Dr. Felix Andrievsky gave his students “a shared spirit, a sense of play, and a deep musical connection that transcends distance and time,” writes Roman Mints in this tribute following a May 1 celebration of the longtime RCM violin professor’s 90th birthday. Some 40 friends, colleagues and former students came from around the world to London for the occasion. Photos courtesy of @mintsroman . /blog/Romanmints/20265/30734/
Today is Felix Andrievsky's 90th birthday. Yesterday, at the reception hosted by the Royal College of Music, I've managed to say these words:
Dear Professor,
I have good news and bad news.
I’m not going to ask which one I should start with—I’ll just begin with the bad news:
A lot of your former students who really wanted to be here today couldn’t make it… because they have concerts!
And that is actually the good part—although there is nothing new about it. You are such a great teacher that you gave us a profession that keeps us incredibly busy. Reflecting on your teaching career, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the violin landscape of this country—and indeed the world—would not be the same without you.
It is hard to name a conservatoire in the UK that does not have at least one of your former students on the faculty. Even here in this room, we have several professors who studied with you.
Your influence goes far beyond this: a great number of leading violinists today are either your students or your musical grandchildren.
Now, some more bad news: it is common knowledge that every teacher’s goal is to help students become mature and independent, so that one day they no longer need their teacher. And in that, you have partly failed—because we still need you.
Every day, when I teach or approach a new piece, I think of you—of what you would say, what fingering you would suggest, or what musical image you would use to help a student achieve their best. We need you, and we always will. I feel privileged to have you not only as a teacher, but also as a friend—someone I can turn to for advice, both violinistic and beyond.
Ten years ago, we celebrated your 80th birthday. The next day, you called me and told me that from that moment on, all of us were allowed to play out of tune.
Today, with your permission and under your leadership, we are performing your favourite tune (out of tune), “The Firefighters’ March.”
Music arranged by Alexey Kurbatov
Video edited by Igor Gorsky
Sound editing and mixing by Pavel Bogatyrenko
Thank you to RCM and Gary Ryan for hosting the reception.
Deepest respect to my friend @sasha.raikhlina for managing to stay afloat with her wonderful @brundibarartsfestival , which is happening roght now in Newcastle. This festival is dedicated to the musicians who perished in Holocaust and it takes a lot of nerve to play this music knowing what happenned to people who wrote it. Kudos to Sasha and everyone involved.
We were visited by a mensch that is @maxim.vengerov . The amount of happiness distributed by him to our students in just two hours is beyond any words I can come up with. @sophiajacksonviolin here can now be forever proud to have played with the one and only. #violin #classicalmusic #violinist #maximvengerov
Tomorrow, on the 23rd of January, please join these fantastic artists at St. John's Waterloo in London for their final performance of @anothermusicfestival and their concert series "Displaced."
Curated by @mintsroman , this year the festival is celebrating the legacy of composers who lived and created in exile, exploring how this separation from their homeland reshaped their art.
We are proud to be sponsors of this event, and hope to see you there ✨
#florianleonhard #anothermusicfestival #london
I say, if you feel something needs to be done— do it yourself. Yesterday was a special night and tomorrow is the last one. This is a fragment of Desyatnikov’s Leaden Echo filmed by someone at the audience. #violin #classicalmusic #violinist #chambermusic #countertenor
