Spotlight on Concertmaster Oleg Rylatko

Michael Brodeur of the Washington Post praised WNO’s “La bohème,” noting that concertmaster Oleg Rylatko delivered “an impactful performance.” We asked Oleg about those beautiful solos, and he responded, “Of course, I could be biased, but I feel that when any composer, especially Puccini, wants to say something extraordinary and meaningful, he writes it to be played by violin solo!”

I was born in the Soviet Union into a family of professional musicians and my parents were my first teachers. I later studied with the legendary violinist Victor Tretyakov at the Moscow State Conservatory. These years were filled with incredible learning opportunities and artistic discoveries, but were unavoidably affected by the collapse of the entire country, which brought severe hardship. I was lucky to have the opportunity to come to the USA to study with Professor Berl Senofsky at the Peabody Institute. He broadened the horizons of the violin world for me; his artistic input was so inspiring and unexpected, so thought-provoking. Often, he would give me an “alternative" interpretation to a very familiar piece, and the synergy of different ideas would enable me to find my way, make my artistic decisions, and present my view of this piece with conviction. So, you can see that my educational background and professional experience are international in their nature, combining influences and traditions from the Old and New Worlds. But that is not unique among my colleagues at the WNO Orchestra, who represent the best music schools and traditions from the US and abroad.

The role of the concertmaster goes beyond tuning the orchestra and shaking the conductor's hand. What musicians are doing is pure magic! We are transforming all the silent scribbles in the music parts and silent gestures of a conductor on the podium into the mesmerizing world of sounds. But to enable that magic to happen, there is a lot of preparation. For the concertmaster, this involves actively collaborating with the conductor, learning fine details about their artistic requests, and preparing the parts. During the performance the concertmaster has to translate the conductor's gestures into the sound and, if needed, reinforce it with their own body language, or as musicians say, "lead." The WNO Orchestra, composed of many musicians with unique instruments and personalities, is greater than the sum of its parts. To belong and contribute to that process is an incredible experience.