РУССКИЙ
14:28 22.08.2024 •
Translated by Irina Chepaykina
We continue to communicate with the laureates and nominees of the All-Russian BNGR competition. In 2024, Denis von Meck – an educator, publisher, philanthropist, founder of Tchaikovsky admirers’ associations, and head of the International Charitable Foundation named after N. F. von Meck – won the Arthur Karl Social Activity Award.
Born in Moscow on April 16, 1969, Denis Andreevich von Meck’s well-known surname speaks to his distinguished lineage as a direct descendant of the von Meck, Davydov, and Tchaikovsky families.
Denis is an expert in fire safety and an engineer by education. He worked for many years as the head of commercial organizations in construction and production. However, for the past decade, Denis has been actively engaged in educational activities. He popularizes pre-revolutionary culture, art, and history, studies and promotes family traditions, and is involved in developing intercultural associations of Tchaikovsky admirers. Recently, Denis has also begun working to unify educational institutions named after P. I. Tchaikovsky.
Before the interview, Denis shared an inspiring story about how culture unites people despite time, distance, and prejudice:
“While traveling to different Russian cities, I met an accordionist who performed in various countries. He told me a story that deeply moved me. In a small German town where he played Tchaikovsky on the accordion, an elderly German man sat in the front row, crying throughout the concert. After the performance, the man approached the musician, thanked him, and asked, ‘Will you play again? Is it possible to hear you somewhere else?’ My acquaintance replied, ‘Yes, there’s another concert tomorrow, but it’s far away, in another city, 300 kilometers from here.’
To his surprise, the next day in that distant German city, as he played Tchaikovsky again, the same elderly German man was in the front row, crying. After the performance, the German approached him, holding out something clenched in his fist with a shaking hand. He said, ‘You know, I got this from my father. He fought in Stalingrad and took this star from a killed Soviet soldier’s cap. He brought it home as a war trophy. Over time, as he aged, his worldview changed. Before his death, my father found this star and gave it to me, asking, “Please make sure this star returns to Russia.”‘
The elderly German fulfilled his father’s last wish by giving the star to my acquaintance. Please consider this – it’s a very illustrative case. Everything in life is rethought and reevaluated as time passes. Ultimately, culture and art conquer differences and hate.”
What do you think is the most important thing for a representative of your profession?
“In this case, the main quality is the same for both my professional and educational activities. The most important thing is continuous self-development. My professional field is fire safety, one of the most dynamic areas that constantly undergoes significant changes. There are crucial regulatory updates every year. In my educational work, it’s an even more endless process.
I have a complex family tree that includes many remarkable people in various fields. There are generals from 1812, Decembrists, the first builders of private railways who created an entirely new economic environment in the country, and close associates of Imperial families in times of peace and war. My ancestors conducted incredible educational activities, creating, managing, and actively participating in the development of over a hundred educational and charitable organizations.
The need for continuous development stems from the vast amount of materials that I couldn’t fully master even if I lived ten lifetimes. Given these conditions, it’s necessary to grow intensively in terms of both knowledge and communication skills.
It’s crucial to learn how to deliver information correctly and clearly to my audience, which can be very diverse. My lectures attract listeners ranging from six-year-olds to ninety-six-year-olds. Some are musicians, some are historians, some are foreigners, some come to understand the subtleties, and some have never heard of the topic before. One needs to learn how to present information in an understandable and accessible format and to be an engaging storyteller.
There are two basic skills: first, you need to know how to promote your event effectively so that people will come to listen. In the vast daily information flow, you need to highlight your event so that it gets noticed and chosen. Then, it’s important not only to keep the audience engaged during the lecture but also to present the material in an understandable and interesting way that makes people want to attend your future presentations. I have dozens of different lectures dedicated to various topics.”
What are you most proud of?
“You know, I lead a very interesting life and have much to be proud of. I’ve visited numerous countries and made thousands of acquaintances in different parts of the world. Of course, this greatly expands my understanding of the world, the universe, and different cultures. It’s easier to grasp the cultural context that can help us find common ground.
I believe that Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky would be a wonderful example here. He’s a perfect candidate for the title of ‘ambassador of the world’ in the field of culture because he spoke several languages and even learned them to read literature in the original. He visited 19 countries and 165 localities worldwide. Considering there were no planes in those years, this is an impressive number. He was a very versatile and inquisitive person who knew and learned a lot. He understood not only literature, culture, and history but also the mentality of different nations.
I think it’s really fascinating. My main achievement is that my life has developed in such a way that I now have the opportunity to learn about people, their history, and culture in a vast number of countries. The same is true for my professional activity: I’ve delivered presentations in different countries worldwide. Fire safety is a field where sharing experience is crucial. The more we share it, the fewer people in the world will die. By the way, I’m also a fire historian and have a large collection. From a historical and cultural point of view, the more positive facts we know about each other, the more likely we are to cooperate creatively as neighbors – not looking for problems, but seeking common ground to help our world remain peaceful.”
Do you have German traditions in your family? Or maybe something typically German at home?
“No, I wouldn’t say that. After all, since the second half of the 19th century, we already have a large mix with very little German left. I don’t think I can answer this question in an interesting way.
I don’t know why, but I remembered that when reading a book about Baron von Falz-Fein, I found a phrase that amazed me with its expression: ‘The Germans in Russia became more Russian than purebred Russians.'”
What did you dream about as a child?
“Well, as a child… Our childhood was quite limited; I grew up in the Soviet Union. The understanding of what existed in other countries and relations between these countries was very illusory. Of course, I wanted to know what life was like for other people on other continents. As an adult, I’ve visited 70 countries, many of them more than a dozen times, so, thank God, I’ve managed to fulfill this dream partly. But the main thing here is not the fact of obtaining the information itself, but how it’s used and for what purposes.
I’m very encouraged by social activities that unite people; I’m a social activist by nature. I admire people who have managed to establish social organizations that live on and benefit others.
Here’s an example: there’s a Tchaikovsky society in Germany. It consists not only of experts, musicians, and musicologists but also music lovers. Of course, most of them are Germans, but there are also members from different countries. I was very impressed at a meeting in Germany once. I came to the Tchaikovsky Music Society and heard Pushkin in six languages. The Tchaikovsky admirers read Alexander Pushkin’s poems in French, Hebrew, English, German… Can you imagine how culture unites us after all? I see great happiness in this. In particular, it’s a great happiness for me to be part of the process. Dreams generally work in a very interesting way. I clearly remember a picture from Soviet TV: the bright lighting design of a hotel in Las Vegas. And in 1998, when I visited Las Vegas for the first time, I stayed at that very hotel! I didn’t know it was that hotel and I didn’t choose it, but when I came out of the hotel, I saw exactly the picture with the shimmering lights of the signboard from my childhood memories. So, as you see, it really works.”
And what are you dreaming about now?
“I dream that people from all over the world, belonging to all cultures, would find something in common for mutual exchange and not look for differences. This is my heartfelt dream.”
If you could call yourself in your childhood time, what advice would you give yourself – a child?
“I would advise myself to be less lazy. I won’t be original: exercise more actively, read more, learn languages. Develop yourself more as a child, because it’s much more difficult for an adult person.”
*The All-Russian competition “The best names of Germans in Russia” is aimed at identifying and encouraging Russian Germans who achieved recognized success in their professional activities and is held for the 14th time. The competition is organized by the International Union of German Culture. You can support your favorite candidates by voting online on the official website of the contest.
The original interview text was prepared by Ekaterina Alekseeva and published on the website https://rusdeutsch.ru (https://rusdeutsch.ru/Nachrichten/15686).
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