ABSTRACT
"I believe that I follow my own definite line in my creative work, as anybody else does. At the very beginning, when I first came to Moscow, my contacts with Edison Denisov proved very important to me. In his class I could get the musical information previously unavailable to me, learn about the latest events in the world of modern music, and familiarize myself with the new scores and recordings, Denisov's own compositions included. Naturally enough, for several years I remained under his influence, though always striving for my own inimitable 'voice'. I recall how once, already after my graduation from the conservatoire, Denisov during one of our talks expressed a curious thought: 'You must come to hate my style to become a good composer'."
