How did the idea of creating a museum dedicated to old musical instruments come about?
Like many non-musicians, I was interested in sound, but music seemed an unattainably complex art, the domain of professionals. Then one day I discovered the vargan (jaw harp) — a very simple, inexpensive and utterly magical instrument. The vargan let you burst into the world of music quickly without studying solfeggio or spending a long time on technique, to explore sound, amaze people and be amazed yourself. After that I began looking for similar musical instruments on which one could start playing just as quickly and easily. It turned out there are many such instruments, mostly folk instruments. Quite quickly a small collection of odd things formed. From time to time people asked to hear about these instruments, came to see them in person and play them. That’s how I realized it was interesting and that a museum dedicated to instruments could be viable.
Photo: official VKontakte group of the museum
What is the concept and main mission of the museum?
Our museum is alive — the exhibits are not hidden behind glass, they continue to live and to sound. Almost any instrument can end up in someone’s hands and begin to sing. Our main mission is to show visitors the astonishing diversity and accessibility of the world of musical instruments.
Photo: official VKontakte group of the museum
Tell us about some of the unique exhibits?
In our museum you can encounter the most incredible instruments. From a flute made from a cedar nut shell to a large eastern trumpet — the karnay. From a Persian santur, similar to a gusli, which is played not with fingers but with wooden hammers called mezrabs, to a theremin, whose sound we control by moving our hands in the instrument’s electromagnetic field.
How are tours conducted at your museum?
Tours at the museum vary greatly depending on the guests. Some are interested in legends, some in the technical construction of the instruments. Some simply play the instruments or ask the attendant to play for them.
Photo: official VKontakte group of the museum
Tell us about the museum attendants. How did they join the team and what do they do?
While the idea matured and the opening was being prepared, a close community of people formed. They came to my events, we played together, learned, had common projects, and spent a lot of time together. Eventually the whole museum team emerged from this community. The guys on the team have varied talents, and each conducts tours in an individual style. As the museum attendant, I pay more attention to the history and legends about musical instruments, I talk about the place each instrument occupied in culture, so on my tours there are always tales and legends.
Nikolai Malkov is a composer and multi-instrumentalist; he can quickly grasp the logic of a new instrument and rapidly master the strangest and most complex instruments. In his tours he aims to demonstrate the sounds and possibilities of different instruments. He is currently creating a choir and saving up for his own organ.
Nikolai Malkov
Anton Azhermachev is a woodworker who preserves several unique traditions of wooden folk toy-making and helps us restore instruments. On his tours he likes to talk about forgotten Russian instruments. With him we plan to make several rare instruments of Siberian peoples that are no longer available anywhere, but which we very much want to show people.
Anton Azhermachev. Photo: Rustam Kalimulin
Olga Matytsina is a master of transformations, a props maker and artist; she makes wind instruments, often greets guests in the guise of fairy-tale creatures and practically turns the tour into a performance.
Olga Matytsina
Besides the attendants, we have two more people on the team: Yulia — an icon painter-restorer, and Toma — a photographer.
Yulia
In the museum they more often act as administrators, but they frequently participate in our events in completely different roles.
Toma
We are also greatly helped by the museum friend Tatyana Grekhova. She often consults us on matters of culture, art and design; she has her own collection of diverse flutes, and to a large extent it is thanks to her that we love wind instruments.
Tatyana Grekhova
What other events take place at the museum?
In addition to tours, we run master classes on playing and making instruments. Our program includes concerts, performances, and sometimes entirely non-standard events that are hard to classify. For example, sometimes we host Hyaku-monogatari — the Night of a Hundred Candles. In the Japanese tradition this is an evening when people tell kaidan — stories of the frightening and the supernatural — and after each story one candle is extinguished. Music is played that night, and we talk about how the ancient Japanese saw the structure of the world, what gods and spirits they populated it with. This way you can get to know another culture, touch it, listen to traditional texts and instruments, and try yourself as a musician or storyteller. Sometimes we invite guests to watch the process of restoring damaged exhibits and chat with us in an informal setting, to see the life of the museum from the inside.
Tell us about your plans for the future?
In the future we hope to find a larger space for the museum. Right now the collection has about two hundred exhibits, but it’s impossible to display them all, and to display them attractively is even harder — and there are still many wonders we’d like to acquire to continue surprising people.
