‘hooked’ – what a sound! What class! What attraction – and what mastery! Shafran grew to become my hero, and I talked of little else (I used to be an obsessive). However the hassle was that he by no means appeared in individual within the West, and his recordings have been virtually all unavailable – solely that recording of Schubert and Shostakovich with Pecherskaya and (a bit later, I feel) his efficiency of Kabalevsky’s 2nd concerto, coupled with Grutzmacher’s mishmash of a concerto in Bb primarily based on themes by Boccherini, have been to be discovered. This lent to Shafran’s artwork the aura of deep thriller that sealed my obsession.
It was irritating! However assist was at hand: my father’s work as a metallurgist sometimes concerned visits from overseas scientists; and on one event he introduced a Russian woman to go to us (my father was born in Odesa, so Russian was his first language). I advised this woman about my admiration for Daniil Shafran, complaining to her in regards to the impossibility of discovering his recordings; I begged her to ship me something she may discover – and she or he sweetly promised to strive. Within the occasion, she was pretty much as good as her phrase; for the subsequent few years, I’d obtain sometimes a package deal from the Soviet Union, despatched by this woman. The thrill of it! A big parcel (this was the times of vinyl, after all) hailing from a distinct nation – a distinct planet virtually, it appeared – addressed to me in London. I do not know now who this woman was – however her kindness modified my life. These information grew to become my biggest treasure!
I significantly bear in mind listening to for the primary time his performances of Tchaikovsky miniatures along with his first spouse, the pianist Nina Musinyan, and of the suite on people themes written for him by Sulkhan Tsintsadse. Sheer magic! Each notice he performed sounded so in contrast to another cellist – another musician, for that matter. (In later years, after I grew to become mates with Ivry Gitlis, he would say that he felt that he and Shafran have been someway shut, musically; however the two males by no means met.)
Each day I’d hearken to one in all my Shafran discs forcing my family and friends to hear as effectively. Quickly we had fairly a Shafran fan-club in our home! The one drawback was that I used to be turning into so obsessed along with his enjoying that I used to be imitating it in my very own enjoying; as an alternative of discovering my very own voice, I used to be making an attempt to repeat his. My trainer regretted having launched me to him! Finally, I accepted her anguished criticism, and stopped listening to him; his affect remained (and stays) strongly with me, however I attempted consciously to keep away from imitating his model – which was, after all, fairly distinctive to him.
So it was with some trepidation that I made a decision after a number of years that I used to be previous the risks of imitation, and it was secure to enter Shafran’s soundworld once more. I used to be fearful that I’d not be entranced, that my earlier fascination can be dimmed. I needn’t have fearful! As quickly as I heard that velvety, passionate sound once more, I used to be hooked once more as ever – and stay so to at the present time (therefore this text!). I discovered additionally that I felt a right away bond with different admirers of his enjoying. With two nice pianists who grew to become shut mates of mine, Olli Mustonen and Stephen Hough, an early signal that we have been going to be take to each other was the invention of our shared admiration for Shafran – it felt as if we have been fellow-members of a secret society!
Shafran was nonetheless a far-off determine, nevertheless (and, after all, he by no means performed in London); though I persistently requested all method of individuals with connections to the Soviet Union, no person that I met appeared to know him. (My solely success in that endeavour was to find that two cellists I knew, who had each studied with Rostropovich in Moscow, had heard Shafran in live performance; neither preferred his enjoying – so it actually wasn’t a hit in any case. In truth, one in all them, on discovering that I used to be such a fan, advised me that I wanted to see a psychiatrist!)
I dreamed of assembly and listening to the good man. After I made my first tour of the Soviet Union, in 1984, I used to be very dissatisfied to search out out that he was away on tour; I used to be doubly annoyed after I noticed a poster promoting a live performance by him to be given about two weeks after I had left Moscow. My second tour for Gosconcert (the state company) was in 1987; and this time I used to be luckier. I persuaded the journal ‘The Strad’ to provide me a letter saying that they want me to interview Shafran; this gave the impression to be my greatest likelihood of assembly him – and it labored! I bear in mind sitting completely transfixed as our (horrible) interpreter known as him at residence to repair up the assembly; she addressed him as Daniil Borisevich, and guaranteed him that it was all above board, that the powers that be at Goskoncert had signalled their approval. The interview was organized to happen on the Home of Artists in Moscow. We arrived early, and waited within the entrance corridor. Abruptly, I noticed a determine whom I had solely seen on report covers (maybe just one report cowl, in truth – Soviet discs didn’t normally characteristic artists’ images). My coronary heart thumped as I approached him. ‘Mr Shafran?” I enquired in what I’m positive was a quavering voice. And so I used to be launched to my hero. He was barely smaller than I’d imagined, neatly-dressed and coiffured – little trace in his look of the passionate artist that he was. I used to be barely greatly surprised additionally by the quantity of gold enamel he sported; however this was the Soviet Union, in any case. We talked for about an hour; he was very well mannered, cautious, guarded (though occasions have been altering, there was no query of him criticising the Soviet authorities, after all – particularly Within the presence of the completely suspicious interpreter). I can’t say that I bought to know him in any respect effectively, nevertheless it was nonetheless thrilling – simply to sit down and speak with this nice determine in my life, to search out out that he actually existed! And other people appeared pleased with the interview when it appeared.
I nonetheless longed to listen to him play dwell; nevertheless it appeared that this might by no means be. The following time I used to be in Moscow, in 1989, he was once more away; and thereafter, with the collapse of Gosconcert, a few years have been to elapse earlier than I returned to Russia. At some point, nevertheless, Olli Mustonen and I have been at my residence in London, watching a beautiful video of Shafran that I had been given (by then I had amassed an enormous library of his recordings, each audio and video); as we raved, I lamented the truth that I’d by no means hear this wonderful man enjoying dwell. Olli thought for a second – after which got here up with an excellent concept: ‘Why don’t we invite him ourselves?’ And, in an alarmingly brief house of time, occasions have been in movement: Olli’s then Finnish agent, Tuula Sarotie, had managed to contact Shafran; I had contacted the Wigmore Corridor and located an acceptable date (in addition to a chance for him to report a recital for the BBC), and had organized for a British company to handle the live performance; and the well-known instrument supplier and proprietor of a distinguished report label, Peter Biddulph, had agreed to co-sponsor the live performance with Olli and myself. Quickly, all the things was fastened for Shafran’s first London live performance for thirty years! The one main factor left to be determined was the programme; Shafran had instantly instructed (by way of the company that had changed Gosconcert – or perhaps it was nonetheless known as Goskoncert- I neglect) that he play, along with his common accomplice Anton Ginzburg, Brahms’ E-Minor Sonata, his personal association of Shostakovitch’s Viola Sonata, and the Cesar Franck Sonata.
Though I cherished to listen to Shafran enjoying all kinds of music, I’d all the time felt that he was uniquely at residence in Russian works; and I felt that British audiences can be enthralled to listen to him in that repertoire. So I requested that maybe, as an alternative of the Franck Sonata, he may play, say, the Arapov Sonata (additionally written for him – he made it sound like a masterpiece) and even the Prokofiev Sonata. I had fairly a prolonged change of faxes along with his agent, Viktoria Muravieva, in regards to the varied programme potentialities. Lastly I acquired a fax from her with a message from the good man himself: ‘Maestro Shafran has a brand new concept for the programme. He suggests the next: Brahms E-Minor Sonata, Shostakovitch Viola Sonata, Franck Sonata.’ Chuckling, I agreed.
So lastly got here the day, in Might 1995, for his recital. By coincidence, I used to be away in Finland enjoying with Olli when Shafran was scheduled to reach in England, so I organized for a driver-friend of mine to fulfill him on the airport, and for my mother and father to ask him, his Madame Svetlana Shafran, and Anton Ginzburg to their home for dinner two nights earlier than the live performance. Slightly to my shock, Shafran accepted the invitation. I left my mother and father strict directions to name me in Finland as quickly as dinner was over; they did so, reporting that it had all been a terrific success, Russian dialog flowing simply between my father and the Shafrans. (In addition they stated, although, that Anton Ginzburg had sat in relatively depressing silence all through the meal – I don’t suppose it was straightforward being Shafran’s musical accomplice!) Absolutely the spotlight of the night, I heard, was when Shafran tasted my mom’s sherry trifle, a really English dessert; he had cherished it, requesting a number of helpings! His spouse, Svetlana, had taken the recipe, and Shafran had made her promise to learn to make it for him in Moscow. (Later, I learn in his biography that Svetlana continued to serve it to him on particular events for the remainder of his life.)
I used to be residence in London solely simply in time for the Wigmore Corridor live performance. There had been, not surprisingly, a variety of curiosity within the recital, and it had offered out weeks upfront. An air of pleasure reigned within the packed corridor, stuffed with cellists and others who have been acquainted with his recordings, because the lights went down – what would he sound like dwell? For myself – I used to be terrified! All these years I had waited to listen to my hero – and now it was about to occur; moreover, I felt accountable. I used to be as nervous as if I had been enjoying myself. I needn’t have fearful; from the primary notes of the Brahms, Shafran turned all our pre-conceptions on their head, each musically and technically. The whole lot was totally completely different from something we had heard earlier than – it was riveting. (Even his method of coming onstage was distinctive; he went straight to the far wall, and touched it – a correctly superstitious Russian!) It was true that, now in his seventies, he was not the proper virtuoso that he had as soon as been, and a few elements of his enjoying had turn into extra exaggerated with the years; however the sound, the creativeness, the heat have been all as profitable as ever. Notably memorable have been the 9 encores (a Shafran custom), every a gem. All in all, it was an unforgettable recital, and was acquired with big cheers and ovations (additionally for the great help of Anton Ginzburg). As a cellist pal of mine put it after the live performance, it was as if a sole member of a misplaced tribe of cellists had all of the sudden, unexpectedly turned up in our midst.
Afterwards, I went again to the artists’ room, stood in line to say howdy to Shafran – and all of the sudden my nerve failed me! I turned away, too scared to method the good man. Fortunately, my father was standing close by, and knew that Shafran wished to see me; so he took me to him and re-introduced me. Shafran gave me an enormous bear-hug, and we grew to become, to my pleasure, mates. Afterwards, we went out to dinner with a big group of individuals, principally musicians; and I feel that I can actually say that it was the one time in my life that I forgot to eat my dinner, so keen was I to watch Shafran in relaxed mode, to catch his each phrase! (After all, I couldn’t perceive sufficient – I cursed the language barrier; however both by way of my very primary Russian or by way of others’ translation, I caught quite a bit.) At one level, referring to his fixed, distinctive use of the left-hand thumb, I advised him that the subsequent morning any cellist who had been on the recital would get up feeling that they’d gained an additional finger! He laughed. ‘God gave us 5 fingers,’ he replied. ‘So why shouldn’t we use all of them?’
I noticed him solely as soon as extra after that. A 12 months later, another person organized one other Wigmore Corridor recital for him at a time after I needed to be away (to my chagrin). I used to be to be at residence a few days earlier than the live performance, although, so I wrote to the Russian agent a while earlier than the deliberate journey asking if by any likelihood the Shafrans want to come to our home for dinner that evening. Reply got here there none, nevertheless, and I forgot about it. On that day I returned from a overseas journey to search out my spouse Pauline in fairly a state; she had simply acquired a cellphone name asking at what time the Shafrans ought to arrive! So it was panic stations throughout. Ultimately, although, it was a memorable night, Pauline developing with a beautiful meal, and the Shafrans making all the precise noises about our son Gabriel. Once more, right here was a dream come true! The hero of my youth – and nonetheless my hero – in my residence, assembly my spouse and son; regardless of the language problem, it was a very memorable night. After all, I had no concept when he left that I’d by no means see him once more; it appeared extra like a starting than an ending. (Pauline, at the least, was in a position to go to his recital – and cherished it.)) However I’m glad that my remaining reminiscence of him is a cheerful one: because the night superior, he checked out his watch, and determined that it was time to go away. He was staying in fairly one other a part of city, with the cellist Leonid Gorokhov – a good distance away from my place; so he requested me to order a taxi for him. Shafran’s English was virtually non-existent, however his German was good. He enquired whether or not the taxi driver would communicate German. I laughed; no, London mini cab drivers don’t have a tendency to talk German, I advised him. Shafran checked out me doubtfully. A couple of minutes later, the bell rang, and there was the cab driver. Shafran bounded into my entrance corridor. ‘Sprechen sie Deutsch?’ he inquired. ‘.Ja, ein bissen,’ replied the driving force. Shafran gave me a memorable look – of COURSE he speaks German, stated that look. And out he and the great Svetlana went, cheerful and charming to the final.
After that, I used to be very blissful to assist to rearrange for him to play on the Huntington Competition in Australia, run by my pal Richard Tognetti; however very unhappy to know (looking back) that it was to be his final live performance. As Svetlana stated, after I visited her in Moscow shortly afterwards of their small condominium on the outskirts of Moscow, ‘he left us too early’. I really feel privileged to have identified him, and solely want that it may have been for longer; and I used to be very blissful later to fulfill his pretty daughter Vera, and her daughter Nastya (whom I instantly, and precisely, I felt, rechristened ‘Niceia’).
As a cellist and musician, Shafran was in contrast to anybody else. At a time by which, thanks to numerous media, musical kinds are converging, Shafran’s voice remained aside. His vibrato, his phrasing, his rhythm all belonged to a singular complete; his astounding virtuosity conveyed effortlessly an enormous musical character that retained the eagerness, the simplicity and the poetry of a terrific Russian people singer. He was incapable of enjoying one notice insincerely; his music spoke from the soul. We’re lucky to have recordings that, I’m positive, will maintain his reminiscence alive for so long as individuals like to hearken to music.
For many who don’t know Shafran’s enjoying – and maybe for some who do – I’ve compiled a listing of some recordings on YouTube that I feel give a very good overview of his enjoying.
Maybe it’s best to start out with little items, since his artwork shone so clearly by way of these – the class, the heat, the astonishing technical ease, the actually Russian (not Soviet!) soul. Listed below are a number of gems:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd5QCpllR4w… – Tchaikovskys Melody (from the primary disc the girl despatched me from the Soviet Union – I gasped with pleasure after I heard it.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmVrH6-e-rA… – Debussy’s Minuet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0rr-_IRHw4… – Ibert’s Little White Donkey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwTKanmFKTM… Boccherini’s Rondo
After which an authentic cello piece:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyVjnm9yVbw… – the sluggish motion of the Rachmaninov sonata.
Shafran had the wonderful skill to take a bit that in different arms would have sounded second-rate, and to play it in a approach that remodeled it right into a masterpiece. There’s no higher instance of that than in his recordings of the 2 Kabalevsky concertos (the second having been written for him):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHy3oSVBP90… – No 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eURlo8Gpi6o… – No 2
I can’t say, personally, that I all the time felt near his interpretation of the ‘classics’ – however there was in each efficiency one thing so particular, and convincing, about his method, that it proved irresistible. Listed below are a few good examples; I do know they might not be for everybody (I’m generally shocked by how cellist mates, whose opinions I respect, reject Shafran’s enjoying – effectively, it’s their loss, I really feel); however all the things he performed is price listening to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmPGO5r99gY…
(Bach gamba sonata no 1 – Shafran worshipped Bach, after all, and had, not surprisingly, a wholly particular person method to his music. Right here he performs with harpsichord, which I feel works surprisingly effectively, his crisp articulation mingling satisfyingly with the harpsichord’s. By the way, he additionally had a particular affection for the music of Vivaldi, which he thought was an ideal antidote for the troubled world we inhabit.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8BAAwGNyFk&t=34s… – (Chopin sonata – such a hanging efficiency of a piece that may all too typically sound incomprehensible.)
As I stated above, I do really feel that some elements of his enjoying grew to become exaggerated as he bought older (though there was all the time a lot to like). I put this down to 2 causes: 1) whereas many well-known musicians play much less effectively of their later years as a result of they get complacent and cease practising sufficient, in Shafran’s case I imagine that, along with his relentless perfectionism, he really practised an excessive amount of – it may well have a damaging impact; and a pair of) as a result of, for principally political causes, he was prevented from travelling commonly outdoors the Soviet Union, and since he didn’t play chamber music, he solely not often interacted with different main musicians – at the least non-Russian ones. So it’s a selected pleasure to have the ability to hear (due to the indefatigable ‘Shafran collector’ on YouTube) him in two of his collaborations with nice artists:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShH_7GcZSXc… (the Dvorak concerto in Vienna with Carlo Maria Giulini and the Vienna SO – Shafran mournfully advised me that he’d requested for a replica of this video, however that the TV station had stated it will value him 2000 euros!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz2ou96eQIg&t=1104s… (Beethoven’s sonata no 3 in A, with Carlo Zecchi – apparently the 2 met solely on the session.)
And so forth…
When you catch the Shafran bug from these movies/recordings, I predict that you just’ll need to discover additional. There are such a lot of gems – an entire host of brief items, plus the Arapov sonata, the Tsintsadse suite, Prokofiev’s Symphony-Concerto, a number of recordings of the Shostakovich sonata (my favorite being the final, with Ginzburg), and plenty of, many others. Take pleasure in!
And I hope that Shafran is now in heaven, cello in hand, having fun with a completely vibrant eternity!
