► Russian conductor Valery Abisalovich Gergiev talks about his ranking as one of the world's most influential artists by Time magazine, and shares his views on modern Russia. ◄ ► Intro Time magazine has ranked the Russian conductor Valery Gergiev in fifth place among artists "that matter". However, the maestro says the nomination shouldn't be taken too seriously. In an interview he commented on issues ranging from Russian foreign policy to his attitude to the Soviet role in the victory of 1945. ► Summary Conductor Valery Gergiev is one of the most prominent cultural figures in Russia. But his reach extends far beyond the country's borders. He works with operas and symphonies all over the world. And Time magazine named him one of the most influential people in the arts. However, Gergiev looks at this nomination quite skeptically. "I think all of it is not what you can take one hundred percent seriously," he says. --"You cannot ever think I am one of those most important people. Of course not! But at the same time, in the cultural field there are leaders, who are relentless, who are always going, when at some point everybody can feel it. If you constantly are able to do something that keeps the public interested, then most probably you do something interesting. That's actually how it goes." Time magazine called Gergiev "the ambassador of Russian music". "The future of classical music is very strong, because the past is so strong. And with pop music, it's changing. You go to the top of the charts and maybe you stay there. Some people managed to stay there for a long time. But some go down. This does not normally happen to the giants of classical music," the maestro says. Discussing the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Valery Gergiev says it's is hard to say which country's role was more important. He says it is crucial to understand that the nations of the anti-Hitler coalition were strong when they fought together. "But people should not forget the role of the Soviet Union. That's what my country was called, the Soviet Union, and it played this role. And then, of course, there were very, very many voices, especially after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, which I cannot personally support at all. Some people quite idiotically, I have to say, were proposing that both Nazis and Soviets were playing terrible roles. That cannot be taken seriously. I think not one serious historian will support this theory, because the Soviet Union lost so many lives, maybe much too many." Gergiev is known for his long-running support for efforts to ensure peace in the Caucasus. He conducted a concert in Tskhinval right near the ruined parliament building. It was dedicated to the victims of the Georgian attack of August 2008 on South Ossetia. Being himself an Ossetian, Gergiev appreciates Russian support for his nation. "They simply saved thousands of people who were still alive in the city of Tskhinval. And that was what the West didn't understand immediately. It took weeks and even months... months in order to advance the truth. And I believe a lot of people started to sense that the truth was actually different from what was demonstrated basically by all news channels around the world." As for the concert, Gergiev says it had little to do with politics. It was his decision as a citizen, expressing the compassion to his people. "The concert we ourselves called the concert requiem. It was nothing to celebrate. I repeat, nothing to celebrate. The loss of life... At some point people were saying: oh, there were not thousands of people killed, only hundreds. I see no reason to celebrate the death of hundreds of people. I don't like the talk about this concert in any way being portrayed as a political act. It was a human act." ► Shotlist (Question: Time magazine named you one of the most influential people in the world, one of twenty most influential artists. What do you think of this kind of lists? How do you judge the influence of an artist?) 1. SOUNDBITE Valery Gergiev, conductor, speaking English: "I think all of it is not what you can take one hundred percent seriously. You cannot ever think I am one of those most important people. Of course not! But at the same time, in the cultural field there are leaders, who are relentless, who are always going, when at some point everybody can feel it. If you constantly are able to do something that keeps the public interested, then most probably you do something interesting. That's actually how it goes....... ....... .......

• published: 28 Sep 2013
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