Beyond the Shadow of Greatness

Viktoria Tolstoy

Her new album - My Russian Soul

Like Great, Great Grandfather...

Leo Tolstoy

“I live in the shadow of a great man but it’s not something I mind because I have forged my own career in a different field.”

Viktoria Tolstoy, bearing the radiance often associated with a woman in the full bloom of pregnancy (she is expecting her first child) shuffles in her seat and smiles. She is an attractive, confident individual with blonde hair and striking eyes that shoulder a determined gaze. Beneath the warmth and hospitality sits a shrewd and industry-wise head.

“But after 14 years in the business, I felt I wanted to convey some of my Russian ancestry through my music and that was where much of my focus and drive came from with my latest album, My Russian Soul.”

Swedish by birth, Viktoria’s early influences came to her via her father, who was a jazz musician in his own right and she cites him as being the main reason she got into music to start with.

“I always wanted to be a singer; my father made a successful living out of it and when I was old enough – with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davies providing the musical backdrop to my early years- I knew that was where my calling lay. Naturally, I had the full support of my family and that helped me a great deal.”

Ironically, today Viktoria does not listen to a great deal of jazz, although she is known predominantly for singing it and prefers the sound of Prince (her all-time favourite) and Sting.

“Prince is my number one hero. If there was one performer I had the chance to get on stage with it would have to be him.”

Her strong presence in Europe and a long string of successes has allowed Viktoria to expand her range as a singer and her latest album was born very much from a need to somehow connect with her heritage.

“My Russian Soul is a very personal album for me but also a risky one. I was taking recognised, classics by giants of their generations - such as Tschaikowsky, Rachmaninov and Vysotsdy - and putting my lyrics and arrangements to their work. Because so many are timeless pieces that have a place in the very history of the country you can upset a lot of people if you don’t do it just right.

If she harbours any anxiety about her decision it doesn’t show but then over the course of a distinguished career she is a woman well aware of what she wants.

And perhaps she has good reason to be confident because the critical reviews and commercial reaction to her work has so far been very positive.

“I don’t take too much notice of the critics. So long as my fans are not disappointed I am happy.”

Turning matters more to her famous ancestor, she talks with some reservations about the link to such a prestigious past.

“In some ways it is difficult to explain because as my great, great grandfather is such a well-known figure it was obviously expected of me to understand him. However, by the same token, what I know of him comes as much from history as it does from my family. After all, he died almost a century ago.

“I am related to him from my mother’s side but I was born and bred in Sweden although I have visited Moscow . I have also been to his grave and naturally read some of his works – I love Anna Karenina but I have yet to read War and Peace.

“As to whether he would have approved of what I am doing now; Tolstoy lived and died long before modern music was ever born but I am sure he would have been “toe-tapping” along with the rest of them and in the front row of my gigs if he were alive today.”

With a baby arriving soon (Viktoria is a week away from her due date) there are set to be a few changes in her life but she is adamant that her career will continue unabated.

“I enjoy making albums but my real drive is performing. I love singing live: I love the reaction that comes from an audience and being able to connect with them is a fantastic thrill. My fans can rest assured that I will be out on the road again.”

At the end of our interview I came away realising that for all the attention directed towards Viktoria because of her famous ancestor, she was very much an artist in her own right and eager to be seen as such. She is no Paris Hilton, hanging onto the coat tails of her family’s success. Nor is she – for all her natural beauty – someone living off looks ahead of talent. Anyone who listens to her work will instantly realise this.

Yet at the same time she had not turned her back on her past and her latest work seems testament to that fact.

If you would like more information on Viktoria Tolstoy and news of her new album, then visit her website at www.viktoriatolstoy.com

George R Vaughan

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Beyond the Shadow of Greatness

Viktoria Tolstoy

Her new album - My Russian Soul

Like Great, Great Grandfather...

Leo Tolstoy

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