Today we talk with the laureate of international competitions, clarinetist, Philipp Sozdatelev.
Philipp Sozdatelev Record of achievement
Laureate of the International Music Competition «Kreshchenko» (New York, 2019; I Award), International Clarinet Competition «Weber-Clarinet» (Petrozavodsk, 2021; I Award), International Competition of Performers on Brass Instruments by him. N. A. Roman-Korsakov (Saint Petersburg, 2022; III prize), International Music Competition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of S. V. Rachmaninoff (Saint Petersburg, 2023; I prize).
In 2017 received the prize of the Government of Saint Petersburg «Young gifts».
Since 2025 – concertmaster of the clarinet group of the Novosibirsk Academic Symphony Orchestra
Philipp, do you think there will be a lot legendary works written in the 21st century as it was in previous centuries? In your opinion, will the 21st century be as successful for classical music, and will these works be performed in many years, will they become legendary?
In fact, a lot of the music that is written nowadays goes unnoticed, I think. Among all the works, there are some very remarkable ones that definitely deserve attention. Academic classical music, of course, like everything else in the world, is also undergoing changes. But despite this, I think that over time for us and for the next generations many interesting works will be revealed to which we do not yet pay due attention.
Maybe you have some desire for classical music in the 21st century. Many musicians say that now theaters, artists have moved to a certain business model: less has become creativity, soul. What can you say about that?
I agree with the opinion that there are cases when art goes more into business, and there are clear examples. But on the contrary: there are many projects that are created for the development of art. Many of my colleagues are very proactive musicians who are passionate about their work and offer great creative ideas. I believe that everything is not lost yet, and we still have and continue to grow a large field for creativity and expression of our feelings and emotions).
Do you have a favorite composer to perform?
It should be noted that I perform both solo and in orchestra, so the preferences differ slightly due to the different repertoire. When it comes to solo performance, of course, like many clarinettists, I can not fail to mention the German composer Karl Maria von Weber. This composer was at the origin of Romanticism, and this is vividly expressed in his music. It is very accessible for any listener, and all this is not lacking in beauty, elegance and soul. I would also, of course, note Johannes Brahms and Francis Pulenka.
On the other hand, I am an artist of a symphony orchestra. This gives me the opportunity to play music of composers who, unfortunately, have not written anything for solo performance on clarinet. Among these composers I cannot but highlight Dmitry Shostakovich, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Maurice Ravel. In the music of Rachmaninoff I see the depth of the Russian soul, which, of course, is very strong in me. Ravel impresses me with his elegance and finesse of images. And the music of Shostakovich always takes for living. In his symphonies there is also a subtle lyric, and some spark that excites you from the inside.
What are your musical preferences outside of classical music, and in general please tell us about your interests beyond music?
My musical preferences, beyond classical music, have been very different lately. In my playlist you can find a lot of genres: jazz, hip-hop, ambient, rock and sometimes even pop music. I like to follow football. As a child I played football for some time, after which I finally went into music. However, the love of this sport has not gone away. In addition to sports, I spend my free time with friends, watching some movies. However, most of my life is still occupied by music. Even in my spare time, I try to learn something new and open up new frontiers in my creativity.
Philipp, thank you very much for the most interesting answers!