Violinist Movses Pogossian on Recording Tigran Mansurian’s Music for ECM, His Musical Influences & Idols, and Shostakovich

left: Movses Pogossian; right: the recent ECM release devoted to Tigran Mansurian’s music, spearheaded by Pogossian

Sunset ChamberFest is thrilled to welcome violinist Movses Pogossian performing Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet on July 18. He teaches at UCLA and is artistic director of Dilijan, which for 15 seasons, has been one of LA’s most distinguished chamber music series. Featuring Western classical music and a treasury of Armenian music, Dilijan has commissioned over 50 works. Additionally Pogossian directs the Armenian Music Program at UCLA featuring classical, folk and other traditional Armenian music, along with research. It is the only university outside Armenia with a specialisation in Armenian music. Movses Pogossian discusses his recent acclaimed Tigran Mansurian recording project for ECM Records (featuring Sunset’s Director Mike Kaufman), his musical training and heroes, as well as his association with Shostakovich’s music.

You released a beautiful recording on ECM Records devoted to Tigran Mansurian recently. Can you tell us more about the project?

Tigran Mansurian is actually the godfather of Dilijan in a way, because even before we started, I had tea with him in Starbucks in Glendale, asking him about all of the worthy new names in Armenian music. A lot of repertoire was programmed thanks to Mansurian’s shrewd and far-reaching suggestions. He is probably the composer whose music I performed most. Over the course of this friendship, several pieces of his received their first performances at Dilijan, including two commissions: the String Trio, and the Duo for Violin and Viola, that he wrote for Varty [Manouelian] and Kim Kashkashian. There was enough music for a CD. All I had to do was connect the dots and make sure that the great Kim Kashkashian was on board, who of course, already made several ECM recordings of Mansurian’s music. I invited wonderful musicians, all of them I had the pleasure of performing previously with, including with Mike Kaufman on Tigran Mansurian’s String Quartet No. 3. It has been a labor of love. It was released late fall of 2020 and got some wonderful reviews. It is very gratifying to me. I love the music. I love how it's recorded. I love everything about it.

left: Movses Pogossian and Tigran Mansurian; right: top, clockwise - Mike Kaufman, Kim Kashkashian, Movses Pogossian and Varty Manouelian

Your playing is committed, energetic and virtuosic, but poetic, moving and lyrical too. You have a particular way of using the bow and an individual sense of rubato. What influenced these aspects of your playing, and your playing in general?

First of all thank you for such kind words. I don't think I'm deserving but I'll take it. I’ve learned gradually to take the compliments and not only bash myself! Musically speaking I’m a mutt really because I grew up in Armenia. I studied with teachers who went through the Soviet Russian school, then I studied in Moscow. I came to Tanglewood in 1989 as the first Soviet recipient of a fellowship. I met Louis Krasner who really changed life for me. The great musician who commissioned and premiered Alban Berg’s and Arnold Schoenberg’s Violin Concerti. He was an old Yoda-like looking man, already in his 90s who was my first coach on the Ravel String Quartet. He tortured me for the first eight measures of the opening. I played the 1st violin part and he made me feel really, really upset and insignificant - almost angry at him. But it was the beginning of a really important chapter for me as a musician learning further, learning deeper. Louis Krasner was a pupil of the great Lucien Capet - the great French master violinist and teacher who wrote the famous Art of the Bow (La technique supérieure de l’archet) treatise. He also studied with Carl Flesch. So many things I learned from Louis Krasner I did not know anything about until that moment, so I’m very grateful for that very lucky occurrence.

And the other part of what inspires me - I’m kind of a person who likes to idolize great musicians, follows them and learns from them. I was like that since I was a kid. For many years Pablo Casals was my hero. He still is. I learned a great deal from just listening to his playing, but also reading his books and famous interviews. I have some modern-day idols too: Leonidas Kavakos and my great friend Mark Steinberg, the leader of the Brentano Quartet. I am just always aspiring, trying to stay humble, but also just being - what should we say? Just being true and sincere in your expression: that is my most important objective when I play music.

Regarding rubato - I’m remembering some more of my idols again, back from those Casals recordings. And Yehudi Menuhin I forgot to mention - my great idol, of course, and his fantastic writings. Joseph Szigeti, too. Those great musicians had an incredible sense of rubato, so I guess maybe I am subconsciously trying to emulate them. I hate anything that is stale. For me flow and the moment - being in the moment is really the most important thing.

 At Sunset great care is taken in programming particular works for specific musicians. In the case of the Shostakovich Quintet, it is no coincidence that you are leading the ensemble. Your playing seems so well suited to the many of facets of this piece. What is your relationship with the work? 

Oh, I would be very happy to play 2nd violin in this piece, because the group was so fabulous. I really enjoyed playing, for the first time with Geneva Lewis who is amazing and also with Jonah Sirota. And, of course, playing again with Mike Kaufman and Marisa Gupta was a great joy. It was a happy group.

From top left, clockwise: Movses Pogossian, Jonah Sirota, Mike Kaufman, Geneva Lewis, and Marisa Gupta

Regarding my relationship with the work, of course as an ex-Soviet you know I grew up idolizing Shostakovich. A funny, true anecdote, is when my mother was pregnant with me, she would attend lots of concerts and some of these concerts were with Shostakovich conducting the premieres of his own string quartets believe it or not. At that time it was apparently quite common and he did it with both the Beethoven and Borodin String Quartets. Then, as a student at the Moscow Conservatory I had great memories of hearing Richter perform Shostakovich in the Great Hall; or attending a very unique 15th Quartet performance on anniversary of Shostakovich’s death under candle lights; and, of course, reading about Shostakovich including his memoirs. I think this particular work is truly one of these masterpieces in the way it immediately takes a listener in. Even if they know nothing about the composer, about his life about the struggles of Soviet citizens. It's a kind of eternal work, timeless in a way. And I do think there's a lot of positivity because Shostakovich was not only this grumpy alcoholic, tortured by Soviets but he was also someone who had a great sense of very sarcastic humor. I also connect with him in a funny way because I'm a huge soccer fan. I learned that he was also one, to the point that he obtained a certification as a soccer referee in the Soviet Union and would travel by airplane, since he could afford it, to the games of his favorite team, which was from Leningrad. I felt even closer to him.

‘Dance of the Soccers’ from the ballet The Golden Age by Shostakovich