Andrei, Fira and Pitch
Scenes from a Musician’s Life
Copyright Ó 2017 by Andrei Gavrilov
All rights reserved.
Asteroid Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-926720-44-9
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publisher/author.
Photograph contributors:
Andrei Gavrilov, E.S.Bulgakova
Cover design by Katie Alberts
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To Alice Jondorf and Igor Shestkov
without whom this book would have not become a reality
Contents
To the Reader 1
Instead of a Preface 2
Fa-Re-Do-Si 5
Chopin 9
Standing to attention 13
Polya 17
Yura Egorov 23
Lyova 29
The Competition 35
Gudauta – Salzburg 43
I am your slender ear of wheat 53
Seppo Karlsson 63
Seppo the Creep 71
Seppo the Escapist 75
Ugly Mugs 77
Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca 79
Mark Malkovich 81
Romania 85
Anton 89
Deadmen in the Georgievsky Hall 93
The Ball 99
Handel Passions 111
Four and twenty tailors went to catch a snail 125
Cut off 135
Raisa’s secrets 141
The Hunt 149
Divorce 153
I’ll f*cking shoot you 157
Poisoned 159
Scriabin Sonata No. 8 165
The Angel from the Philharmonia 169
To Dyutkovo 171
The Gonzaga Theatre 179
Depression 185
Flat on his face on the tarmac 195
The new carpet 201
Titan 207
A right one 213
Astronaut 217
Cadaver 221
Hiding in the loo 227
Richter’s protégé 231
The Enigma 233
The third year of the travel ban 243
The coffin with ropes 253
On the staircase at Lubyanka 257
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand 267
Tigran 271
Only with you 277
Crashed and burned 283
A story with bowler hats 289
Stalactites under the belly of the piano 303
Gidon 307
Caviar, Forshmak and Foie Gras 315
Uncle Zhenya 321
Vishnya and Buratinka 327
Gorby 335
Tour in Russia 2010 349
Piano Concerto No. 1 357
Conclusion 363
Index 369
Andrei Gavrilov, according to critics, is among the world’s greatest concert pianists. In 1974, he won first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition and in the same year made a triumphant international dèbut at the Salzburg Festival. Since then he has enjoyed an impressive international career which included performances with the world's greatest orchestras.
Gavrilov’s book captures the most meaningful episodes of his life. In it he shares his philosophical views on the major problems of the modern world that include but are not limited to totalitarianism, fundamentalism and the decay of our modern culture. It is a piercing view of the man behind the music. An added bonus are the anecdotes about other famous Russian and international celebrities, such as Malkovich, McCartney, Richter, Rostropovich and many others.
About the author
