ソ連－ロシアで活躍した先駆的女性指揮者

まだ女流指揮者がたいへん希だった２０世紀半ば，１９６０年にthe Moscow State Symphony Orchestra でロシア初の女性首席指揮者兼音楽監督の地位に就いたのが VERONIKA BORISOVNA DUDAROVA だったのです．

１９１６年現在のアゼルヴァイジャン生まれですが，まずLeningrad Conservatoireでピアノを学んだそうですが，さらにMoscow Conservatoireに入り， Leo Ginzburg and Nikolai Anosov の下で指揮法を学び1947 年に修了しています．

直ぐにMoscow State Symphony Orchestra の副指揮者に就任しますが，女性に対する蔑視に悩まされたそうですが，彼女の優れた才能と幅広いレパートリーが楽員の信頼を克ち得るようになり，１９６０年に正式にそこの首席指揮者兼音楽監督の地位に就いたのだそうです．そして， People's Artist of the Russian Republic　の称号を与えられたといいます．　　　　　　　　　　今は変貌した共産主義社会ですが，冷戦構造のなかで，女性初の主要オーケストラ指揮者を誕生させていたといえるようです．それに応えて，彼女はオーケストラのレベルを高め，ヨーロッパの一部や，南米旅行に出たり，ロシア作曲家のレコーディングを通じて，世界的に名声を博したといいます．

１９８９年にいったん引退してイスタンブールに移り住んだそうですが，ソ連邦の崩壊後，７０代でモスクワに戻り，若手有望演奏家を集めて，新しいオーケストラ，the State Symphony Orchestra of Russia を創設し，さらにヨーロッパから南米まで広く指揮活動を復活させています．

そのレコーディングは，Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Mahlerに始まって，Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov から他では滅多に聴かれない Myaskovsky, Kalinnikov, Lyadov, Rakov and Shebalin に及んでいるそうです．　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　また，Elena Firsova's first cello concertoの初演やNikolai Chaikin's concerto for accordion and orchestraのレコーディング，そしてSofia Gubaidulina, Alfred Schittke, Igor Frolov and Zara Levina などをいち早く世に送り出したといわれます．

彼女は，"I am devoted to the profession of conducting as it enables me to reveal, as fully as possible, the essence of the composer's intentions." という言葉を残していますし，宇宙天文体の直径7.5kmの岩石組成物に彼女の名前が付けられたことをたいへん喜んだといいます．

その VERONIKA BORISOVNA DUDAROVA が，今年1月15日に９２歳で亡くなったことが，遅ればせながらイギリス・GUARDIAN紙に報じられていました．　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　この偉大な先駆者の安らかな眠りを祈りたいと思います．

 

Shining star in Russia's firmament of classical music

• Tim McDonald 　　April 8, 2009

VERONIKA BORISOVNA DUDAROVA
CONDUCTOR
5-12-1916 — 15-1-2009

EVEN at a time when most of the former Soviet Union's imposing musical talent was spreading itself around the world, the reputation of the conductor Veronika Dudarova, who has died aged 92, remained largely confined to Russia — as she did herself. Yet in her own country, she was a giant.

She was born and received her initial musical training in Baku, capital of the now independent republic of Azerbaijan. Her obvious talents took her to the Leningrad Conservatoire, where she studied the piano.

Drawn towards conducting, an activity not then regarded as the domain of women, Dudarova studied at the Moscow Conservatoire, under Leo Ginzburg and Nikolai Anosov, and graduated in 1947.

She became associate conductor of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra and, although she encountered a degree of male opposition, her talents in a wide repertoire covering all styles and periods soon swept aside any reservations. In 1960, she was appointed the orchestra's chief conductor and music director, the first woman to hold such a post in Russia, and was honoured with the title of People's Artist of the Russian Republic.

Under her leadership, the orchestra's standards were raised to new heights. While there were occasional foreign tours, notably in parts of Europe and South America, her name achieved wider currency mostly through recordings that offered Western listeners their first opportunity to get to grips with otherwise unknown Russian composers.

In 1989, Dudarova left Moscow for Istanbul, but with the fall of the Soviet Union two years later, she was back and, although well into her 70s, set about forming a new orchestra from scratch. This was the State Symphony Orchestra of Russia, which drew its personnel mainly from younger players who, like Dudarova, showed enthusiasm for new and unfamiliar works. By then she was a regular visitor to other shores, guest conducting from Norway to Panama.

Among her recordings, alongside the expected Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Mahler, there are many Russian composers, from Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov to much less frequently heard figures such as Myaskovsky, Kalinnikov, Lyadov, Rakov and Shebalin. She directed the premiere of Elena Firsova's first cello concerto, and a recording of Nikolai Chaikin's concerto for accordion and orchestra; she also championed the music of Sofia Gubaidulina, Alfred Schittke, Igor Frolov and Zara Levina.

Dudarova made her requirements crystal clear and brooked little nonsense. However, those who met her were invariably struck by her sensitivity, intelligence and great personal charm. Her life's ambition was clear and straightforward: "I am devoted to the profession of conducting as it enables me to reveal, as fully as possible, the essence of the composer's intentions."

In 1999, a cosmic rock formation was named after her and although only 7.5 kilometres in diameter, she was delighted. "Having a planet named after you is the best honour that could be bestowed upon anyone," she said. She received numerous other Soviet honours, including People's Artist of the USSR.

GUARDIAN