Our lives bonded together with the Sarfati family more the 40 years ago. With Lily and Albert Sarfati when the USSR was behind closed doors and you did your first concerts in France with the Leningrad Philharmonic. When Albert Sarfati passed away in May 1992, together with Yura Temirkanov you were the first ones to trust these young ladies to follow up on the initiated projects. In June 1992, you were already on tour with the St Petersburg Philharmonic in Japan with Cathy (Sarfati). Then, our paths never really took separate ways. With the Oslo Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, the Concertgebouw and the Bavarian Radio. At that time in France, only a few really knew the giant conductor you were mainly from your various recordings. I remember that lunch we had together in Munich when you got nominated at the head of the Bayerisher Rundfunk. You were so surprised I was asking you for a residency in Paris with both the Concertgebouworkest and the Bavarian Radio. Paris! You thought nobody would come for you! And the audience came and discovered over the years, at the Theatre des Champs-Elysées, Salle Pleyel or at the Philharmonie, with the Concertgebouworkest, the Bayerisher Rundfunk or the Wiener Philharmoniker what an iconic conductor they were having the chance to hear, at the very fair value of the immense conductor you are. Until the concert of this past 31st October with the Bavarian Radio at the Philharmonie de Paris where each of the 2000 people attending that evening, knew that at this very moment, they were experiencing the impossible perfection, out of time and reality. Spiritual and simple as if every intention was actually kind of obvious, only one voice was singing and each of the musicians was a soloist of exception in full harmony with the spirit and the vision his music director.
On a more private side, even though I feel everyone could sense what a human being was behind the podium, I will cherish greatly our moments together talking about so many different subjects. Your empathy, the way each year we would receive messages for our birthdays, and you would never miss sending Seiji Ozawa a birthday note and enquiring for him telling me that Seiji was surely born with a stick in his hand! You could not care less about the politically correct and our so-called “business industry “ but surely were trying not to offend anyone. You would really care for the ones you liked, not on a social way but truly, from the heart. You would always ask first how we were and were expecting a true answer because this was not a figure of style. “How are you” really meant “How are you”. Actually, you were attentive and had a nice word for so many people!
Today I think of your wife Irina, your life companion. Being the wife of an artist is such a hard task. But one could say you were definitely humanly at her image!
Mariss,
thank you for allowing us for being the lucky ones who somehow took part in your life.
Maestro,
thank you for giving to music lovers so many incredible moments of music that will stay forever in our hearts and souls
