You have been the chief conductor of the Russian State Symphony Orchestra (the former USSR State Symphony Orchestra) for over thirty years. What analogy would you use to describe these three decades?

Evgeny Svetlanov: May I be more specific? Four decades! You are quite right in mentioning the official date, which was 1965. However I was a guest conductor from 1954, so that is almost forty-two years. Let me tell you that this was and remains a task akin to hard labour...

Repertoire: Both your concert and recording repertoires are vast, but remain nonetheless highly specialised in Russian music. How do you explain this paradox?

Admittedly, my entire life was dedicated to music, but that doesn’t mean my goal was to play everything. There are composers that I will never perform, for example Berlioz. At the same time, my objective was to create a CD anthology of Russian symphony music, including ballets and symphonic excerpts from operas...

Tell me about your “excommunication” from the Russian State Symphony Orchestra with which you worked for thirty-five years. Has this wound healed or is it still painful?

The wound cannot heal in such a short time, even with every effort in the world. It will take time and therapy. Quite frankly, I wasn’t expecting this outcome...

LE MONDE DE LA MUSIQUE - Is there a Russian conducting school?

EVGENY SVETLANOV - Yes. It emerged at the beginning of the century before the Revolution. Originally it was larger, and it was led by an excellent teacher by the name of Alexander Gauk. Evgeny Mravinski and Melik-Pashayev were among his students...