{"id":65049,"date":"2019-11-25T16:25:43","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T21:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=65049"},"modified":"2019-11-25T16:29:46","modified_gmt":"2019-11-25T21:29:46","slug":"interview-daniel-lozakovich-talks-tchaikovskys-violin-concerto-life-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/11\/25\/interview-daniel-lozakovich-talks-tchaikovskys-violin-concerto-life-music\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Daniel Lozakovich Talks About Tchaikovsky\u2019s Violin Concerto And A Life In Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

Young virtuoso violinist Daniel Lozakovich talks to us about tackling Tchaikovsky\u2019s notoriously difficult concerto, his teachers, and falling in love with the violin at age six.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Violinist
Violinist Daniel Lozakovich (Photo : Alpimages Thomas Roulin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cT<\/span>chaikovsky\u2019s is one of the biggest violin concertos ever written, and one of the most difficult physically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teenage virtuoso Daniel Lozakovich is talking about the notoriously challenging Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto<\/em> he\u2019ll be performing with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1 as part of their annual All-Tchaikovsky bill. Also on the program is the blockbuster 1812 Overture<\/em>, along with the seldom performed Symphony No. 1 \u201cWinter Dreams\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

The program suits the young violinist perfectly. His all-Tchaikovsky recording, Tchaikovsky: None But The Lonely<\/em> <\/a><\/span>Heart<\/span>,<\/em> was released on the Deutsche Grammophon label Oct. 18, 2019 with Vladimir Spivakov<\/strong> conducting the Russian National Philharmonic orchestra. It includes the Violin Concerto along with M\u00e9ditation for violin and orchestra<\/em> and arrangements of two vocal works, Lensky\u2019s Aria from Eugene Onegin<\/em> and the romantic Op.6 No.6, \u201cNone but the lonely heart\u201d<\/em>. It’s Daniel’s second release with DG, the label he signed with in 2016 at the age of 15.<\/p>\n

Daniel made his orchestral debut with Spivakov and the Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra at age nine. Since then, he\u2019s gone on to play with orchestras and chamber ensembles across Europe, including the Orchestre national de France, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic, and the National Philharmonic of Russia, among others.<\/p>\n

Among his many accolades are the 1st prize at the 2016 Vladimir Spivakov International Violin Competition, and both the 1st Prize and the Grand Prix at the 2012 EMCY international music competition.<\/p>\n

Daniel began playing in 2007. \u201cI was 6 1\/2 \u2014 maybe 7,\u201d he says. His family, while appreciating music, did not include any musicians. \u201cNot at all,\u201d he explains, \u201ccompletely not musical at all.\u201d It was the qualities of the violin itself that drew him into music. \u201cThe first time I saw it, I just knew I was going to be a violinist.\u201d He recalls listening to a performance at a very early age. \u201cThe sound struck me \u2014 I even had tears in my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such singular focus is unusual in preschoolers, to say the least, but his parents were foresighted enough to get behind it. \u201cI was lucky,\u201d he says. Still, getting his parents on board wasn\u2019t without its ups and downs. \u201cIn the beginning, they were shocked,\u201d he says. \u201cNo one wants to have a beginner violinist in their home.\u201d His mother, he says, saw him more as a professional tennis player. Eventually, however, he won them over.<\/p>\n

\"Violinist
Violinist Daniel Lozakovich (Photo : \u00a9Johan Sandberg \/ Deutsche Grammophon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

D<\/span>aniel acknowledges the importance of his teachers in his success, and says the fact they were Russian trained was happenstance. \u201cWhen I was looking for a teacher, it just happened that way.\u201d Nonetheless, their influence has played a role in what Daniel sees as his affinity for Russian music in particular.<\/p>\n

He credits Eduard Wulfson<\/strong> in Geneva and Professor Josef Rissin<\/strong> of the Karlsruhe University of Music with developing more than his musical abilities. \u201cAlso as a person,\u201d he says. \u201cThe teacher is the most important,\u201d he says of the role. \u201cIt keeps you in shape, even when you have a bad day.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Daniel, Tchaikovsky\u2019s Concerto is a welcome challenge. He notes that Tchaikovsky himself could not play violin. He didn\u2019t necessarily understand the physical limitations. \u201cSome passages were not very comfortable,\u201d he says. But, as always, the technical difficulty is at the service of Tchaikovsky\u2019s lyricism. \u201cThere is this kind of stuff, that it is not necessarily good for violin,\u201d Daniel says, \u201cbut it is good for music. Technique should help \u2014 everything is for the music.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35<\/em> is composed of three movements, the Allegro moderato, Canzonetta: Andante, and Finale: Allegro vivacissimo. It is the Russian composer’s only violin concerto. In contrast to many of Tchaikovsky\u2019s works, his Violin Concerto<\/em> was written in a seamless spark of inspiration, untroubled by his frequent bouts of depression and personal problems.<\/p>\n

Tchaikovsky wrote the concerto in 1878. On the rebound from an unhappy marriage, he met up with violinist Joseph Kotek in Switzerland. It was playing with Kotek that inspired him to write the concerto. In contrast to the torturous genesis of many of his works, the Violin Concerto<\/em> was completed in short order, with the sketches done in only 11 days, and the scoring in about two weeks.<\/p>\n

Despite Kotek’s help, Tchaikovsky dedicated the piece to the renowned violinist Leopold Auer. When it came time to perform the work, however, both violinists refused, saying the work was unplayable. Kotek and violinist Emile Sauret attempted to play it unsuccessfully. After working on it with Kotek, Tchaikovsky rewrote the Andante movement.<\/p>\n

According to the Tchaikovsky Research Institute<\/a><\/span>, American violinist Leopold Damrosch played a version scored for violin and piano at a private concert in New York City in 1879. It eventually debuted publicly in Europe in a performance by Adolf Brodsky<\/strong> on December 4, 1881 with the Vienna Philharmonic to mixed reviews.<\/p>\n

For Daniel, the ultimate challenge is not technique, but interpretation. \u201cTo find your own sound in the concerto,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Daniel talks about the concerto and his live recording with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia with conductor Vladimir Spivakov.<\/p>\n