The German Institute for the Good Life is pleased to welcome Alexander Polivanov as a new member of staff. As a
1. Your path has led you from classical music to cultural management and research. What motivated you to combine these different disciplines?
SPO: Music has been my passion since childhood, and I decided to become a musician when I was 10 years old. My interest was never limited to playing an instrument — for me it was important to understand how a piece of music is structured, when it was written and who staged it. For example, when I played an opera, I wanted to know everything about the composer, the director, the singers and the production, even if that wasn’t important for an orchestral musician. This broad view of the arts gradually led me beyond the music interpretation framework, first to curating music, then to cultural management and research. I am convinced that different areas of life do not exist in isolation from each other and that it is always possible to find common ground between seemingly distant areas. If you combine them correctly, a “chemistry” develops that enriches both spheres much more than if they had developed in isolation.
2. At difgl, we deal intensively with social change and good living conditions. To what extent can culture – especially music – contribute to initiating social and political change?
SPO: Music is a universal language that everyone understands, regardless of education and background. For me, culture in general is a means of passing on information and values not genetically, but socially, thereby shaping the identity of a society. Since culture is closely linked to the collective consciousness, it inevitably influences social and political processes. Music can inspire, bring people together and even be a catalyst for change. That is why it is so important that state cultural policy is well thought out and contributes to positive changes in society.
3. Your research project at the Humboldt University on musical emigration shows how political conditions influence culture. What parallels do you see between historical and current developments?
SPO: The history of Russian musical emigration shows that culture has always been closely linked to political conditions. In the 1920s, the emigration of musicians was often associated with the search for creative freedom and integration into the Western cultural context (e.g. Diaghilev and Stravinsky). In the second half of the century, many musicians left the country under pressure from the Soviet regime — including Rachmaninov and Prokofiev, who became both victims of the system and its symbols. Current events are repeating these historical waves of emigration in many ways. The war in Ukraine has led to a new wave of emigration of Russian musicians, but their situation is now even more difficult. They are not only associated with a rich musical tradition, but also with the aggressor state, which affects their creativity and even hinders their careers. This cultural divide is one of the main themes of my research: We are observing today how the perception of emigrated musicians is changing through the prism of politics. In a world where the flow of information is becoming ever faster, longreads are particularly important because they allow readers to structure their thoughts and delve deeper into complex topics.
4. SPLEE is creating a streaming platform for longreads and essays from Europe. What role can such formats play in a time when attention spans are getting shorter – and how do they contribute to democratic debate?
SPO: In a world where the flow of information is becoming ever faster, longreads are particularly important because they allow readers to structure their thoughts and delve deeper into complex topics. SPLEE is not just a collection of texts, but a kind of intellectual filter that selects strong essays from all over Europe. In addition, the platform helps to overcome linguistic and national barriers so that the various EU countries can understand each other better. This creates a space for a common dialogue beyond headlines and momentary events.
5. What does “good life” mean to you personally – and what role do art and culture play in it?
SPO: For me, «good life» is a life full of meaning. And for me, meaning means recognizing yourself in society and understanding society through yourself. Culture plays a key role in this: it shapes our identity, gives us tools to interpret the world and helps us find common ground with others. I understand culture in a broad sense — from language, architecture and art to science and politics. All of this creates a frame of reference in which we recognize ourselves and our place in the world.
