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When the Earth Resonates with the Cosmos
Tatyana Mamaeva: On the eve of International Music Day, celebrated tomorrow, Masguda Shamsutdinova has traveled to Sweden at the invitation of the Royal Academy of Music. In Stockholm, performances of her musical legend Oh, Children of Adam will take place. Masguda, it seems you’ve become a frequently performed composer abroad lately. Is it getting harder at home?
Masguda: Hard to say. For example, for the “Bulgary” ensemble from Naberezhnye Chelny, I wrote a choreographic fresco, Silver Spoon in the Clouds. The folks from Chelny were clever—they locked me in an apartment and wouldn’t let me out until I composed it! It’s great when people place such hopes in you, but then they didn’t accept my music for a whole year!
Tatyana Mamaeva:Why not?
Masguda: The ballet company couldn’t “get” it. But once they did, the work progressed quickly. So, Silver Spoon was created through challenges.
Tatyana Mamaeva:I understand it’s hard to describe music, but please try.
Masguda: I drew from the pre-Islamic, pagan period when humans were close to nature. When they asked something of it, nature responded. Digging deeper, I tried to touch three themes: a person and their soul, a person and another dimension, a person and the Universe. After all, we’re all droplets of the Universe.
Tatyana Mamaeva:Are you a religious person?
Masguda: I believe, but I don’t go to pray. Everything in the world is fated.
Tatyana Mamaeva:That could lead to giving up on efforts for good, but you don’t.
Masguda: I don’t do good… I just don’t respond to evil. Even when someone hurts me, I try to remember that everything happens for a reason. It hurts now, but through this pain, I’ll gain something new and good in my life.
Tatyana Mamaeva:How was the premiere?
Masguda: They say it was magnificent. It took place in Turkey; I didn’t go. The costumes were designed by one of my favorite artists, Tan Yenikeev. He used runic symbols in the design. Silver Spoon has a very complex color score. In the Tatar language, there’s an expression, “Why are you shouting in a green-blue voice?”—meaning a foolish voice. Color carries psychological weight. In Silver Spoon, you hear the wind—not the kind that rattles windows, but the one where the world emerges from chaos. At that moment, the Earth resonates with the cosmos. The color score must match this.
Tatyana Mamaeva:Where in Turkey was the premiere?
Masguda: In Izmir, at an international folklore festival.
Tatyana Mamaeva:And now Stockholm, Children of Adam. How do you define the genre of this work?
Masguda: I’d call it a musical legend for choir, flute, and large drum. Its literary basis is the Quran and the Old Testament.
Tatyana Mamaeva: Do they clash with each other?
Masguda: I looked for points of connection, and there are many.
Tatyana Mamaeva:What’s the program for your stay in Sweden?
Masguda: I’m going with the choir of the German Society, conducted by Alevtina Buldakova. They’ll perform my piece. There will be radio recordings and meetings with musicians. Then the choir will return to Kazan, but I’ll stay in Sweden for a while. You know, I recently thought about something. The Vikings visited our Bulgar lands to study bronze processing in the 9th–10th centuries. They learned it and built their society successfully. Meanwhile, we’re becoming a bit wild…
interview by Tatyana Mamaeva
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