{"id":19073,"date":"2024-01-20T09:56:36","date_gmt":"2024-01-20T08:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=19073"},"modified":"2025-09-19T14:11:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T13:11:50","slug":"gusli-field-by-olga-glazova-perhaps-somewhere-in-parallel-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/gusli-field-by-olga-glazova-perhaps-somewhere-in-parallel-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGusli field\u201d by Olga Glazova, perhaps somewhere in a parallel reality"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image vertical\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a ref=\"magnificPopup\" href=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2687-1.webp\" data-lbwps-width=\"853\" data-lbwps-height=\"1280\" data-lbwps-srcsmall=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2687-1.webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2687-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18896\" srcset=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2687-1.webp 853w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2687-1-601x902.webp 601w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2687-1-317x475.webp 317w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2687-1-600x900.webp 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Olga Glazova\/\u00a9Brusha<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">After the concert, the London Cult spoke with Olga Glazova, guslar performer, singer and composer, winner of more than 30 international and Russian competitions, about inspiration, career, and why the most important thing for a musician is to never give up.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"s3\">\u2014<\/span> <span class=\"s3\">Olga, why <\/span><span class=\"s3\">gusli<\/span><span class=\"s3\">? How did you <\/span><span class=\"s3\">choose<\/span><span class=\"s3\"> this instrument<\/span><span class=\"s3\">for your career<\/span><span class=\"s3\">?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">\u2014 At the age of six, I heard the gusli in the second grade of high school and decided that I would play this instrument. That&#8217;s all! I graduated from a music school (for gusli), a college of arts (for gusli) and the St. Petersburg Conservatory (for gusli).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">You can\u2019t enter a higher educational institution without your own instrument, and gusli is usually best made by private craftsmen, so I had to order the instrument myself. It was at that moment that I realized: if I want to perform and sing with gusli, I need an expanded version of it, more strings. Ordinary academic gusli repeats part of the vocal range, and it is not interesting to accompany yourself. Thus, in the fall of 2012, the world&#8217;s first 30-string harp for professional use appeared.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">Today, the model has become so recognisable that other workshops copy it. Of course, without the knowledge of the craftsman or mine. It\u2019s easy to copy the appearance, just take measurements from photographs, but no one has been able to achieve the same sound or come closer to my timbre.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"\u0413\u0443\u0441\u043b\u0438 - \u041e\u043b\u044c\u0433\u0430 \u0413\u043b\u0430\u0437\u043e\u0432\u0430 \u2014 Best Wishes For Summer (N\u00d5TR) \/ Gusli Olga Glazova\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bo8vDU3G12M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"s3\">\u2014 You perform both in Russia and abroad. Is there a difference in the audience\u2019s perception of the instrument, or in the listeners\u2019 reaction?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">\u2014 Yes, unfortunately, there is a specific difference, I feel it at every concert. When I go on stage in a Russian hall, I sensethat they don\u2019t accept me. Difference from performers who play familiar instruments is perceived as strangeness: \u201cProve that we need this!\u201d Moreover, I know: just start playing, and people will be happy, their attitude will change to a favourableone, this always happens. But! In any case, this is a struggle.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But in Europe (France, Germany, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, England, etc.), for some reason unknown to me, listeners-spectators, when they see the instrument for the first time, are already kind in advance, ready to find out what I will \u201cgive\u201d them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"s3\">\u2014 <\/span><span class=\"s3\">So,<\/span><span class=\"s3\"> in Europe people are more receptive to new things, more open?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">\u2014 I can\u2019t say that yet. My experience is quite narrowly focused: after all, I haven\u2019t performed in all European halls. I operate only with facts from my life, but I don\u2019t know whether the same applies to everyone. In my experience, it\u2019s easier here. There is no emotional closeness, hostility&#8230; I would like to choose something easier instead of the word \u201chostility\u201d&#8230; It would be better to say: distrust!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"s3\">\u2014 How has your career and musical life changed with traveling around the world?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014 In just over a decade, I, as my own producer and manager, have understood the Russian music industry a little more. But it didn&#8217;t help me&#8230; Just kidding! My answer to your question would be: no, nothing has changed for me, and nothing has gotten worse. This is quite unusual. Even in 2020, the year of the pandemic, there were quite a lot of performances and trips. Only two months were lost when the borders were closed. For example, I was unable to give a lecture at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a ref=\"magnificPopup\" href=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2691.webp\" data-lbwps-width=\"1280\" data-lbwps-height=\"853\" data-lbwps-srcsmall=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2691-600x400.webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" src=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2691.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18898\" srcset=\"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2691.webp 1280w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2691-902x601.webp 902w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2691-713x475.webp 713w, https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_2691-600x400.webp 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Olga Glazova\/\u00a9Alexey Dubinin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"s3\">\u2014 <\/span><span class=\"s3\">W<\/span><span class=\"s3\">hat inspires you?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014 People. The city and its location on the planet, the weather, the ability to walk one familiar route or buy food only in certain supermarkets are not very important to me. I mean, here\u2019s an example: someone says something like \u201coh, I won\u2019t go to the concert, it\u2019s a long drive from my area.\u201d Really?! Even Vladivostok is not far from St. Petersburg, board a plane and sleep\/watch a movie, it\u2019s only 8 hours, take care of yourself. And here we are talking about only 40 minutes in the subway. How can you make your life better if you think like this? Perhaps someone will think that I am detached from reality, that I am in some kind of \u201cgusli field\u201d? Let be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">As for inspiration&#8230; When you begin to understand the profession called self-made artist, learning from the examples of other, well-known and unknown groups, you see: first of all, it\u2019s working with people. From what I have seen, what I don\u2019t like most is the licentiousness and inappropriate behaviour of artists, a certain established stereotype: creative people should be accepted with their oddities. No genius should allow themselves to lack empathy and immaturity!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"s3\">\u2014 What should the audience take away from your concert, from your \u201c<\/span><span class=\"s3\">gusli<\/span><span class=\"s3\"> field\u201d?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">\u2014 It seems to me that the most correct question is, what does a particular person need to get from a concert? But I want to talk about something else&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The concept of \u201cmusic\u201d today refers to environmental noise, and not music. Everywhere &#8211; taxis, cafes, shops, streets, restaurants, receptions, smartphones, etc. Try to get to the concert in silence, so that the ear can rest and prepare. It&#8217;s almost impossible! In London there is no such bright environmental noise around, but people speak much louder every day than in Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">Let&#8217;s return to the gusli concert&#8230; It is impossible to say for sure whether the goal I pursue and the musical interaction correspond to the people who listen to my performances. Of course, every time you limit yourself in the number of tasks you want to perform at a particular concert, you think about what to share, what to say. Listeners won\u2019t wonder why I don\u2019t use, say, the third finger, but more often play with the fourth, or why I started playing with the fifth finger at a particular moment. They look, listen to the sound mass and&#8230; perceive \u201ctheirs.\u201d At the same time, \u201cme plus them\u201d will not fit together, no way!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"\u0413\u0443\u0441\u043b\u0438 - \u041e\u043b\u044c\u0433\u0430 \u0413\u043b\u0430\u0437\u043e\u0432\u0430: \u0414\u0440\u0435\u043c\u043b\u0435\u0442 \u0417\u0435\u043c\u043b\u044f (\u0431\u0430\u0440 \u041c\u0443\u043d\u043a, \u043c\u0430\u0440\u0442 2023)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KLaWkyqV0Fo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"s3\">\u2014 Will you still have concerts in London? <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014 Yes, yes and yes again. I realised that here, in a musical sense, everything is very interesting for me. The turning point came when I brought my mother here in the spring of 2023 to fulfil her dream of \u201cseeing London.\u201d And at this moment, very fortunately, Boris Grebenshchikov writes to me: \u201cWe need to record gusli.\u201d I answer: \u201cOh! I\u2019m coming in two weeks, I can take it with me?\u201d &#8211; &#8220;Sure!&#8221; It turned out that my mother and I left the hotel together, she went to museums, and I went to meetings, rehearsals, recordings, and concerts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"s3\">\u2014 Collaboration, environment&#8230; How important is this for a musician? Or can a genius make himself?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">\u2014 In general, one of the main things in a musician\u2019s life is support and understanding. Because if you don\u2019t have the resources and opportunities to immediately show yourself, if you weren\u2019t born inside a concert agency, then you need to go through a certain path to establish yourself as an artist and find \u201cyour\u201d connections. At the beginning of the journey, you receive nothing: no support, no understanding. And that&#8217;s true! But if you take this as a complete confirmation or complete refutation of your talent, then you won\u2019t be able to move. Therefore, the right thing to do is not to give up in any case!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">I received a lot of kindness, attention, experience, and all my life I will be grateful to many famous people and non-public people. I won\u2019t name the unknown ones, because they didn\u2019t choose public praise. But I\u2019ll be happy to list a few famous names: Artemy Lebedev, Anton Belyaev (THERR MAITZ), Boris Grebenshchikov, Natalya O\u2019Shey (Helavisa, Melnitsa), Andrey Bledny (25\/17), THEODOR BASTARD, Affinage, Sergey Fedorovich Letov, Maris Lasmanis, Gregg Kofi Brown (OSIBISA), Lyubov Tolkalina, Sergey Starostin, Brushsha Monakova, Katya Antonova, Zhenya Gluck&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">What else does it mean to not give up? You don&#8217;t need to turn the planet over, spin it in the opposite direction, and so on. You just need to reach people who are confident in your talent, hard work, and perseverance. And at some point,quantity will turn into quality.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">You also have to accept that brilliant music will not sell itself. Never! Since recognition of the author&#8217;s genius is largely a matter of chance. People can be accustomed to anything, and they will accept any event. I\u2019m not talking about the current situation in the world, but in principle about the history of mankind. People lived without electricity, it appeared, and everyone got used to it. Humanity existed without smartphones, then they entered our lives, and we can no longer imagine how we can live without them. Gadgets will go away, people will get used to something else&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0em;\">And in the same way, somewhere in a parallel reality, we have a completely different layer &#8211; musical, global, private. You yourself know that if there is some active person who is promoting something, they will do it. There are people who simply know how to \u201cmove.\u201d So, it would be better for a musician to know what resources you have, kinds ofopportunities to continue your activity, and not necessarily musical at the beginning. And then think about what other steps you can take to achieve your goal. And so, step by step, reach your best people!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>P.S. At the end of April, Olga Glazova will come to London again, this time for a month. And she noted that she would be glad to cooperate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In London, a charity festival-marathon Music Saves the World was held at the World Heart Beat Academy in Embassy Gardens and organised by Maria Semushkina. Outstanding musicians from all over the world performed in support of talented refugee children, as well as music schools affected by wars and conflicts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":18894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86,144,95,84],"tags":[],"type_post":[184],"column":[],"class_list":["post-19073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-lifestyle","category-news","category-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19073"},{"taxonomy":"type_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_post?post=19073"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=19073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}