Вера Дулова. Воспоминания. Статьи. Документы. Наталия Шамеева

and given such titles by newspaper critics as “Queen of the Harp,” “The Harpist No. 1,” and “The Harpist of the World.” Her recordings, CDs and radio recordings are an anthology of the vast performing art of this great harpist.

      The Bolshoi Theater had a very special place in Vera Dulova’s life. Her famous performances of the solos, cadenzas and variations from Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Don Quixote and Raymonda were a brilliant enrichment to the ballets.

      Vera Dulova was Professor of the Moscow Conservatory and a recognized leader of the Russian Harp School. She educated many outstanding harpists who work in Russia and abroad today. She gave master classes in many countries, and her pupils received prizes at the most prestigious international competitions. One other very important contribution Mme. Dulova made to Russia was her initiative to create a Russian harp company. She understood perfectly that without a factory within Russia to build harps, Russian harp education would be impossible. With her constant consultation, the Russian harp was designed and manufactured. Schools, colleges and conservatories could buy instruments. It was the necessary foundation of the Russian harp education.

      In 1964, Mme. Dulova formed the Russian Harp Society. Her service to music was awarded by the Government, and she received the title People’s Artist of the USSR as well as the State Prize of the USSR.

      While Vera Dulova has passed away, she will be remembered in the world of music as the great harpist of the 20th century and her harp music will continue to sound in our hearts.

      Personal Memories of Vera Dulova[44]

      by Natalya Shameyeva

      I met Vera Dulova after my graduation from the Gnessins Musical and Pedagogical Institute. l was her student at the post-graduate course of the Moscow Conservatory. First of all, she completely changed my hand position and very soon we started to prepare for the All-Union Competition and then international competitions. During the summer, she took me to her dacha (small house) in the Crimea and gave me lessons even though it was the holidays.

      One of her most important qualities as a teacher was that she helped her students to overcome defects or weaknesses through humor! Vera could always find a very special word to make a student laugh rather than feel hurt and communicate in a way that the student always remembered and made the change. It was often her actual presence and the atmosphere that she created that made us play our best. She played the piano very well and often accompanied her students in concerti at the Moscow Conservatory. She was able to perform all the music she taught and very often took another harp and demonstrated certain passages during lessons.

      Thanks to our teacher, Vera Georgievna, her students were able to meet the whole world of the harp and harpists. She took us to the large harp events such as the Holland Harp-weeks; international competitions in Jerusalem, Hartford, Geneva, Gargilesse and Bloomington; the World Harp Congresses and so many other places.

      There was a special relationship between Vera Dulova and her pupil-colleagues who played at the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra. As we sat beside her at the Bolshoi, we received literally “from her hands” the skill of orchestra playing and solo playing within the orchestra. Her performances were unforgettable. She always strictly observed the composer’s indications and if it was necessary to do a slight revision, she made it as close to the text as possible. She never made a revision to simplify a part. Her performance was so splendid. Her sound was very big and had a special color – brilliant and warm, never harsh. Her technique was incomparable. She told me once that Nicanor Zabaleta rushed backstage after a concert she had given to see if she had hidden an amplification device in the harp. He could not believe that such a big and beautiful tone could be produced without amplification!

      She was not only a great harpist, but also a very talented person who was surrounded by fascinating people. Deep friendships connected her with the famous Russian composers Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev and Aram Khachaturian. She was often the center of many events and gatherings. I hope everyone remembers her parties in Holland! Those who met her will never forget her. The great harpist has passed away, but everything she did for the development of the Russian Harp School will continue to live as we, her pupils, transmit her achievements to the next generation.

      Personal Memories of Vera Dulova[45]

      by Catherine Michel

      The “First Lady of Russia” has left us. She has left many orphans behind, of which I am one. I had the chance to meet Mme. Dulova for the first time at the Israel Contest in 1965. She gave a recital of such beauty and class that as I listened, I said to myself, “I will play like her or abandon the harp.” I had no doubt but that this woman would guide me involuntarily by her example and the sheer force of her personality. Her strength, perfection, taste and unique musicianship profoundly influenced me.

      I was just 17 years old the first time I entered the Harp Competition in Israel, and I was strongly disappointed not to have passed to the final stage. I decided to profit from the “forced rest” by taking a walk around the campus of Jerusalem. Suddenly, on the other side of the street, I saw Mme. Dulova walking with her translator, and I didn’t understand immediately that she was calling to me by name. Hesitantly, I approached her, and in a firm voice, she said to me, ‘Vous, pour moi,… formidable!’ Then she looked straight at me and made the sign of victory. What a wonderful surprise it was for me to know that in some way my playing had met with her approval, even though I had not passed to the final stage. I have always remembered this incident and shared it with others, not because it represented a compliment to me by a great artist, but because those words arrived at the moment when I doubted my future as a harpist.

      In 1965, international competitions were rare, and I didn’t have any immediate solutions for my life after failing to win the competition. When I returned to France, Pierre Jamet (who was also on the jury of the competition) had but one wish – to invite Mme. Dulova to Gargilesse. From that time on, I watched for every Bolshoi tour to France and never missed a chance to hear the great harp cadenzas of Tchaikovsky, Glazunov and others. During that time, Mme. Dulova also helped me prepare the Gliere Concerto before I recorded it in 1977.

      At last the summer came when Mme. Dulova played at Gargilesse, and it was a moving experience for me. It is hard to say what impressed me most, but it had to do with the way that all of her being was in harmony with the music she played. Even now as I write, I remember her extraordinary quality of gestures, and I can also see the expressions on her face. For Mme. Dulova, only the essential part of music counted, and no easy effect had a place in her work. I was excited to discover another way of playing, to hear another literature, and to feel that this perfection would only be accessible by technical work and diligent musical research.

      When I was a student of Pierre Jamet, he never played recitals. (He gave his last concert at age 90 interpreting the Debussy Danses with Pierre Boulez.) M. Jamet would always teach us how to correct a fault or improve our technique or musicality, but the profession seemed to me vague and inaccessible. It was difficult for me to see clearly what road I should take. From Mme. Dulova, I began to better understand how to build a real professional life. I observed her in concert and saw her surrounded by her students and admired by the many professional harpists who gathered at the Holland Harpweeks or Gargilesse. I remember her kindness to her colleagues and the respect she inspired by simply being herself. I remember how the students looked up to her and waited to hear her commentary on their presentation. It was bad luck for the student who had not played the way Mme. Dulova had wanted them to play! On the other hand, one or two words of praise would suffice to illuminate the faces of Natasha, Emilia, Tatiana (or any of her students), when the “Madame” was happy.

      After quite a few years of meetings and some professional growth by me, it seemed clear that Mme. Dulova had integrated me as one of her children. Because I lost my mother when I was very young, I have always believed that Heaven sent a few substitute mothers to me, and Mme. Dulova was definitely one of them. But let us return to the shock I experienced from my first contact with the Russian School.

      Like every graduate of the Paris Conservatory, I thought the most difficult things were behind me. Even though M. Jamet congratulated

44

Natalia Shameeva. Personal Memories of Vera Dulova // World Harp Congress Review. Spring 2000. Volume VII. No. 2. P. 6.

45

Catherine Mishel. Personal Memories of Vera Dulova // World Harp Congress Review. Spring 2000. Volume VII. No. 2. P. 6-9.