Germany Doesn't Suck

(a day late, but Travel Wednesday doesn’t have the same ring).

There have been places that I have heard about in life and have wanted to visit, and I’ve made some of them come true. I had always dreamt of visiting Venice and Dubrovnik, and accomplished seeing both in 2003 (I did try to get to Dubrovnik when I was in Montenegro in 1998, but the border was closed because of the trouble going on in what was then Yugoslavia).

I definitely wasn’t disappointed with either.

There was one more place on the list: Kiev.

Where?

The capital of Ukraine.

The next question is probably: Why?

The not always expected answer is: Classical music.

Years ago I spilled the beans on here that I used to be a classical musician. I played in my school’s bands (wind ensemble, marching band and jazz band) and also was in a couple orchestras at a nearby university on the weekends. I played in pit orchestras for musicals and even had my very own senior recital shortly before graduating high school.

It didn’t go much farther than that, though.

While I was active, I loved classical music and frequently listened to it at home. However, one piece really struck me: Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky. However, this piece didn’t only strike me because of how much fun and beautiful it was to play, there was another reason.

From Wikipedia:

It was probably in 1870 that Mussorgsky met artist and architect Viktor Hartmann. Both men were devoted to the cause of an intrinsically Russian art and quickly became friends. Their meeting was likely arranged by the influential critic Vladimir Stasov who followed both of their careers with interest.

Hartmann died from an aneurysm in 1873. The sudden loss of the artist, aged only 39, shook Mussorgsky along with others in Russia’s art world. Stasov helped organize an exhibition of over 400 Hartmann works in the Academy of Fine Arts in St Petersburg in February and March 1874. Mussorgsky lent works from his personal collection to the exhibit and viewed the show in person. Fired by the experience, he composed Pictures at an Exhibition in six weeks. The music depicts an imaginary tour of an art collection. Titles of individual movements allude to works by Hartmann; Mussorgsky used Hartmann as a working title during the work’s composition. He described the experience to Stasov in June 1874: “Hartmann is seething as Boris was. Sounds and ideas float in the air and my scribbling can hardly keep pace with them.”

What does this have to do with Kiev?

The title of one of the paintings is translated as The Great Gate of Kiev and anyone who knows this splendid work of art knows that it is very majestic and a great finale to it (when played well). This was in the early 80s, though and I had no way of finding the pictures, however I loved that movement so much that I figured one day I would get to Kiev to see the Great Gate.

Then the internet came along and I saw the painting for the first time:

‘Wow, I really have to go to Kiev and see what it looks like nowadays and listen to that movement while walking around it.’

Then I did a bit of research on it:

Stasov comment: “Hartmann’s sketch was his design for city gates at Kiev in the ancient Russian massive style with a cupola shaped like a Slavonic helmet.”

Bogatyrs are heroes that appear in Russian epics called bylinas. The title of this movement is commonly translated as “The Great Gate of Kiev” and sometimes as “The Heroes’ Gate at Kiev.”

‘How interesting! I’m even more excited to see it now!’

Hartmann designed a monumental gate for Tsar Alexander II to commemorate the monarch’s narrow escape from an assassination attempt on April 4, 1866. Hartmann regarded his design as the best work he had done. His design won the national competition but plans to build the structure were later cancelled.

‘NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’

A childhood dream smashed to bits in seconds. I searched for a hour looking for a website that would tell me that it really did exist, but couldn’t find one.

‘Sigh’

However, while searching I viewed many videos and photos of Kiev and still want to visit some day.

Gate or not.

Has any kind of travel disappointment ever happened to you (and I’m not talking about being disappointed in a place you visit)?

Do share.

Finally, here is an orchestral arrangement of The Great Gate of Kiev being performed.