Symphony Orchestra of the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory Orchestras and Tours

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The New York Times - June 2008

Creating a Melody From Fear of Failure

By David L. Stern

June 4, 2008

ALMATY, Kazakhstan — At its premiere in 1913, Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” an explosive and sometimes violent interpretation of a pagan ritual sacrifice, provoked brawls between its defenders and critics. So it was perhaps appropriate that the question of whether to perform the work became a contentious one for the national youth symphony in this Central Asian country.

“Many were very afraid,” said Tolegen Iklasov, 19, a violinist with an open, affable smile. “In fact there were discussions about whether we should refuse to play it.”

The musicians’ objections were not the moral and aesthetic ones that drove Parisians into a frenzy in 1913. They were simply reluctant to take on such a technically challenging composition. Having been raised in a Soviet-style system that taught them to obey orders and, above all, to avoid mistakes, they feared that they would fail — publicly and spectacularly.

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