Mikael Tariverdiev (1931–1996) was a composer, possessing a rare gift for composing vocal music. He belongs to the authors who are inspired by a word, visuals, a storyline. When he was young, he argued that he would write a song, which would be sung everywhere and by everyone: as the time has shown, such melodies, that had come from his pen, were aplenty. Many of them, well known to everybody, adorned best Soviet films (Seven Moments of Spring, The Irony of Faith and others), notably, not just as a background soundtrack, but as some sort of characters of these films, adding an extra dimension to their plot.
Tariverdiev’s talent of vocal writing is akin to the genius of Schubert and Tchaikovsky. For him, every poetic word is worth its weight in gold: he explores and cherishes it, searching for a special meaning and sounding. At the same time, Tariverdiev’s intonation remains to be amazingly emotional, sincere and simple. In her production of Non-Random People, the Stage Director Daria Panteleeva subtly highlights different people’s characters and fate. These people are in their own way lonely and are brought together by their desire to find their love and by the place where they meet – an old park. Both the performance script and the presence of Tariverdiev’s songs evoke associations with golden scenes from our favourite Soviet films, accompanied by the sounds of Tariverdiev’s music.
Nadezhda Koulygina
