The Musical Genius of Mikael Tariverdiev: An evening with Vera Tariverdieva

Mikael Tariverdiev, author of the haunting score for Seventeen Moments of Spring was one of the greatest modern Soviet film composers.

The score, which is held to have helped elevate the series to its unprecedented success, remains one of the most popular works of film music. Together with the music for hugely popular films such as ‘The irony of Fate’, it catapulted him to fame in Soviet Russia.  During his lifetime, the Georgian / Armenian composer received only a fraction of the accolades awarded to Western  peers such as Morricone, John Barry or Michel Legrand but his reputation is steadily growing due to a series of high quality releases made over the past three years and recognition by contemporary composer such as Nils Frahm.

For this very special event, Vera Tariverdieva, Mikael’s widow and the guardian of his legacy, will join Alex Kan and Stephen Coates in conversation to provide a rare and intimate glimpse into the life and work of a modern musical genius.

Alexander Kan is the BBC Russian Service Art and Culture Correspondent. He is the author of three books about the cultural underground in the Soviet Union (“Poka ne nachalsya Jazz” (2008), “Kuryokhin” (2012), “Pop-Mekhanika” (2014), as well as many articles in the Western and Russian media. He was a music critic, journalist and producer in Leningrad in the 1970s-1990s. Since 1996 he has lived in London and works as the BBC Russian Service Art and Culture Correspondent. He also continues to produce festivals and concerts in Russia and in the UK.

Stephen Coates is a musician and arts producer. He has released many albums and tours internationally as The Real Tuesday Weld. His arts company Antique Beat have been publishing the music of Mikael Tariverdiev in the West since 2012. It is one of several Russian cultural projects they curate.

This event is part of Pushkin House Seventeen Moments of Spring Two Day Marathon.