The art of conducting an orchestra : the vision of Tugan Sokhiev

Tugan Sokhiev - crédit Marco Borggreve

Connoisseurs of music everywhere can all agree that when they watch conductors during a concert, they become transported to another world. The way a maestro interacts with his musicians is fascinating to observe. Tugan Sokhiev, the conductor and music director of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow perfectly illustrates this fact. His gestures are fluid and his movements are elegant. The way he looks at the orchestra is extremely focused, but more than that, he excels at his connection with the musicians. To him, during the concert, each member of his orchestra is like a "colleague", and the success of the performance depends on the relationship between the conductor and the orchestra.

 
Tugan Sokhiev - crédit Marc Brenner

The concept of trust is absolutely essential to this student of the great conductor Ilya Musin. Tugan Sokhiev's goal is to build an "atmosphere" which enables the players to excel. No matter how many people are part of the ensemble, his approach remains the same. To achieve such a strong level of trust, according to him, one has to prepare, technically speaking, the orchestra. As for the human qualities that a conductor has to possess, the maestro mentions "patience" as well as a good understanding of human psychology. Tugan Sokhiev, with almost philosophical words, explains the origin of the legendary technique that he learned from Ilya Musin, his professor in Saint Petersburg: "The gestures convey the musical idea". The conductor’s mission seems to focus mainly on the essence of his work, his music. In Tugan Sokhiev's case, becoming a conductor must have been a calling. He agrees that as a child, he was already interested in directing an orchestra, while attending concerts in his home town in Northern Ossetia. While playing first the piano, he admits that he was highly captivated by the orchestra repertoire. He established in Saint Petersburg and became a student of Yuri Temirkanov and the famous Ilya Musin who trained the greatest conductors and who published his “Techniques of Orchestral Conducting”. Graduating at the age of 21, Tugan Sokhiev worked with many prestigious orchestras worldwide before signing with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in 2008. His current collaboration with Toulouse will last until 2019. This partnership, which is highly appreciated in the "pink city" of Toulouse, gives the orchestra a stronger international visibility, with performances all over the world. The maestro even organized a concert with the Toulouse orchestra and the Bolshoi choirs last spring to perform Berlioz' legendary Requiem in Moscow.

 
Tugan Sokhiev - crédit Marco Borggreve

To balance his very busy life, Tugan Sokhiev says he likes to walk outside and enjoy nature. Professionally, the maestro feels the need to share his technique with new upcoming talents. The International Academy for orchestra conductors which he founded, with the assistance of his musicians and the staff of the Capitole orchestra in Toulouse, organizes regular master classes with new talents. He also ensures that he hires new soloists to perform in his concerts while alternating with his long term soloists who are very precious and faithful to the conductor. Driven by a strong will to introduce musical pieces for all types of audiences, Tugan Sokhiev's repertoire is very eclectic.

The same balance that he applies to his work, Mr. Sokhiev seems to find equally in the southwest region of France. When asked about his impressions of Toulouse, he says he appreciates the combination of a city with a rich historical heritage that is populated with many young and dynamic inhabitants. Once again, Tugan Sokhiev points out the importance of harmony in all things, which can be considered the fundamental building block of all musical expression.