At the last “Spirit of Fire”, composer Maxim Dunaevsky watched films as a member of the jury of the Russian debut competition, accepted a prize for his contribution to the development of cinema and presented “The Flying Ship”, in which his songs, familiar to viewers from the cartoon by Harry Bardin, acquired a new sound in the style club mix. We have collected important quotes from recent interviews with the master.
In my deepest conviction, all the creative styles of all brilliant composers are determined by only one thing: the brightness and originality of the melodic material. From the pre-Bakhov period to the present day.
TASS
Competitions play a role only for one thing - the popularity of those who participate in them. To expand the circle of talented people, it is very rare for someone to gain a foothold on this Olympus. This is a temporary success, because there is a lot of broadcasting, and, as you know, even if you show a monkey on TV, it will be popular in a month.
"Newspaper"
I always showed it to my mom. Before her death, before the year 94, she died in the year 94. She had a sharp ear, apparently already trained by dad. Mom was a very serious critic. She said: “No.” I say: “Why?” - “I already heard it, you stole it from someone.” - “Mom, it’s at home!” - “You don’t need it at your place either!” She was very harsh, I was angry with her, I shouted, but she always helped.
TASS
My father taught me to listen to good music. At our house we always had the latest equipment, the first tape recorder in the country, and so on. Dad’s huge music library has been preserved - old 78 rpm vinyl records. There are recordings of outstanding world conductors and performers. All this sounded in our house. I cannot say that my father was my teacher, mentor, because he did not force me to study music, I came to this myself.
"Culture.RF"
For some reason, no one encourages me to pass on my knowledge to another generation. There was a complete break. I don’t know about science, but absolutely certainly in creativity. And it's really terrible. After all, great people are not born just like that. They need to be nurtured, educated, nurtured, fed. Kabalevsky, Eshpay, Shchedrin, as well as Tikhon Khrennikov, from whom I graduated from the conservatory, passed on their heritage to me. The heritage must not only be preserved, but realized. This is what is not happening now.
"Active age"
“Unfortunately, the very concept of music in cinema is collapsing before our eyes. The art of composition has turned into the art of DJing. I state this not only because I watch films, listen to the soundtrack and draw conclusions, but also because I observe my students at the Conservatory, many of whom are already working in cinema. And at the Gnessin Academy I generally teach in the department of music in cinema. And I must tell you that things are very bad with this, because young people (and this does not come from them, of course, but from directors and producers) believe that the soundtrack is such an applied thing that you need to learn how to produce, and All. It’s as if you don’t need to be a composer anymore. You just need to make some sounds.
"Film Reporter"
The creative profession is much more long-lasting. And the young ones are good, maybe even talented at times, but they lack experience. A director and a producer come to me and say: “This is where we need the guitars to sound.” I say: “For what?” - “It’s fashionable.” I say: “What does this have to do with this film, with the picture, with the mood?” I walked away from these a lot... I just left without returning, because these people don’t understand. I say: “Give me an opportunity, do you trust me?” All my successes in cinema - there are 60, there will soon be 70 films - all were when they trusted me. Rolan Bykov, by the way, said: “Why else would I take you?” I was very young and listened to him all the time. And he tells me: “You don’t need to listen. Don’t listen to me, do as you see fit, don’t bother your master’s head.” This was his favorite expression. "Why? Because if I took you, it means I want you to add something to my work that I don’t know. And if I dictate to you, you won’t add anything.”
TASS
What should we call modern music? Mozart, Tchaikovsky...isn't this modern music? And why? For example, at our Philharmonic the premiere of the opera “Don Giovanni” by Mozart took place. The other one - Mozart's The Magic Flute - will still be there. Do you know how much interest there is in this? Mozart is one of the most popular composers today.
"Newspaper"
It is impossible to get into the flow of what is being heard today. I don't try to do this because I stayed in a different time and genre. A person cannot change his mind. Time passes, and he no longer feels anything new; he is late. He is always late. If a person suddenly at the age of 70 wanted to be young, to be youth, to endure everything in his path - it looks stupid, terrible. It is impossible to become young again. You can be young at heart, but completely changing direction is too much of a change for an artist. Therefore, a mature person must remain himself. Do what he is used to and knows how to do. Some people will like it - good, if they don’t like it - oh well. By the way, my songs from the 1980s and 1990s are covered by all artists, including young ones, which means this still remains. It would be better to do this than to create something that no one will like.
"Active age"
Many directors ask, where are the film composers? I answer: you are looking for them in the wrong place! For some reason you decided that this was some kind of specialty. No, this is not a specialty! You just have to be a composer to do this. As it has always been. Today, the “soundtrack” reigns supreme in cinema. I put this word in quotes because it means a soundtrack. Its meaning does not even include the word “music”. Of course, this is not only our problem. But if we talk about Hollywood blockbusters, then great composers still write music for them. I don’t know why we left this road. Russia has traditionally had a very strong music school in cinema. And not only in movies.
"Film Reporter"
