Today we will tell you who Victoria Mullova is. Her biography will be discussed in detail below. The famous and talented violinist was born on November 27, 1959 in the city of Zhukovsky, Moscow Region. Her life is very unusual.
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Victoria Mullova was brought up in the traditions of the Soviet Union, was a Komsomol member and an exemplary girl. But despite these facts, in a 2014 interview in Moscow, she admitted: “I actually did not believe in communism and pretended to be just a naive girl. But in truth, she perfectly understood the situation in the country. One had to behave in such a way in order to survive. The situation was like in the 30s. I remember that before the competition Tchaikovsky was called as the winner of Sibelius to the Komsomol meeting, and I went, sat there, listened and realized that I was disgusted with all this. But she could not leave. You had to be there. ”
Facilities
Victoria Mullova herself told that her family was very poor compared to others. She envied classmates at the conservatory, since many of them had special privileges and money due to the fact that their parents were famous Soviet musicians. “I did not like to play, rehearse. This is hard. It’s hard to keep the violin constantly, hard to learn, but I understood that only in this way can I escape from pressure from the authorities in another country, can I succeed and live well. I really wanted this, ”recalls the violinist.
Finland
Victoria Mullova successfully graduated from the Moscow Conservatory under the leadership of Leonid Kogan. She won the International Sibelius Violin Competition in Finland in 1980, and in 1982 the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. Vika was impatiently awaiting concerts, but there were none. And suddenly she had the opportunity to go to Finland. She went there with solo performances. “Finland,” she said, “was special to me. I had acquaintances there, friends. I knew what was there and why. ”
Ministry employee
They did not want to let Mullova go, and besides, Vakhtang Zhordania, the conductor of the Kharkov Opera and her lover, who had abandoned his wife and two children for the sake of a young girl, wanted to go with her. This was prohibited in the USSR. But Vakhtang decided to explain his participation by the fact that he would accompany the violinist during her performances. The authorities agreed, but with the condition that “guard” would be assigned to Victoria and Vakhtang. The observer was a journalist Zakharova from the Department of Foreign Relations of the Ministry of Culture. Zakharova was not young, had 3 higher educations (including musical and foreign), constantly participated in any festivals and competitions. An employee of the ministry was obliged to perform a translation function and also a managerial one, that is, to resolve conflicts, negotiate and monitor finances. In the Soviet Union, the amount paid (except for the fee and travel expenses) the head of the delegation was obliged to return upon arrival to his homeland at the Moscow embassy, if the currency was spent or lost, then the damage was compensated in 20 times. However, the most important thing was not finances, but the
Stradivarius violin, the documents for which were drawn up for our heroine. Rare musical instruments are stored in the state collection and leased on one condition: the most talented citizens should play them.
Working canteen
In 1983, a delegation of three went to Finland by train "Moscow - Helsinki". At the destination, Zakharova, Mullova and Zhordania met an impresario, who immediately issued upfront money for the three upcoming concerts. One was to be held in the capital of Finland, the second in the town of Kuusamo and the last at the festival of violin music.
The first concert was an enchanting success. The next day, the group reached Kuusamo. Our heroine was met by activists of the Finland-USSR Friendship Society. For the whole small town, the arrival of the violinist was a big event. Victoria Mullova, due to the lack of a concert hall, performed in the working dining room, but, despite this, she played exactly the same as on the stage.
The second concert day was also successful. Then followed 2 days off, Saturday and Sunday. Victoria Mullova, on the pretext that she wants to go shopping and meet friends, asked Irina Nikolaevna for the money earned for all 3 concerts. According to the instructions, this was unacceptable, but Zakharova knew that things in Finland were cheaper, and sympathetically gave the whole amount.
In the evening, after a gathering with friends from the USSR, Zakharova returned to the hotel without the rest of her companions. No one showed up at night or in the morning, but the journalist was not worried. Only in the evening, realizing that Mullova and her lover were gone, she sounded the alarm. Most of all, she was worried about the Stradivarius violin. Having persuaded the hotel workers to somehow open the room, Zakharova quickly darted into the room in search of a violin. And I found her lying on the bed. Later, everyone will be surprised at such an act. Everyone expected the instrument to be under the bed. Irina Nikolaevna put a chair in front of the room and, sitting down, watched the violin all night. In the morning, the Soviet consul called the police. He read a certificate typed by a frightened woman on a typewriter and sealed it, confirming that the Soviet citizen had taken the Stradivarius violin belonging to the USSR from her room.
The escape
At this time, all the Finnish news was full of information that Victoria Mullova had left Kuusamo and would soon give a concert. Zakharova began to call Oul to find out if there was an artist, but that one did not smell there. Zakharova realized that it was necessary to get out of the hotel and got out through the back door, having got past the crowd of journalists, got into the activists' car and, lying in the back seat of the car, covered her coat, got to the airport. When I arrived, I found out that her wards were already in Sweden. With great efforts, Zakharova returned to Moscow with a violin and received a punishment of 2 years not to leave the country.
Sweden
From the incident it is clear how risky the person is Victoria Mullova. Her personal life resembled a spy romance. Victoria and her lover had been hiding for 2 days in a hotel in Sweden, registered under the name Mrs. Smith. Her Finnish friend Yorkie, who transported them across the border, told the newspaper, where she was and what was happening, and soon America offered political asylum. In Sweden, the couple stayed 5 days and went to Stockholm. Everything was supervised by the secret police, because the risk that the violinist could be killed was too great. Everyone knew that there were many Soviet agents, even in European countries. The American embassy was waiting for the girl’s call. After the conversation, they sent her a car with security, put on a wig, disguised it and drove to its destination. Then all this “masquerade” was an absolute norm, because danger awaited at every step. “Unfortunately or fortunately, at that time in the family relations were not very close. But the parents were happy, of course. Then we thought that we would never see each other again, ”the artist shares in an interview.
Claudio Abbado
At the airport, she was met by a collector who heard about her story. He invited her to borrow the violin, such as her teacher Kogan had for 2 years. And give money for it as soon as it works. For 3 years Victoria traveled around the world. Once, when Vika was playing on a ship, a rich man found out that she did not have her own instrument. Soon, at the Sotheby's auction, the Stradivarius violin was bought for half a million dollars for Victoria Mullova. The person who paid for the item wished to remain incognito.
At the same time, the personal life of Victoria Mullova begins to improve. She meets Italian Claudio Abbado, conductor: “We met with him at one of the concerts. Then we saw only after six months. A stormy romance began. ” So Victoria Mullova found happiness. Children appeared at the violinist after 5 years. The son was named Misha. The joy of our heroine knew no bounds.
Marriage
In 89, Claudio staged Khovanshchina at the Vienna Opera and invited Vicki's father to attend the premiere. He did not understand why the scientist could not come, and therefore decided to go to him himself.
Soon, Misha, the joy of the family, became the cause of the rupture of the violinist and conductor. “He did not want children. He already had two adults, ”recalls the artist. A few years later, Victoria moved to London and got married. In marriage, the actress gave birth to daughters Katya and Nadia. They are very creative personalities. Katya has been involved in drawing since childhood and is active in music, and Nadia signed up for the ballet. At the moment, the violinist is popular and constantly gives concerts. Victoria fell in love with music and now plays for fun. Son Misha grew up, studying in Cambridge and is just as musical. Misha’s father is a favorite, and therefore he pays special attention to him. The whole family now lives in peace and prosperity.
Now you know who Victoria Mullova is. Photos of the violinist are attached to the material.