How to compose art music in the contemporary world, in the 21 century? It seems that by now everything has not just been written, rewritten, again and again orchestrated, but also interpreted hundreds and thousands times. While striving for novelty, which appears for them so necessary, many contemporary composers seek for their individual thing. As the last century saw all possible rhythmical, melodic, harmonic and modular variations, in the 21 century composers started to experiment with unusual timbres, ethnic instruments and God knows what else. But those experiments are drawing to a close.

This question, however, has one as old as the hills and very simple answer: one should compose as he or she hears, as he or she sings. As it was in a well-known song of Schumann to a Heine’s poem, when “ein Lied schaudert und bebtwiе der Kuss...” (“a song shudders and shakes like a kiss”).

And this is exactly the answer that we heard from an Australian composer Julian Cochran in the Small Hall of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia on March 4.The program of «Evening of Premieres» comprised compositions of three residents of St Petersburg and Julian Cochran. The first part included two Concerts for cello with orchestra by Artyom Lauhin and Pavel Yakovlev (soloists were Yaroslav Georgiyev and Roman Kiselev) and two compositions of Grigoriy Korchmar, the head of St. Petersburg school of composition, – “Deadly Tango” and “Bravura Gallop” for violin with orchestra (the soloist was Arina Suvinskaya). Public saw brilliant performance of the St. Petersburg Youth Symphony Orchestra and Migran Agadzhanyan, its founder, artistic director and conductor.

Short concerts for cello, composed by Pavel Yakovlev and Artyom Lauhin, are elegant and show mastery, talent and skill of their composers. Scores of Georgiy Korchmar are extremely complex; our descendants, distant and close, will probably appreciate them at their true value. And they surely pleased Georgiy Korchmar’s regular listeners and loyal following.

But “Symphonic Tale” by Julian Cochran – mature, experienced and fully formed composer – was admittedly the main event of the evening. The composition was so long that it sounded for the whole second part. Cochran is well-known to art music lovers around the world, his compositions were heard in Carnegie Hall and other famous arenas.

Frankly speaking, when I sat in a chair after the interval, I was prepared for everything but this. After 5-7 minutes of the first movement I clearly felt that I was listening to… Russian music! How was it possible?! How did he manage to do that? A boy who was born in Cambridge, and who graduated from the Conservatory of the University of Adelaide…

Truly Russian melody sang by an oboe – beloved moaner of Tchaikovsky –replied to the broad breath of the prelude slightly resembled the style of Handel, followed by grave and disturbing bass unisons. And I was immediately absorbed by purely delicate, subtle and I would say “delicious” orchestration with the voices organized in an incredible and beautiful way.

First movement’s combination of Handle’s pompous solemnity and Russian intonation of Tchaikovsky’s moans resulted in an incredible cocktail, unique mixture, which already began to reveal traits of Cochran as a composer.

The first movement also showed us brilliant mastery of the technique of setting material in motion. Music possessed public’s attention from the interlude till the last bar; we also should thank both mastery of the conductor and coordination of the orchestra.

The second movement was also “Russian” – here one could possibly hear echoes of Rimsky-Korsakov with his oriental “Scheherazade”.

The third movement was a scherzo in the manner of Prokofiev, it even resembled me “Lieutenant Kijé”. It was very graphic, figurative and distinctive music with slightly infernal and in the same time theatrical – like in “The Love for Three Oranges” – humour.At the end of the scherzo there was a short but very bright moment – a troika with bells rushed over eternal Russian pits and bumps. I sat and guessed with enthusiasm what this fantastic round dance of masks will end with. Last chords floated over the hall… The miraculous tale dissolved in the evening’s twilight and carried away images and fantasies of the composer from a far country, who became congenial for us, his listeners.

Leaving the hall with liveliness and very pleasant aftertaste, I thought that Julian Cochran has something to say. He doesn’t alternate and orchestrate some very intricate and scientific modulations, as it was popular quite recent, but he creates bright and unforgettable audio images, which form a true symphonic tale, a tale that charms listeners with its ingenuousness, openness and clarity.

And then a strophe from an immortal poem written by Osip Mandelstam arose in my mind:

And if intense and earnest singing
Expands one’s breast and fills the heart,
All vanish – there reign supremely
The stars, the distance and the bard!

Vyacheslav Kochnov