"I write for not-quite-young women"
Larisa Rubalskaya, the author of poems based on the songs "Hijacker" by Allegrova, "Light in your Window" by Alsou and many other famous compositions, believes that artificial intelligence is not a competitor to the poet. On September 24, she celebrates her 80th birthday and continues to engage in creative work. The poetess created her new work for the Buranovsky Grandmothers. Larisa Rubalskaya spoke about this, as well as about the anniversary concert, "strange people" at Eurovision and samurai lessons in an interview with Izvestia.
"Igor Krutoy had a task: to write a song for Pugacheva"
— Now experienced authors are trying to collaborate with young artists in order to attract a large audience to their work. You decided to cooperate with the Buranovskiye Babushki. Are you more interested in women your age?
— Laura Quint and I wrote the folk song "We'll Live to be a Hundred," so the Buranovsky Grandmothers may be able to convey it better than others. Besides, I don't strive so much for youth. I don't need to increase the audience. My audience will always be with me as long as I live. It's big. And my fans are loyal. I don't need to look for something for young people to come to me. I hear that they liked the song based on my poems, they sing. That's how it happens too. But I'm not doing anything specifically for this.
— Don't you strive to be popular with young people?
- no. I write as I write. I write for women who are not very young, who have lived and experienced something. I have no need for young ears.
- why? Won't they understand?
— Other times have come, other names have risen. They listen to their own language, they speak their own language, they have their own problems. No need to force it. The time will come, they will listen to it too. I'm just happy, now several of my songs have become such a virus! For example, "Transit Passenger," which I wrote for Irina Allegrova. Who doesn't sing it? The young ones sound completely different. And "Hijacker" is a female text, but the guys have changed a few words and sing in their own way. Alsou's song "The Light in your Window" has also gone viral. Amazing! I'm just happy that these songs are alive.
— Do you remember the story of how the lines "Live in peace, country, you only have one" were born?
— They brought me a cassette, and I just liked Igor Krutoy's music. I wrote three texts on it so that it wouldn't disappear. I wanted to like something. Well, I liked this song. Igor Krutoy had a task: to write a song for Pugacheva. I was thinking of something to make it fit her character.
— In fact, you have written a certain psychological model of behavior for the performer.
- no. She just wrote, smiling a little. "My frequently changing weight is of burning interest." Well, it's just that it's been talked about a lot. There is no deep meaning or prognosis in the song.
— Do you think Alla Pugacheva has already sung her last song or not?
— I don't know. It's not from my life.
"Artificial intelligence is not a competitor to the poet"
— You are a man from that galaxy who is called a songwriter. You write poetry based on music by composers. And now your colleagues are increasingly being called authors. Is it offensive?
- no. I call myself an author. But when they say, "lyrics," I correct them: "lyrics to the songs." Because there is a difference between text and poetry.
— What's the difference?
— The poems are written according to the rules of poetry, with images, with beautiful rhyme, which is mandatory. Text is a craft. Poetry is creativity.
— Artificial intelligence is also composing poetry now. How do you feel about such competition?
— He may be able to write poetry, maybe they will sound smooth, but they will never touch anyone. Artificial intelligence has no soul. AI will never be able to let feelings pass through itself. This is done through the head, through the heart. Artificial intelligence is not a competitor to the poet.
— Or maybe we should just create a "suffering" program for AI?
— If you can't do it yourself, let them pawn it. In the meantime, I can do it myself.
— Can poems be prophetic? Have you noticed this in your poetry?
— Whenever I write poetry, even the saddest ones, I always end them with hope. And no matter how sad it is to read them, there will definitely be sunshine at the end. Just in case, I try not to make them heavy and prophesy something bad.
— Have you ever noticed the ability to foresee the future?
— Well, it happens to everyone. It's just a coincidence, I think. Sometimes feelings come true. But I don't think much of it.
Eurovision has become unhealthy: strange people get prizes"
— Recently, a grandiose event took place in Moscow — the revived Intervision music competition. In your opinion, is cultural diplomacy of great importance?
— Judging by the fact that the Minister of Foreign Affairs was present, it is certain that this will somehow affect relations between the two countries in the future. You see how often people talk about it. We have become even closer to China. Now people can go there without a visa. Cultural life also exists for this purpose — to unite countries.
There was a time when participation in Eurovision was important, prestigious and humanly normal. But the criteria have changed. Eurovision has become unhealthy lately: strange people get prizes. And there's a lot of that. Why would we do that? Now we have revived Intervision. What's wrong with that? Any such competition is a chance for people. And someone will show up and maybe become a star. How do people get to the surface? We need contests.
— I have heard the opinion that an artist is not a singer. To become popular with the public, it is not necessary to sing well. The main thing is to have charisma, to be confident. What do you think?
— I remember someone from our song fraternity said that to become a star, a person must have their own Katusha. If you have such a song, there is a chance. And about singing, Bernes didn't sing that much, Utesov isn't a supervocalist either. And they got their own Katusha, and the country found out. It's the same now. Nothing has changed. There may be a million songs, more talented, less, but until Katyusha appears, there is no chance of becoming a star.
"I sold the rights to my poems for five years"
— On September 30, you will make your debut as a dramatic artist in the production of Lessons of Happiness. What can your fans expect?
— I'm not an artist, I'm not reincarnating. I will tell stories from my life. There are five of them. Each one is a piece of my biography. It's all true. These are semantic memories that are connected by a single storyline. The play has a plot, a climax, a denouement. It seems to me that they are interesting for the audience. So, you can say, I'll go on stage as myself. Every story I tell is then acted out by actresses. Only here the heroines are given different names.
— You have a book with a similar title, Recipes for Happiness. Did she inspire you to do the play?
— I wasn't the initiator. Somehow, Tatiana Korabelnikova came up with the idea to make a play out of my life stories. She organized everything: she invited the director Marina Chaplina, who wrote a stage version of my stories. Then Tatiana found talented actresses and said that I would also be involved in the production. And everything started spinning.
— Are you worried about the premiere?
- no. Why worry? Everything will be fine.
— Are you not thinking about the next performance?
— If it's rolling, why not? There are already ideas.
— They say that you are already planning to tour with Lessons of Happiness.
— I would like to, of course. Well, let people take a look and appreciate it.
— But this is not the only tour. Posters of "Grandma is 80 years old" are already hanging around the country.
— Which city did they write this in?
— They are already waiting for you in Voronezh, Sochi, and Krasnodar.
— Apparently, they decided that if I announce everywhere how old I am, they will put this figure on the poster for a laugh.
— On September 24, fans and artists will come to congratulate you at the Oktyabrsky Recreation Center. Why did you decide to celebrate your anniversary in St. Petersburg?
— Not only in St. Petersburg, there are a number of concerts in Moscow as well. An evening from the Moscow Concert Hall will be on the screen soon. And on September 24 and 25, two evenings will be held at Oktyabrsky. I don't decide much at all. Something leads me through life. When another concert was taking place in St. Petersburg, the head of the BKZ came up and said: "We really ask you, we have an anniversary party." That was the first suggestion, and I agreed.
— Who will come to congratulate you at the BKZ?
— There are many artists who are with me in life. There will be Maxim Averin, Masha Rasputina, Mikhail Muromov, Igor Nadzhiev, Tanya Bulanova.
— Are artists grateful people? Do they remember whose songs made them popular?
— Everyone I worked with, 99% of them treated me with exceptional respect and attention. I have no complaints about anyone.
— In the West, authors receive royalties for performing songs. And even the author of one, but very popular song, is provided for the rest of his life. How are things going with our songwriters?
— There are copyright rights. I sold mine to a private company for a certain period of time. They are affiliated with the Russian Copyright Society. Since I've already lost my rights, I do not know how this happens, but now the company is looking for performers who sing songs based on my poems, and clarifying all sorts of financial relationships. Time will pass, I'll think about what's next. Maybe I'll give it back to someone else, or I'll run the business myself.
— Did you easily part with your copyrights?
— I sold the rights to my poems for five years, received the amount that we agreed on then, and that's it. As time goes on, that amount already seems small. But I signed up for it. What claims can I have?
— The contract will end, you can extend it...
— Or name the amount that will suit me. Or I'll switch to another company.
"If a person doesn't have children, I will never talk about children"
— Are you a happy person?
— In different ways. There were sunny days, cloudy days. If it's on the scales, I don't know which ones are bigger.
Is your glass half empty or half full?
— Full.
— Are you an optimist in life?
"Well, I'm not a whiner. I'm not moping. You see, there are different types of people. For me, the most important thing is not to depress other people's lives with my existence. I know what happens to me when I'm alone. But no one has ever seen me in a different state than when I am in front of you now.
— Why don't you want people to think differently about you?
"It's my nature. I have been working as a translator with the Japanese for more than 30 years. I've learned the rules of Japanese life. They're not supposed to say "I'm cold," "I'm tired," "I want to sleep," "I want to eat." You need to match the circumstances and in no case shift your fortune to others. I'm used to.
— What advice do you give to those who have a black streak and don't know how to get out of it?
— Black stripes are inevitable. Sometimes you can't get out of it. But it's still going to be light again later. You just know it, that's all. I have an important poem: "It won't always be like this." "Because everything passes, that's the truth. So the sage said in the distant years. And when accepting something is unthinkable, you tell yourself: It won't always be like this."
— Are you a bit of a samurai?
— I don't think so. Maybe a samurai, a little bit of me (smiles).
— What other useful qualities of the Japanese have you adopted?
— Don't look down on anyone. Don't put your opinion ahead of other opinions. When you want to argue, and you know for sure that the person is saying the wrong thing, you can say, "I don't know, maybe you're right, but sometimes it seems different to me."
I don't like it when people set themselves against others. You have to be very careful. For example, if a person does not have children, I will never talk about children. If a person is single, she would never say, "But my husband and I..." I am very careful not to touch a person's sore strings. If a person is sincere and honest, then he is suitable for me.
— What is Larisa Rubalskaya's recipe for happiness?
— Read good poets. Bulat Okudzhava has it all written down: "Let's compliment each other." We need to please each other, if possible, not to shut ourselves in. I'm also happy when I have someone to feed and something to feed. You need to gather people around you who can be seated at a table, put a plate on it, put something on it and chat about what is important to you. Bring good people closer to you.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
