Fiction｜Concerto for Elevator and Orchestra

a submission for the STSC Symposium: Regret

Hello,

In this short story, I trained to emulate different mass media-related writing styles. I translated it from the original Russian (will open a pdf file) for the Soaring Twenties Social Club (STSC) Symposium. This month’s theme is “Regret”.

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Concerto for Elevator and Orchestra

April 17th, City of N-sk, ‘Homemaker’ Magazine, advertised content

What is ‘fashion’? It is something that always goes out of fashion. People spend money they don't have to impress people they don't like. However, there are things that everyone likes and that never go out of fashion. They are called classics.

On the twenty-fourth of April, just in time for the May holidays, we celebrate the grand opening of a new shopping center where the trendy is fleeting, but the classic is eternal. Welcome to the ‘Elegy’ Entertainment and Shopping Center. At ‘Elegy’, you won't find mass-market products, but quality and European style, not market-style ‘consultants’, but top-notch service, not a food court, but a dining courtyard...

In short, ‘Elegy’ Shopping Center isn't pop culture. It's a classic.

Come visit!

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April 21st, ‘Highwayman’ regional radio station, ‘Watch the Wheel’ program

Musical Jingle: ...Advertising Corner!

Host: And now, a message from our sponsor. Just a reminder, dear listeners, that this Sunday marks the grand opening of the massive, four-story ‘Elegy’ Entertainment and Shopping Center! Ladies and gentlemen, it's going to be an unforgettable event. ‘Elegy’ represents an entirely new approach to what we traditionally consider shopping centers. The directors of ‘Elegy’ have finally focused on what's most important: culture. So, this Sunday, at the grand opening, there will be a real violin concert. Three orchestral groups will be playing Beethoven and Vivaldi sonatas throughout the center, allowing every visitor to soak in, so to speak, a bohemian atmosphere of high living. Moreover, right in the heart of the center, on the ground floor by the grand rotunda, there will be an exhibition of contemporary classical artists. My friends, this is your unique chance, with artists coming from Moscow and St. Petersburg, so this Sunday, instead of heading to just any museum, grab your kids and head to ‘Elegy’. It's going to be beautiful and interesting. ‘Elegy’ isn't pop culture. It's a classic.

Musical Jingle.

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May 15th, ‘North’ local cable TV channel, ‘Dialogue’ talk show

Host: Good evening. Tonight on ‘Dialogue’, we'll be discussing business and culture—and where they intersect. Joining us at our table is the director of a very interesting shopping center in N-sk, ‘Elegy’—Mikhail Kobylin. Good evening, Mikhail!

Mikhail Kobylin: Hello.

Host: A few words about our guest.

Insert: Video Profile. 

Voice-over: Mikhail Kobylin. Thirty-four years old. Married, no children. Born in N-sk, but emigrated with his family to the United States at the age of seven. Graduated from high school with straight A's. Captain of the school's American football team. Attended the University of North Carolina's business school and graduated with honors. Returned to his homeland in N-sk seven years ago. Married a woman born in the same hospital as him. Loves art and classical music, and leads an active lifestyle. Favorite artist: Raphael. Favorite composer: Beethoven.

End of clip.

Host: Is all of that correct?

MK: Well... seems about right.

Host: Let's get started. Why did you come back?

MK: To Russia?

Host: Yes.

MK: Well... Honestly, I wanted to understand who I am.

Host: What do you mean?

MK: Well... who am I? First and foremost, I'm Russian, a person of Russian culture. And I wanted to figure that out for myself.

Host: Indeed. You've lived most of your life abroad, but you speak Russian without an accent. Whose achievement is that?

MK: Definitely my mother's. My parents'. We only spoke Russian at home, plus Russian culture, Russian books...

Host: Friends?

MK: No, most friends were from there.

Host: And here?

MK: Over the last few years, of course, some have appeared...

Host: What did you start doing when you arrived?

MK: Business development, a bit of marketing.

Host: Right after university?

MK: No, of course not; I managed to do an internship... is this the right Russian word?

Host: Internship, yes.

MK: An internship. Still there, in America.

Host: And how did it go?

MK: It went well.

Host: But you didn't find yourself?

MK: And I had to come back here. Here, I found myself, for sure.

Host: Excellent. Tell us about ‘Elegy’. Where did it all start?

MK: It's been a long-held idea of mine, a dream even. You see, in the States, we lived in Edison, New Jersey. It's not a very big town, and a lot of life revolved around the mall, the shopping center. It was more than just a place to shop; it was a social hub, especially for the youth. When I came here, I was inspired to create something similar. But not just for the youth, for everyone.

Host: So, you decided on a thematic...

MK: Yes! I thought about what unites us all, what brings people together. Culture, art, music primarily. I myself... I'm not talented, I haven't mastered anything, but I love classical music; it uplifts me, see?

Host: Uplifts?

MK: It makes me a better person, you know?

Host: Of course. Tell us about the opening.

MK: The grand opening was a week ago; we invited the mayor, the whole city council...

Host: Let's watch a clip.

Insert: Clip from the grand opening.

Mayor: ...And I am very pleased, proud even, that such an initiative has come, so to speak, from the people, from us. Mikhail, of course, came from America, a smart guy, but, you know, as they say, he’s smart, but he’s still one of us...

End of clip.

MK: Vladislav Grigorievich really supported the ‘Elegy’ idea...

Host: How did ordinary people react to your project?

MK: You know, fewer people came to the opening than we hoped... expected, but... But the reaction was very positive, everyone, you know, really liked it—the vernissage, the concert, there was a lot of applause...

Host: But there was some criticism.

MK: Yes, of course, and we took the comments very seriously. Work is already underway. For example, one attendee told me... The musicians were playing, I mean, Beethoven, Vivaldi. And one woman afterwards asked me, “Why don't you play our music? Our composers?” And it made me think: why not? So we decided to rectify that. I found an amazing young modernist composer here, in N-sk, an international competition laureate, a real genius. And we've arranged for him to write... exclusively, you understand, for ‘Elegy’, music that will play everywhere, in the stores, in the dining courtyard, by the rotunda, in the elevators...

Host: Even in the elevators?

MK: Yes... He will write it as he feels, he will have complete creative freedom. Real music, you know? And we're thinking of having another event, to formally announce it, because the people should know their geniuses...

Host: And when can we expect...

MK: No exact date, of course, real art can't be rushed, you understand. But in a couple of months, definitely.

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December 18th, ‘Russian Journalist’ magazine, ‘Retrospective’ section

Elegy

This December ‘Russian Journalist’ revisits a harrowing event in N-sk that could have been prevented on multiple occasions. Although no charges have been filed yet, a source close to the investigation revealed that the inquiry is proceeding under articles related to ‘Negligence’ and ‘Provision of Services Not Meeting Safety Requirements’. This tragic yet emblematic story is being reexamined by ‘RJ’ as part of its ‘Retrospective’ series.

To recap the facts: On August 4th, an elevator in the ‘Elegy’ Shopping and Entertainment Center fell from the fourth floor, carrying nineteen people. Eleven died at the scene, and two more succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. The elevator was overloaded, exceeding the regulatory norm by more than twofold. But what exactly led to this disaster?

‘Elegy’ was hailed as an innovative shopping center that promised not just material but also spiritual pleasures to its visitors. One of the strategies employed by the young director, Mikhail Kobylin, to attract the public was a collaboration with local composers and artists to create a new, unique program for the center. This well-intentioned initiative became one of the steps on the staircase leading to tragedy.

“Dasha always loved music,” Valery Sekhin, the father of one of the victims in the elevator, told ‘RJ’. “She was studying at the conservatory and had even heard about the composer who... She was the one who took us to 'Elegy.' It was beautiful, of course, music playing everywhere, just like in a museum. We took the escalator up to grab something to eat and saw the line for the elevator. Something was playing there. And Dasha went to stand in line while we went to McDonald's. We had just received our order, were sitting and waiting when suddenly... We ran over, there was a crowd at the platform, and smoke and dust were rising from below. And screaming. But Dasha was nowhere to be found. She had even said to us, 'Go ahead, I want a Big Mac and small fries.' And that was the last...”

PHOTO: The collapsed elevator, picture taken from the fourth floor. Dust and shattered glass. A deserted shopping center.

This investigative piece delves into the tragic event that unfolded within the walls of the ‘Elegy’ Center, probing into the circumstances that led to the devastating accident and questioning the safety measures and the pursuit of cultural enrichment at the cost of human lives. Maria B., one of the survivors, now undergoing rehabilitation at N-sk's facial surgery clinic, recounts the harrowing moments when the elevator, overloaded beyond its capacity, plummeted from the fourth floor. 

“I remember hearing so much about the elevators. A friend of mine went during the early days and absolutely loved it. Back then, it wasn't as crowded, but by the time I decided to go, it seemed like the whole city had the same idea. The line for the elevator was endless; I can't even recall how long we waited. Once inside, we were packed so tightly that breathing felt like a luxury. And strangely, almost no one wanted to get off; everyone was intent on listening to the end, despite the discomfort, as more and more people squeezed in.”

“We finally reached the fourth floor, where even more people crammed into the already overcrowded space. The doors struggled to close, but eventually they did. The elevator started to move, and then, without warning, we plummeted. I lost consciousness immediately. The music? I... I can't even... I don't know, I just can't. If there's one thing I regret the most, after everything, it's that I didn't get to hear the end of that piece.”

Ivan Reshetnikov, an engineer specializing in elevator designs, shared some technical insights with ‘RJ’, shedding light on the complex safety mechanisms of elevators. Despite no evident installation or operational violations, the relentless overloading leading up to the incident points to a gross underestimation of safety protocols. “An elevator is safeguarded by four levels of protection,” he explained. “The first line of defense is the cables themselves. The second and third tiers involve a range of electronics, including locks and limiters that kick in during overload or when the operational speed is exceeded. And finally, at the bottom of the shaft, special springs are designed to cushion any fall.”

“In the tragic incident at the ‘Elegy’, it was the extraordinary overload and the resulting skew of the cabin, exacerbated by movement inside, that likely led to the failure. The electronics, meant to prevent such disasters, couldn't react in time due to the unprecedented strain. While our investigation didn't reveal any blatant installation or operational violations, the persistent extreme overloading throughout the week leading up to the collapse was sheer madness. An elevator, after all, is a machine with inherent risks, and as this incident tragically underscores, it certainly doesn't need music to compound those dangers.”

PHOTO: The aftermath of the tragedy is marked by a poignant scene outside the shopping center, with thirteen candles flickering amidst a sea of floral tributes. 

The quest to uncover the elusive music played in the elevator that tragic day at ‘Elegy’ proved futile for the ‘RJ’ correspondent, with not a single recording found. In an attempt to grasp the ambiance, we played the music heard elsewhere in the ‘Elegy’ center that day for Livon Kuzikov, our music critic. “Well... I can't say what was played in the elevator, but the music I heard was just that—music. It was calm, soothing, harmoniously classical with traditional string arrangements. From a musical standpoint, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it. Just normal music.”

This sentiment was echoed by many who had visited ‘Elegy’ before the ill-fated incident. Viktor K., who spent time there just two days prior to the tragedy, shared his reflections with ‘RJ.’ “It was a pleasure being there, truly. For the first time in my life, I found myself not wanting to leave a shopping center. I wandered all four floors, just taking it all in. A genuinely pleasant experience. But the elevator... as I entered, I was met with something entirely different. It was piercing, sorrowful... deeply personal, to be honest. I'd rather not speak further on it.”

In an exclusive interview obtained by ‘RJ’, Mikhail Kobylin, the former director and ideologue behind the innovative ‘Elegy’ Shopping and Entertainment Center, breaks his silence. Kobylin, currently under investigation for negligence, had long refused to speak out but has now chosen to share his side of the story, which may diverge from the official narrative.

“I... apologize to everyone—to the victims, their families. But it wasn't just me... We [Kobylin and the composer for ‘Elegy’—RJ] had discussed everything, set a premiere date. That's what we called it. And he had nearly completed it all—the escalators, stores, rotunda, food court, all except the elevator... Then the tragedy happened. His wife... was hit by a car, killed instantly. Just like that, one evening, a week and a half before the premiere. He was devastated. But we had already announced the ceremony, launched the advertising on radio, TV, and he had promised. He promised. Right before the opening, he sent me the elevator file. I didn't even listen to it at first, just handed it to the technicians. Later, of course, I listened. Well... it was just music, you know. In a minor key—I had wanted something more cheerful, but it was too late to change, and I thought it would be suitable for the elevator. And out of respect... I even wanted to put up a plaque somewhere... At the actual ceremony, at the premiere, not many people showed up, but then they started coming. Word of mouth, you know? And then... Afterward, when everything... when it happened, I deleted the elevator file everywhere. From the email, the computers. I was still in shock, not thinking. Then I was detained. Well, what's there to say. People hate me now. My wife left, of course, she was attacked, and she left town. I can't... Him too, by the way. He disappeared, you know? I was told. And his house was burned down; a whole mob went there. He lived outside the city, in a small village. It's ashes now. I would have gone there myself. I don't know where he is now. If I did—I wouldn't tell. Not to you. I hate him. He's to blame for everything... I understand, trauma, but there should be some responsibility for what you create. Then he fled. Write that, write that it was all him, not me…”

PHOTO: Charred remains of a village house. The fence is broken, the surroundings littered with trash. On the fence, a sprawling inscription reads: "MUSIC KILLS".

“...And you know what's the most... not funny, but... about this whole story? People flocked to ‘Elegy’ that week, in droves. The corridors were packed. Unprecedented attendance, record-breaking. But sales that week dropped, in all the stores, throughout the entire center, you understand? So many people, but no one was buying anything…”

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This story was translated and published for the Soaring Twenties Social Club (STSC) Symposium. The STSC is a small, exclusive online speakeasy where a dauntless band of raconteurs, writers, artists, philosophers, flaneurs, musicians, idlers, and bohemians share ideas and companionship. Each month, STSC members share something around a set theme. This cycle, the theme was “Preconception”. 

If you are a writer, you might consider joining us.

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Best,

K.