Magic xylophone

"Vesti" 14.08.2009 / Marina Sokolovskaya / Dmitry M. Epstein

Irina Graver's name in Israel is familiar to many. Her xylophone concerts are attended by both old and young. Listeners sit down and, like enchanted, watch the hands and sticks, forcing to sing seemingly lifeless, wooden plates with different voices. And then the real magic happens: people who are not accustomed to classical music begin to perceive it.

Irina Graver is almost the only woman in our country - percussionist, who performs solo extensive classical programs, using marimba, bells, castanets and other percussion instruments in addition to xylophone. In between performances, we met with Irina.

  - Irina, solo percussion - is not quite so usual for Israel, but this niche is completely filled here. We have a variety of iconic artists, such as Chen Zimbalista and the Perkadu duo. How do you survive such a tight music market? 

  - All these artists perform mostly contemporary music, written especially for such instruments. I play classics adapted for percussion, whether it's symphonic, vocal or instrumental music. A separate program in my repertoire consists of music from operas, musicals and operettas - overtures to "The Wedding of Figaro" and "Carmen", Juditha’s song from Lehar's operetta... The following works: "Romance" by Sviridov, the overture to "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini, Sarasate’s Concert Fantasy - I adapted for xylophone, metallophone and piano myself.

- How did you actually get interested in percussion instruments?

- I’ve always wanted to do music since childhood, but due to finger injury I had to abandon my dream of playing the piano. So, my parents chose a xylophone for me, although they had nothing to do with music. Already in my first year at the Tashkent Conservatory I started working in large collectives - first in Tashkent, then in Moscow and in Yaroslavl - and having moved to Israel I decided to pursue a solo career.

  I really wanted to reach a new level, so have prepared a program of popular classics adapted for xylophone, made specially for the Israeli public, and this program almost immediately began to enjoy great success. Now, as I celebrate a decade of performing in Israel, I have several concert programs. The essential cluster in each program is the music by contemporary composers who write explicitly for drums. I adapted Keiko Abe's play "Dream of the Cherry Blossoms" for a solo xylophone. Sometimes I include jazz numbers in my performances, such as Addy Kurth's Palisander. Particularly for the performance of “Small pieces for percussions & piano” by Passerone, Anico, Baudo, I bring a whole set of instruments to my concerts: snare drum, bongs, several plates, triangle, cowbell, hi-hat, woodblock. This is a very interesting piece in which even the piano sounds like a genuine percussion instrument. This composition is always warmly received by my listeners.

- What kind of audience goes to your concerts?

- I've been invited to perform in small clubs for people over 50 years old for a long time, but I recently started performing in the Bell caves in Beit Guvrin (that have an absolutely incredible acoustics), in Jerusalem's Ticho House, in Latrun and Beit Jamal. And that's where young people who are interested in both classics and modern music started to come to me. I also composed and staged the fairy tale "The Magic Flower" for children from 5 to 9 years old. This performance was successfully held in many Matnases and schools and in mid-September we will play it in Latrun.

- When creating "The Magic Flower", did you focus on the mentality of children born in Israel?

- Yes, because I work in schools quite extensively, teaching children to play on a darbuka, xylophone and metallophone, and I know the mentality of Israeli children pretty well.

- Your performances are often accompanied by stories about a particular instrument. What made you create such program? 

- After my first Israeli concerts, listeners began to approach me with questions like "Why do you change sticks all the time?" I realized that people would be interested to know that you can play two, three, four, and even six sticks on the xylophone at the same time. Moreover, I am a real fan of drums, and I am sorry to hear how every so often after the concert some listeners say somewhat dismissively: "I had a toy xylophone in my childhood, I played songs on it, too." After all, the potential of this instrument is endless!