The name of T.N. Khrennikov, an outstanding contemporary composer, brilliant pianist, and excellent teacher, is associated with an entire era in the history of Russian musical art. He is the author of numerous works, including symphonies, operas, and operettas, as well as music for plays and feature films.

Tikhon Nikolaevich's long-term and inspired work was highly appreciated by his homeland. He is a People's Artist of the USSR, a Hero of Socialist Labor, a recipient of State Prizes, and a holder of numerous orders and other high honors from his country.

- Tikhon Nikolaevich, you were born and lived in a small provincial town, of which there are many in Russia, where it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a musical education. How did you discover your talent for music and find the path that led you to the heights of art?

- As long as I can remember, music has always been heard in our hometown of Yelets. Before the revolution and after 1917, concerts were constantly held in the city garden, the conservatory, and other venues, including solo, chamber, and symphonic performances that were highly popular among the residents. Many households had a piano, violin, or other musical instruments.

I grew up in a large family. My father worked as an assistant to a local merchant. My mother took care of the house and the children. I was the tenth child, or as they say, the "scratched one."

In our family, a lot of attention was paid to education and culture. My older brothers and sisters were fond of music, they went to concerts, and discussed music news at home. My middle brother, Gleb, had a beautiful voice. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory. If it hadn't been for the First World War, which cut short his life, he could have had a brilliant vocal career. My older brother, Nikolai, also had a great love for the arts and was even a member of the music and theater society in Yelets.

From an early age, I had a great passion for music. It all started with the morning church bells that rang out from the tall bell tower of the ancient Church of the Intercession, opposite our house. As a young boy, I was deeply moved by these sounds, which filled my soul with an unearthly sense of happiness.

My whole family went to this church, and I helped the bishop there and knew all the prayers and services by heart.

There were no music schools in Yelets at the time. I started studying music at the age of nine, privately with Kveton, a professional musician who was previously the conductor of the brass band of the famous Preobrazhensky Regiment, founded by Peter the Great. As soon as I started playing the piano, I began composing music. I wrote my first etude at the age of thirteen, and later composed various waltzes, marches, and pieces. At school, I sang in the choir and played the guitar and mandolin. The music school was founded in Yelets only in 1918 by I.A. Roslavets, a free artist from the Moscow Conservatory. Later, he participated in the establishment of a people's university in Yelets and conducted extensive educational activities in the city.

- But judging by your biography, you didn't enroll in this newly opened music school and instead moved to Moscow. Did someone advise you to go to the capital and try your luck there?

- My sister had a friend who was studying at the Gnessin Music College in Moscow. She told Mikhail Fabianovich Gnessin about me. Even before I graduated from high school, I went to Moscow. I showed my compositions to Mikhail Fabianovich. He listened to me carefully and said:

"When you finish high school, come study with us." So I did.

- What were the requirements for applicants at that time?

- When I came to study at the Gnessin College in 1929, I had no theoretical training. The only thing I knew was how to play the piano, and I had a lot of my own compositions. Elena Fabianovna Gnessina, a month before the exams, assigned me a senior student named Zhenya Golubev, who helped me with the theoretical subjects. After I enrolled in the college, I began studying hard. My first teachers were E.G. Gelman in piano class, M.F. Gnesin in composition, and the classes in polyphony were taught by a remarkable teacher and brilliant musician, one of the most significant figures in the musical life of the 1930s, Genrikh Ilyich Litinsky.

- Nowadays, it takes a lot of money to get into a decent educational institution. If you have the money, you can consider yourself to have a higher education. How do you feel about this new reality in our lives?

- The fact that money has become the measure of all the best things in our lives is terrible! So many talented students come to study at the conservatory and have to pay for it. Many parents struggle to provide their children with a decent education and the opportunity to pursue their dreams and aspirations. However, not long ago, education was free, and the doors of educational institutions were open to everyone with the right abilities.

I think that terrible mistakes are being made in our country in the field of education, as well as in other areas. Many people still remember the time when people from all over the world came to us to learn from our experience, including the Americans, whose way of life is so often referenced today. Of course, we should borrow the best from them, but we should also preserve the best that we have. This is an axiom. This should be clear to everyone, including those who determine the state's policies and who are responsible for the future of society and the nation.

- And the amount spent on culture as a whole has been decreasing year by year. In the "stagnant" years, three percent of the country's budget was allocated for culture, but by the end of Gorbachev's "perestroika," only about one percent was allocated. Now, during the "radical reforms," there is a proposal to leave culture to the so-called market relations and free the government from caring for it. What do you think about this?

- The state must take care of culture! If it doesn't do so and doesn't provide funding, everything will fade away. In general, the struggle for musical culture with official bodies has always been unequal. Aesthetic illiteracy has become characteristic of our leaders, starting from the top. As a result, our overall musical cultural level is declining. The funding for culture and musical art is based on a residual principle. As a result, our concert organizations and philharmonic societies have collapsed.

None of today's wealthy people, who have filled their pockets at the expense of the people's wealth, are willing to spend money on charity. In the past, there were educated merchants and patrons of the arts, such as Tretyakov, Mamontov, and Morozov. Although they were capitalists, they cared deeply about their homeland and its future. Instead of investing their money in foreign banks or European countries, they used it to promote the development of Russia. They also made significant contributions to the country's cultural heritage.

But I am sure that everything will change for the better in the near future. Because the people have been enduring this for so long. The Russian people are patient, but when their patience is tested, it is all over. As they say, the Russian man takes his time getting going, but he moves fast.

In the provinces, people live differently, and there's a different spirit. There's a different attitude towards culture and the intelligentsia. In some places, smart governors do a lot to ensure that their region's culture flourishes and develops. And the youth there is completely different.

It's here that some people who hold on to power see nothing but power and their inner circle. So much the worse for them. They are all "Caliphs for an Hour."

- Today, you often hear the opinion that today's young people, absorbing all the lack of spirituality and immorality of our society, have almost no interest in culture. What do you think? Are there any young musicians or composers who make you happy and give you hope for better times?

- Of course, our young people are different. For example, in the capital, they are one thing, and in the provinces, as I have already said, they are another. I recently visited my hometown, Yelets, where the young people are raised differently.

I'm still a professor at the Conservatory. I have a lot of students and postgraduate students in my class. I also have children from the Central Music School. There are a lot of talented young people. They're incredible talents! For example, one of my students is a composer named Vladimir Dubinin. He's a very gifted young man. His opera "The Auction," based on the play by the English playwright Sheridan, is about to be performed. Another example is Tatiana Chudova, who is my assistant and a professor at the Conservatory. She's also very talented. There are several other names whose works in the field of music are bright and memorable. Unfortunately, the world will not learn about them for a long time. This is because many young talents are in dire financial straits. I also faced difficulties when I first arrived in Moscow. However, I had promising prospects at the time. Back then, the government took a serious approach to supporting young talents and helping them establish themselves, recognizing them as the future of the country.

- You studied and wrote music in a variety of genres. How did you manage to do everything? Reveal the secret of your creative laboratory.

- Even while I was studying at the college, I composed a lot. This daily work became a habit for me in the following years. I composed easily and made progress very quickly. I graduated from the college in three years, even though I was supposed to study for four years. I was immediately accepted into the second year of the conservatory. I received my diploma with a symphony that was played all over the world and performed by major conductors. It was very successful in Moscow and in America. Even as a student, I was already known as a composer. I was tired, and by evening I was exhausted, because I had spent the day studying and composing, playing and performing as a pianist.

- Which composers did you admire in your youth? And which ones do you appreciate now?

- I have always had three gods as my idols: Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Prokofiev. They are completely different composers, representing different genres. I studied with Prokofiev briefly when he visited the Soviet Union in 1936. I was among a group of students who were granted a few lessons by Prokofiev at the Moscow Conservatory. I brought him my piano concerto and received valuable advice. We later met under various circumstances. Prokofiev was an extraordinary and brilliant creative individual.

Among contemporary composers, I can mention Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov, Alexander Tchaikovsky, and Mikhail Bonner, whose music I enjoy.

- Nowadays, many of our past achievements in the arts are being ignored. It is very difficult to hear your works and those of other great composers of the past on the radio or television. The loud-mouthed representatives of the creative intelligentsia are zealously advocating the sale and purchase of everything. They even go so far as to say that, for example, cinema should only be in private hands, as it has contributed to the birth of a totalitarian system, glorifying the dictatorship of leaders and the corrupt ruling system, among other things. Why do you think this is happening?

"People who think so are opportunists and shifters. They are everywhere, including among the intelligentsia, They shout that the past did not exist, that life begins only now, and nothing happened before them. They live outside the continuity of generations, outside the historical past. This is the worst thing when a person does not have his own line in life. Such a person just wants to be in power, in power - and it doesn't matter at all what kind of power it is and what values it preaches. For them, the most important thing is the benefits they get for themselves, even if they have to insult everyone and everything to stay afloat.

- Tikhon Nikolaevich, you were thirty-five years old when you became the head of the Union of Composers. Why do you think you were chosen, when there were other worthy candidates with much more life experience?

- I was appointed General Secretary of the Union of Composers by Stalin himself. It was completely unexpected for me. I was summoned to the Central Committee at night and shown Stalin's order. I was overwhelmed and confused. I had never prepared for either public or leadership work. I only wanted to pursue my passion for music. However, it was an order, and there was no way to disobey it. I still do not know the motives behind Stalin's decision.

- You led the Union of Composers of the USSR throughout its existence. What role did it play in your life and in the education of young composers?

- Yes, I was the head of the Union's music for forty-three years. The fate of the country's music was in my hands. I was responsible for the entire organization and for each individual. My goal was to help my colleagues and comrades. During the famous fight against cosmopolitanism in 1949-1951, I did not hand over a single person, and no one in the Union of Composers was arrested. However, in other creative organizations, heads were being removed one by one. Despite these attempts, we managed to avoid any major incidents.

- Were you afraid to resist the repressive apparatus?

- Of course, I was worried at the time. So worried, in fact, that I even started to experience nervous exhaustion, turning into a living half-corpse. Isn't that scary? No, I wasn't afraid. I've never bowed to anyone. I've always lived by the principle of doing good for others, standing up for what's right, and treating others the way I want to be treated.

- Over the years, you've probably met and interacted with all the heads of state. Who made the most impression on you - Stalin, Khrushchev, or Brezhnev?

- Of course, I've met all of them. But comparing and contrasting them is an extremely difficult task. Each of them lived and ruled in a specific historical context.

From my experience, Stalin was a great actor. He knew how to portray things in such a way that he was not responsible for the bad things that happened, but rather that his henchmen were responsible. And the people believed it.

Stalin was looking for analogues in history. After the performance of my opera "In the Storm" at the Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre, which was attended by Stalin, Molotov, and Voroshilov, I had a conversation with Shcherbakov, Stalin's right-hand man and the then Secretary of the Central Committee and Moscow City Committee, who asked me to start working on the opera "Ivan the Terrible." I asked, "Why suddenly?""Comrade Stalin attaches great importance to this topic," was the response. Stalin compared himself to Tsar Ivan the Terrible, but he did not consider him to be as formidable as he was. Stalin believed that enemies should be dealt with to the end, and that they should be destroyed mercilessly, rather than in the manner of Ivan the Terrible, who alternated between fighting his enemies and retreating to monasteries to atone for his sins, while his enemies gathered new forces. But I didn't write about Grozny - he wasn't the kind of person who could inspire me to write music.

Khrushchev, Brezhnev... Compared to Stalin, you know... Although Khrushchev could sometimes be a good person. When, after listening to my opera "Mother" at the Bolshoi Theater, he invited me to his box, we had tea together, he praised the opera, and I suggested that he do something about the decree of forty-eight, which denigrated our composers, who were great representatives of world music. Khrushchev answered curtly:

"We'll think about it." Then came the 1958 decree, which, although it didn't repeal the previous one, removed the negative assessments and ugly definitions of composers. I was happy back then.

- During the Great Patriotic War, you created a number of military-patriotic songs that were loved by everyone, and you went to the front with them...

- In 1945, I spent the last three months of the war with Mikhail Blanter on the 1st Belorussian Front in Chuikov's army, and I celebrated Victory Day in Berlin. Chuikov was an extremely strong-willed and courageous man, and everyone was afraid of him, but he loved music very much. During the day, we traveled to various units and hospitals and performed our songs. I met Mikhail Svetlov and Yevgeny Dolmatovsky during this time. For our contemporaries, armed with tape recorders, players, and televisions, it is difficult to imagine what it meant to have a person who could play a musical instrument. People had a great need for music, which they perceived as an echo of life! After all, none of them knew if they would hear it tomorrow. By the way, I only saw the painting "At Six O'Clock in the Evening After the War" on the front lines."and I remember how incredibly warmly it was perceived by the soldiers, just like my song "Gunners", which became everyone's favorite.

After the war, I came to Berlin as an artist and composer.

- Tikhon Nikolaevich, you have done a lot in your life. What are the most joyful moments that you remember, or the opposite?

- There were both good and bad things. For example, in 1943, I lost two close people at once - my mother and my mentor and teacher, Nemirovich-Danchenko. He was a great man of our culture, with a broad erudition and education. He treated me, a young composer, with fatherly care and always with respect. Another sad event was when my two brothers were arrested in 1937 on false charges of counter-revolutionary propaganda under Article 58.10. I wrote letters everywhere, demanded an open trial, found the famous lawyer Brauso, and borrowed a huge amount of money. I managed to get Nikolai's older brother out, but I couldn't save his younger brother. He was sentenced to ten years and died in a concentration camp.

On the other hand, I've been lucky enough to meet good people throughout my life. I've already mentioned Nemirovich-Danchenko, Prokofiev, and Gnessin, who shaped my destiny. N. I. Sats is an exceptionally talented individual with whom I worked at her Children's Musical Theatre. Additionally, I've forged friendships with numerous renowned musicians and performers.

- Are you still working on something?

- I have plans to work on the music for the ballet "The Captain's Daughter," which will be staged by the Kremlin Ballet under the direction of A. Petrov and the Opera and Ballet Theatre in Samara.

The Mosfilm film studio is going to shoot a picture based on the novel by Pikul "Favorite" by a young director Pavlov. I was offered to write music for it. So as long as I live, move, breathe - I will work!