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MARIJA JUDINA, THE PIANIST THAT MOVED STALIN
Performance dedicated to the life of the Russian pianist Marija Judina through music, texts, and video. Featuring Marina Drozdova(piano), Diana Cahanescu(cello), Victor Derevianko(piano), Yury Fedorishchev(voice) and the actors Angela Demattè and Matteo Bonanni. Costumes: Ilaria Ariemme. Literary Sources: Giovanna Parravicini. Directed by Andrea Chiodi.
Marija judina, the pianist that moved Stalin
Spettacolo dedicato alla vita della pianista russa Marija Judina attraverso musiche, testi e video. In scena Marina Drozdova (pianoforte), Diana Cahanescu (violoncello), Victor Derevianko (pianoforte), Yury Fedorishchev (voce) e gli attori Angela Demattè e Matteo Bonanni. Costumi: Ilaria Ariemme. Fonti letterarie: Giovanna Parravicini. Regia di Andrea Chiodi.
Direction: Andrea Chiodi
Dramaturgy: Angela Demattè
Immages: Jakov Nazarov
Literary sources: Giovanna Parravicini
With
Angela Demattè
Matteo Bonanni
And with:
Diana Cahanescu – violoncello
Victor Derevianko – piano
Marina Drozdova – piano
Yury Fedorishchev – bass
“When this woman, with smooth hair framing a face absorbed in thought, climbed onto the stage in a long dark dress, austere, without looking at anyone, immersed in her inner world, sat down at the piano and with a handkerchief wiped her hands and the keyboard and then was still for a prolonged pause, it looked like a rite of preparation for something important, which exceeded the criteria of a purely aesthetic order so that a moral pathos could emerge in the foreground… ” This is how a music critic remembers the concerts of Marija Veniaminovna Judina, a Russian pianist and famous conservatory “professor” which her friends and students (not least of which Marina Drozdova, the main performer of the show-concert) do not hesitate to define as having “a strong character, imperial, and maximalist” and who “loved to be clear and articulate her words well”. At the same time she had an indomitable courage founded on the certainty of her faith in God.
Judina is best known for the famous episode that revolves around her radio performance of Mozart’s 23rd Concerto, which Stalin heard one evening and insisted that she record it in person for a fee of 20,000 roubles. To this generous offer, the pianist replied, “Thank you for your help, Iosif Vissarionovich. I will pray for you day and night and ask God to forgive your grievous sins against the people and the nation. God is merciful and will forgive you. I shall donate the money for the restoration of the church which I attend.” What made this woman capable of such renditions that transcended an ideological barrier that would have certainly taken her to the gulag? In other words, why did the regime, despite frequent dismissals from her academic post and prohibition to play, never effected a permanent persecution? There was something in Marija which emerged as universal. Certainly this was a woman with an inner force not usually found in the routine of her profession nor those of poetry, music, philosophy …
The show-concert tells the story of the thoughts and works of this extraordinary pianist, addressing the challenge of coexistence between music and theatre, in order to show that unity between art and the person which was typical of Marija and which today would also be needed by us.
