AES Student Blog

Meet Victor Osadchev from Moscow, Russia, who won the Silver Award in Category 1: Traditional Acoustic Recording

Tell us a little bit about yourself: Where are you from? What do you study? How did you discover your passion for audio? 

I'm Victor Osadchev. I was born in a small town on the outskirts of Russia. I had a long way to get where I am now in my life. I'm currently a 3rd year student at the Gnesins Russian Academy of Music in the Department of Sound Engineering. I also work as a recording engineer in the Moscow Philharmonic Society, where I make several records every month. I prefer recording orchestral music.

Are you a musician yourself? What instruments do you play and in what musical context?

I finished musical college as a classical pianist. And it helps me so much with my work as an audio engineer because I have a deep understanding of music and each musician I work with feels it.

Tell us about the production of your submission. What is the story behind it? How long did you work on it?

The piece I presented in this year’s competition is not my first orchestral recording, but it was my first experience with Shostakovich's cello concerto. It was set up for a live broadcast on our web site meloman.ru.

What were your most significant, funny or inspiring experiences as an audio engineer?

For me, the most inspiring part of my work is the cooperation and conversation with the musicians I record. It’s great to have a mutual understanding working together for the same reasons - creating Music.

Accidents happen: What was your biggest mistake in a production and what did you do to redeem the situation?

The main problem I have is time. I sometimes overthink things and forget to actually do what I have to do. The solution for me: Don’t spend too much time thinking about the task but carrying it out.

What’s your advice for engineers who are just starting out?

Try really hard, put a lot of effort into your work and use all of the opportunities life presents to you. Don't give up! Who knows, one day you might suddenly realise that you are exactly doing what you’ve always wanted to do.

Tech talk: What are your favourite pieces of equipment?

I like Pyramix and work with it as often as I can. It's very nice, because its programmers really think about how the user experience and workflow can be improved. People, who use Pyramix once, usually never come back to another Digital Audio Workstation. Also, I cannot imagine recording classical music without DPA mics. It's impossible.

What is your favourite recording or production?

On the one hand I like productions in which I hear things that I haven’t heard before that give me new idea. On the other hand I like old records or modern recordings with a traditional production approach that keep the natural acoustical atmosphere intact. I think its unfortunate that more and more modern classical recordings seem to approximate the sound aesthetics of cinematic productions. Sometimes, though, mixing new thoughts and modern approaches with old or traditional ideas can have really nice results.

What do you like about the AES? How does it help you to become a better and more successful audio engineer?

First and foremost the AES provides the opportunity of meeting and talking to many new people to gain novel ideas and learn different perspectives. Living in Russia this aspect is particularly important to me. We oftentimes have different views when it comes to the way classical music is recorded. It really helps to learn different opinions about a subject. And of course the SDA meetings.

Tell us about your favourite experiences at the 134th AES Convention in Rome!

Talking and listening to Ron Streicher always is really interesting. He covered a lot of the basics, but provided his own perspective. It’s necessary to be reminded of the simpler things every once in a while so as not to drown in the complexity of the field and forget essential aspects.