Biography
Conductor, pianist and composer Gennady Christmas for more than 50 years led domestic and foreign teams, and also led active musical and educational and pedagogical activities. Maestro lived a bright creative life, despite difficult periods in the biography.Childhood and youth
Gennady Nikolaevich Christmas was born on May 4, 1931. His father is the famous conductor Nikolai Alosov, and Mom Natalia Christmas is a soloist of the All-Union Radio. Parents from an early age joined the boy to art, learning notes with him.
An announcement of the beginning of the war, evacuation, and after - return and filling the piano, on which he studied. The owner of the apartment where the family lived to the war, buried the instrument to the ground so that he did not get Germans. As it turned out, the piano is perfectly preserved.
After the Great Victory, Gennady studied at the Gnesinic Music School, from Helena Gnesinina. After he entered the Moscow Conservatory to Professor Lero. At the same time, his father helped Gennadia to improve skills in conducting skills. Nikolai Petrovich taught his son to manage the orchestra among the eyes alone.
To the conduct of Christmas brought a case in a music school. Going along the corridor, he heard how in the classroom he was learning Sextet Tchaikovsky. Going there, the young man saw that the disciples had difficulty. He began to conduct and suddenly realized that he helps. The feeling of this help absorbed the future maestro, at that moment he realized that the profession of the conductor would be a matter of life.
Music
In the times of study at the Christmas conservatory, the student orchestra was headed with which a lot acted on big scenes. At the age of 20, Gennady was in danger in a large theater, where, after hard selection, he took the post of ballet conductor. The debut was "Sleeping Beauty" Tchaikovsky, for 5 years of work in the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra performed 40 operas and ballets. In parallel, the Christmas headed a large symphony orchestra of all-Union radio and television.
Gennady Nikolayevich became the first conductor of the USSR, who worked in Europe. In the 70s, he was released with touring in Stockholm, after which Maestro received an invitation to head the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Sweden.
Initially, the Ministry of Culture crossed the Dierger's dreams, but soon after the proposal on an official visit to Sweden, Chairman of the USSR Sovmina was departed. At the reception, the Prime Minister of Sweden asked to let go of Christmas. Upon returning to Moscow, a disposal was made to release the conductor. No one expected this, more than that - the case became a precedent.
In 1974, the chief conductor of the Grand Symphony Orchestra Gennady Nikolayevich left his position. The reason was extremely negative attitude to the musicians of Jewish nationality. When the Wave of Emigration of Jews in Israel began, 3 musicians from the orchestra returned to their homeland. Then the chairman of Goseradio Sergei Lapin called Christmas to the office and inclined to replace the Jews in the team on Russian musicians.
Lapina even had a figure - 42 people who needed to be fired for violation of discipline or error in execution. The conductor was adequate during the audience, and after 2 days he received anonymous. Her author said that the Christmas orchestra is not a musical team, but the Zionist center, where he "Potaky Zhidam" and "neglects by Russian musicians."
In order not to be a member of these unpleasant events, the Christmas filed an application for dismissal, which in 2 weeks was signed by Lapin. Soon the new leadership "cleared" the orchestra from persons of disadvantageous nationality.
The outlined perspectives were not rainbow, but a random meeting with the director Boris Pokrovsky became for the maestro of significant. It turned out that the director at that time was engaged in the preparation of the opera of Shostakovich "Nose". Pokrovsky did not refuse the conductor in the presence at the rehearsal, moreover, he suggested a joint project on the stage of the chamber of the chamber opera. The statement was successful and resonance in society.
After Christmas for several years, he became the opera conductor of the Bolshoi Theater, worked as an invited director in the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Gennady was headed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and later created the USSR Ministry of Culture Orchestra, leading to them until 1992.
During this time, the audience was lucky to see unique concert programs, the collection of records of outstanding composers were made. The conductor traveled with the performances of the whole world, he had an amazing repertoire of 2000 writings. Christmas became an authoritative conductor of the world. Under the wands of Gennady, famous teams were performed, and there is no bill awards, titles and premiums.
He performed only special music, he was not afraid of condemnation and criticism. Christmas always chose such works from composers who do not play any other: he took treasures from musical subsoil.
It was for this reason that Gennady Nikolayevich was often called the musical archaeologist, because he was not afraid to acquire viewers to the composers of the 20th century: performed more than 150 works for the first time. According to Maestro, the vocation of theaters - to bring up the public to the repertoire, and not follow its requests.
Christmas released discs with signs of composer symphony. For many years of the Maestro service did not change the artistic beliefs of his heart - this criterion was considered to be the main thing for Gennady. The statistics of the creative life of the conductor raises, such achievements there is no one. Gennady is a versatile person, therefore, in addition to conducting conductors, he managed to write books.
Personal life
Nina Timofeeva became the first wife Gennady, but marriage with ballet artist collapsed. However, the love story of the conductor has developed calmly and happily with another woman. Christmas in 1969 married Victoria Postnikova - a popular pianist. For a woman, this is the second marriage, his first husband was Vladimir Spivakov, Victoria left him to christmas.
The conductor adopted and adopted the son of his wife, Alexander, from the first marriage, who later became a violinist. The famous family used to be often pleased with the audience with joint concerts. And Victoria itself said more than once that the performance under the leadership of her husband is pleasant and easy.
Gennady Christmas older spouse for 13 years, the general children did not appear. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that the personal life of the conductor has developed well, a photo of a happy couple is on the Internet. The family lived in peace and love, even despite the elderly age, Victoria and Gennady with tenderness treated each other. Spouses were rarely given an interview relative to the relationship, therefore the details of their family life are unknown.
Death
Gennady Christmas died on June 16, 2018. The cause of death has become a long disease. The funeral and cremation took place on June 19, and the urn with the dust rooted on the introduced cemetery, in the grave of the mother of the christmas.Bibliography
- 1974 - "Conducting Application"
- 1975 - "Thoughts about music"
- 1989 - "Preambules"
- 2001 - "Triangles"