Captioning sponsored by Rose Communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. Rose master ricardo muti is here, one of the worlds great conductors. He has lead some of the best orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, he is currently music director of the chicago symphony orchestra, critics and audiences alike have been dazzled and charmed by the intensity, the technique, the emotion that he and his musicians bring. Here is a look at a performance of verdis requiem. When you look at the journey of your life, from the violin, piano, goesing, conducting, is that the perfect sign of flow for someone who wants to lead a great orchestra . First i didnt want to be a musician. So the first quality, i mean the first, if you dont want something and you get it. And but i studied very seriously but fortunately. Rose what did you want to be, do. First my father was a medical doctor. We are five brothers. And he wanted one to be a doctor, one to be an architect, one to my profession was opposed to become a lawyer, that would have been a disaster, total disaster. So for reasons that are too long to explain, i became a musicianment but my father never gave me the permission to abandon the regular studies. The classical studies, the university, so it is very important because i still can translate well in latin. And because i studied latin for eight years and for five years greek. So this culture, classic culture has helped me. Also to take some time, certain classical distance from the crazy world of music. And i still consider myself an outsider of the world of music. I am a musician, but a musician in the moment i rehearse with my musician, i do the concert and then i dont have anything to do with the world of music and musicians. Okay. So supposed its way too early. We were supposing the first paragraph of euro bit wear. My obituary. What would you want us to say . Would music be in the first sentence or two . No, i will say exactly what i said to the meerning extras. Many singers. Here lies ricardo muti, a crazy man that spent all his life trying to find a correct qafer or quarter note. Rose in pursuit of that your life was. That is a disaster. Rose but music has been good to you. Very, very good. You know, music is the only art. And i know this by experience that can bring people together. And make people to communicate even if they dont speak the same language, if they have different religions. So when you left lascala, why did you leave . As i said, i was there for 19 years, longer than anybody elsement longer even than tuscanini and my relationship with the orchestra and chorus has been always for 19 years perfect. Then when i had a fight with the administration, lets say, because i dont want to indicate this or that person, then everything became political. And in italy when something becomes political, and controversial, politically speaking then the only thing that you can do is to leave. But 19 years are part of my best years in my musical career. So i said, you know, to explain exactly details what happened is impossible. And the newspapers generally made a mess of the entire story because they didnt know exactly the details. They thought that the orchestra was against me but this is not true. Not true, absolutely not true. I never had a fight with an orchestra in my life. But there were reasons outside of the artistic field that created a situation and we couldnt kmup kate any more. We had completely different ideas. There was no one that could have made a difference . No, because we mentioned before this dictator, you know, in a very delicate way. But mussolini, one time said speaking about italy, the italians said one phrase that is memorable. One phrase was interesting. They said to control it, to govern the italians is not difficult. It is impossible so in a situation like that, would have been impossible to control anything anything. So i left. So you left. And then i became a free bird. And how did that feel . Fantastic. That was fantastic. I had been music director all my life, since 1968. London fill harmonia, philadelphia orchestra after lascala, 19 years and so after so many years of hard work, not only artistically, musically but about all the other things that a good and honest music director has to take care of, i worked so hard that suddenly i felt i, you know, light. I have to do only music when i want, where i want, and how i want. I was i felt like a bird as i said before. And that was the period when the new York Philharmonic asked me to become the music director. I did several concerts, many concerts with the new York Philharmonic, beautiful concerts. I admire those musicians. I think that they are very good. And i have wonderful memories. So when i asked to become music director i was hesitant. I didnt know. But then i thought that it was not the right moment to be engaged again. Not because i had a divorce before. Just, you know, i felt so good to be free. So the timing wasnt right. Si, the timing wasnt right. And then i continued to be, to be free around the world, especially connected with the vienna fill half mondayic that is the orchestra that is been connected with the with me all my life because i made my debut in vienna with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1971. And since then i have conducted them every year with tours, concerts, 200 concerts in salzberg. So an enormous quantity. And so i was always i could engage enjoy playing with them thin the president of the chicago symphony started to appear here and there in berlin, in vienna, in paris. And i i saw this nice lady lady in the chicago symphony and so she started to her presence, one, two, three, four times, her enthusiasm made clear to me that she was interested to invite me to conduct the chicago symphony. So she invited me, in fact. And i went back to chicago. I was not sure because you know after, you have conducted so many orchestras in all your life, especially in the last years. I had reduced my presence with some four or five orchestras. The orchestras are very dear to my heart. So to go back to an organize tra that i had not conducted for 30 years, i was very doubtful. I said why to go there, to find new musicians and then even if are you a nam us conductser and they are a famous orchestra, still, when this two entities meet, the first ten minutes the newsicians think okay, now we will judge him. Hes very popular with vienna berlin but now its our turn to say how good he is. And the conductor is thinking the same thing. So we are not making muss eck. You are making a sort of are you making assessments. And but anyway she convinced me. And i went to chicago. And when the conductor meets an organize tra, has to say something. You cannot say just good morning. Beethoven fifthth. There is a sort of and i didnt know what to say. I thought maybe i say this you know, but the usual phrase, im so happy to be here with you. And they know exactly that you are going to say this. And this is nothing new. But the last moment something came to my mind that was really true. I said i conducted you more than 30 years ago. At that time i was a young man. And a young conductor. Now after more than 30 years, i dont, i hope that you will not collect the ruins of that man and that conductor. So like pompeii, you know. And they reacted in a very direct and happy way. And we started to. Rose it was a marriage made in heaven. Then i started precocious symphony number three that is a very difficult and dramatic symphoniment and from the first moment i felt that i had a ferrari in my hand. You know this is a very difficult and demanding symphony. Everything i did was there. Immediately with the precision and as i said, they ferrari is to the going to pay me to mention. Rose but you can always drive one. Si. And then we made a tour after this concert, that were very successful. And after the tour, a tour with the orchestra can be fantastic marriage between conductor and orchestra and musician, or it can be a disaster. Because every day in a different city, the organize tra becomes tired. You are tired and to find inspiration, to inspire them, and then its called, its hot, the food on the plane was not good there are so many reasons, well, the concert can be a disaster. And every concert was one better than the other. And after the tour i felt also that they were wonderful human beings, not only great musicians. And after the tour i received more than 60 individual letters from the musicians, nice. Saying how much they enjoyed making music with me. So that was something that really touched me. So when deborah appeared again, you know. Deborah came and you said. Like minner va minerva, then, and she invited me there. After again insisting and insisting, i thought they are asking me to go there. So maybe really they want me there. I dont know. Im not young but im not that old to and so why not, this will certainly be the last engagement with an organize tra, not because there is no time. Conductors sometime live too long, you know. And i said if a conductor from the room, from the door on the stage to the podium needs more than 30 seconds, its time to retire. Rose its a physical thing. Absolutement. Rose but you have no great unfull if filled dream in music . Si. Rose think of the stops youve made and where you are, and you say this is the last stop as conductornd as music director of a great symphony. Si, the last one. Also because i think it is the bestment and so this is really. Rose the best orchestra in the world today is the one you conduct now . You know, to say the best is always very difficult. Because you would say is but we can say certainly that there is one of the two or three greatest orchestras in the world. Rose who are the other two. Certainly i would put together with chicago vienna and berlin. Rose and berlin. Where would you put the new York Philharmonic. Its a great orchestra. But after, i say this three. Then depends on who is the driver because even a great, great organize tra can sound not good in the hands o of because you know, better is the orchestra more difficult is to drive. Yes. Its not the contrary. Rose the better the organize tra the more difficult it is for you. For the conductor because you have in front fantastic musicians. They know exactly what you are doing. They have because of a wonderful musician their own ideas about the experience. So the conductor has to bring the musicians to his ideas. Not necessarily convincing them that this is the only possible idea. But the only good idea but it is one possible idea, so convincing that they, even with the different ideas can follow you. And you can do that not in a dictatorial way but not also begging, you know, you cannot say to a musician, excuse me, can you please give me this. Even if it is a story of carlos cliver, great conductor that was a friend, great friend of mine. We were very, very good friends. And during a rehearsal, he was asking a german orchestra for a pianissimo. And the players answered almost in a rude way saying i am playing piano, i am playing piano, sometime you have this kind of answer. And clyber answered, said, you know, conductors are not dictators. We are like poor man outside the church. With our hat in the hand. And if we have one penny, we are happy. But if we receive two, we are more happy. So it was a very great answer. We ask, we dont demand we ask for something. And when you have a great orchestra, with a great orchestra you can get what you want. So if you dont get what you want, its your fault. Rose its your fault if you dont get it. For several reasons. Because are you not good enough. Are you not loved. We are not liked. They dont trust you. You dont have the right technique. You dont have the right charisma. There are many. Rose charisma is important. Yeah, but in the moment you think you have car is marks you are finished. Rose you either have it or you dont. Its not whether you think you have it but you think yeah. There are people who write about you and say that you are very authoritarian. Si. This is not true. I say that there is no one orchestra that doesnt like me. I mean not musically, as a person because. Rose thats to the about as a person. Its about the conductor of an organize tra and music director. Not authoritarian. One time, when i was music director of the london fill harmon ya, the manager one day came to me and said maestro, you know sometime the players are a little bit when you they ask a question and you answer no. They take this answer a little bit with some difficulty. I said why. Because it sounds so direct, no. I said look, it is a question of language. Im italian and are you english. In english a negative answer is the same thing. No. And they said well, yes, but you know, you say no we say no. And that gives the impression that maybe there is a possibility, its the same thing but with some possibility of im not authoritarian. Its i have a grandchild that is almost fife years old. His name is ricardo muti like me. And he works like me. He talks like me. And this come from my family. I had parents very, with great discipline. And teachers with great discipline. So i was trained to but out of the podium i think that i, people know me very well, i am a different person. Of course on the podium i cannot be a buffoon. And i dont ask with a big smile asking for a favor. I have an idea. And if i have the idea and i have spent month its, years, sometimes decades on this idea, and when i go in front of the organize tra, i have to try to orchestra, i have to try to make, to realize. A violinist or pianist, they are lucky. I mean its a much more difficult profession in the end in front of the public because they have to produce the sound. We are lucky because the sound is produced by others. So many times when we make a mistake, the musicians realize immediately that you have made a mistake. The public doesnt. So you have always the possibility to blame somebody else. A violinist or a pianist or cellist, they, or a trumpet, they have to produce the sound. But they have the advantage that the violinist can rehearse a passage 12 hours in his room. And the violinist is not going to be angry with him, no, it doesnt answer back. With an organize tra, you must also be diplomatic and psychologist to know that you cannot insist so much about certain things because to deal with one person is one thing. To deal with 100 persons its another. Its another thing. And to make them what. Because when you deal with one musician and speak about music you can have a wonderful conversation. But when you have a in front of you then the attitude is different. But it does not mean dictatorial or to be outer italian. Itss you have to, there are 100 people that are 200 eyes that are looking at you. And wait for for what you, that you reveal the sky, heaven. And many times we dont reveal anything. And we read in the eyes of the musician that they are disappointed. So you need a certain conviction. And that is sometime is considered to be outer italian. Rose youve convinced me. Gracia. At least i convinced one. We must do this again. So thank you. Gracia, thank you very much. Rose well be back. Stay with us. Maestro gustavo dudamel, sir simon once called him quote the most astonishingly giftsed conductor i have ever come across. He is the music director of the Simon Bolivar symphony organize trav venz venses and the los angeles fill har fonic. Here he is performing with the l. A. Philharmonic. Rose do you feel some sense of responsibility because of the position you hold now around the world to introduce the world to latin america and music . Oh, absolutely, of course. But look, for us the most important thing is to put our music in the same level of how to say, of importance, as beethoven, as or nono, especially talking about modern composers. Because when we talk about our music we are talking about music of the 20th century. Especially 20th century and that is the important thing. Cant you imagine, i was thinking this this is all new music for many people, you know. The concerts are sold out. You know, its something very special because people are coming with this kind of question, you know, with this kind of what we will listen. But i think at the same time they think that will be something very special. And for us the most important thing is not of course its the orchestra, but its music. How important is this music, to bring this music for people that are not close to that. Rose how was it founded . It was founded by maestro antonio, in 1975, i think, started as a program for young musician. We have a great organize tra in venezuela. This organize tra sim fonica devenezuela. But it was only one organize tra. Was not possible for, you know, the Young Students to be alive through music. Was only to study music and to see the possibility, to the possibilities to have a job, you know, by a miracle, really by a miracle. And what de was to create this youth orchestra. And it was a dream, because it was cay for many people t was a crazy guy, bringing young people, venezuela to play classical music. He started with 11 and he thought oh my god, what is this about only 11 musicians, at the end he had 70. And when they played the first concert they have 120 musicians. But now after almost 40 years we are talking about 400,000 dow take special joy in either conducting or playing and introducing music to young people . I think for me its the most important thing. Rose is it really, to make sure that they because you you know, this is my background, you know. I group up in the systema. I was five years old when i started. But i always say that i started before because my father started in the systema years before in the 70s. And music was around my life, all the time. It was like i think i dont know how to say but what i remember, to remember when are you two or three years old, its very difficult. But what i remember the most is music. Is my fathers study trombone. Or studying and then i wanted to be a musician. And studying with, you know, children of my same age, doing music, playing, it is my life. And that is why for me it is so important to give the message of the power of music, for young and for children. But do you feel like you chose music or music chose you . I was in love with music. I really i didnt understood anything really. But i love it to listen. And i love it to read, when i was three or four years old. I remember a little book of my fathers small book, the smell was amazing, i remember. The smell of the book. And i would open it and i was reading these black, white things there. And my father saw that wow, we have to do something with this. Not only with the smell of the book but also with the. And how long after that did you say what i really want to do is conduct . Well part of my life is really funny. Because i wanted to play the trombone as my father explained. And but the trombone was too big for me. And my arm was too short. We didnt have a small trombone. Now you get the chance to have an aalto trombone and you can play. Rose but on such matters music changes. Your size did not lend itself to the trombone. No an i was studying theory, harmony, counter point, all of that, even composition. Until i was 9 year its old, 8, and w no, no, no, because i started to play the violin when i was 9. But i went to my first concert when i was 7 years old. Yeah. And my father was playing, i remember, and for me was like wow, what is this guy doing there, you know, moving his hands and everything. In command, too. Exactly. Sitting there and all of these musicians. Exactly. Following, i asked my grandmother for a gift for my burst are birthday that was a bat on. A bat on and she bought for me. And my fach rit game was to conduct, the recordings. I remember an lp of chicago symphony conducted by daniel, lp, beautiful, with all tchaikovsky music, 1812, all of that. And i was rehearsing. I was stopping, i was stopping the recording to say this is loud. This goes down, again, i destroyed the lp, i remember but i was giving my concert with my little toys there in front. And that was the beginning. It was a very serious game. I remember that. Rose you took it seriously. You cannot imagine. You cannot imagine how serious it was. It was silence 234 my house. My house was, i dont know, 45 square meters. I dont know, there living my uncles, my grandparents, my parents. But it was a beautiful atmosphere. And i was say fog them you have to sit down and you have to listen my concert. Or you have stop because im rehearsing now. And that was that was my life, whats really, i was dreaming, you know, after school to go back to home and to get my toys and to do my rehearsing. Until i was 11 years old, and the conductor of the organize tra where i was playing, he was late. This was a youth childrens orchestra, he was late. And there you were. Imitating because we started that rehearsal. I was imitating. Famous conductor and local conductors. And i embarrassed them, the mice row he is like this and then we started to work and i became a assistant conductor. You heard what sir simon said in my introduction to you. Well that is not true. Rose but lets assume that that it is. What is it you have, you think in what distinguishes here from here . I mean help me understand your own sort of understanding, im not asking to you pat yourself on the back. Im asking you to help us understand what it is that you have found within yourself to give. I dont know, i dont know. Are you just being look, i think i think, you know, its the loss of what i do. And that is not a secret. You know. Music for me is my life. And when i am not you know, doing what im doing, i dont feel happy. Yes. You know. And that means something, you know, that means that music is a very important element of my life. And a natural element. I think we are a new generation. And talking about young conductors, im not the only young conductor in the world. There are many talented conductors, you know, doing a great career right now. And i see more a big responsibility for us. Really, charlie, i dont feel as a special person, honestly. I feel really that im a musician, im a part of the organize tra. I never feel that im the leader and im conducting to you and you have to follow me, no. I feel that im one more musician of the organize tra. And maybe that is something em that people feel, you know, that you know, that it is not an element destructing the music and what the organize tra is doing. Its only an almost element. When we watch you with the baton, are we seeing what the music is doing to you at that moment . Are you simply taking it in, thats where the energy and thats where clearly the direction comes from the score. Yeah, absolutely, yeah. Its the music. Its the music. I study a lot, really. And im studying all. Rose study what. You know, i love to go deeply in music. When you study the dor what are you looking for . What is if that speaks to you . What speaks to me . Well,. Is it knowing where the computers head was . What he was or she, what he was thinking at the moment s it getting to what might have been at the moment that that note was taken from this head and this heart and put there on that page . You start to think from that point. But at the send, remember that you are recreating. You are recreating, so sometimes lets put the example of the beethoven. Beethoven is a kpotser very difficult to approach because you have lets say rules in david tobin music. You have to use a small orchestra. You have a very special kind of sound to approach. But at the end there is subjective because im sure that beethoven at his time, he had an organize tra, of 150 musicians. For him, you know, i cant imagine. Its a letter by mozart saying to his father, father, i am so happy because i have an organize tra of 40 violins. I have 8 flutes. I have 14 double bases. And when you play mozart and approach mozart, awe approach its with a small organize tra. You know how subjective is that. How he was happy. And how sometimes you, you try to be oh my god, no, i cannot go like that because this will not stop. I know that we have, the element of the sound that we have to build. But that is the amazing thing of music. The subjective point of music, how different it can be. And at the moment that the composer put the notes there is still beethoven, still mozart. But with the time you are recreating that. And its still mozartment but in your own idea, in the idea of the element that you have in front, the organize tra, because also there is another thing. Organize tras react differently. Every organize trament and every organize tra has a different personality, with the sound, with the expectment, with everything. So that, that is the war of the conductor, how to deal with that. Because i cannot go to an organize tra and conduct beethoven in the same way that i can with the Simon Bolivar orchestra, it is impossible or with the l. A. Philharmonic or the Vienna Philharmonic. You have to deal with the tradition to respect what they have, and to bring your ideas and to have, you know, like its a 50 50, you know. Rose but it means that music can be defined by different conductors and different organize tras. And thats part of the genius of it all. You can hear it in a different way and at the same time what that composer has done has to be so extraordinary that it lends itself to that and maintains its original creative impulse. Is and the most amazing thing that you can play two times the same organize stra, same conductor, you play. And then you play it a second time and its different. Its a little different. Even the next night. Even if you are plague the same night, the same symphony two times. Its the ability and again the power of the music to play with that, subjective. Its so objective because its music is there. You have the paper there but how can be, you have million of ways. What is it that you want to be and accomplish over the next five years . Well, its to go deeply in what we do. You know . So the beethoven you see five years ago may be different thanned beethoven you see today. But you cannot imagine how different it can be. But when i study and i see what is i was doing because i mark my score, i think why, how i was thinking that five years ago. I can be impressed sometimes for the reaction of what the music was giving to me at that time. But then when i have this chord here and i see well, i didnt saw this. Maybe i will binge bring this. I see oh this is really difficult. It going deeply and deeply the develop of the way to think about music. And of course you know sometimes people expect for you to be to have the knowledge and the experience of a 50 or 60 years old conductor, you know, sometimes people compare you with its impossible to compare, you know, because they are masters. And im sure when they were young they were doing they were searching. They were thinking the way that they develop at the end. And its fascinating because what i see in five years in my life i see my life conducting an trying to understand what i am doing now, more deeply. Rose continued success. Back in a moment. Stay with us. Valery gergiev is here, one of the worlds most dynamic, admired and bus yetses conducters of the these never st. S peters burg and principal conductor of the london symphony orchestra. Here he is performing tchaikovskys fourth symphony with the orchestra. Rdz is the marchinski oork extraalso coming out with a recording of the wagner ring cycle. Yes, its a maj procedure ject. And we already recorded it. It is a half of the ring cycle it will be a major recording simply because it comes from great concert hall. Rose which one. Marinski concert hall, the new one. We built it five years ago but it is definitely one of the greatest halls with acoustics you can call it strad yarruous stradivarius or is not just a construction, its an instrument. The way we built it was to make only one was to create an instrument it make it sounds incredible. To make a recording in this hall t is a dream come true but also it is a luxury because you have an organize tra, and voices who hear all the colors they can produce immediately. Its very important psychologically for artists to know that nothing will be lost. And the val kerry has a tremendous cast. It will be out very soon in the u. S. They will make a presentation. But im very much looking forward to finish this project. And we have best russians and best what you call western voices, among them reneee poppin or kaufman or nina, of course major, major names which are known as wagner singers. But also fantastic russian voices. I think it makes it all together a very interesting combination. Is there something that would represent your great cowhering ambition and achievement in muss smick . I mean you have youre a builder beyond a conducter. You do all these things. You now celebrate what the 25th anniversary. 25th at marinski. As my music directorship, 25, artistic directorship which is a good distance it is not a small distance. And i saw soviet Union Falling apart. I saw russia being totally Young Country trying to build democracy but also trying to save whatever National Wealth was there. It was very difficult to understand. Was it just gas, oil, was it rivers and forests, was it a vast, vast country, huge territory but also culture. I represent maybe not such a group of people which talks every day but it was a group of people which always reminded everyone that use your culture, it may be biggest loss you have. Of Course National resources always, people talk, oh, energy, of course, important important today for everyone in the world. What about culture . We think its always important to have both. Yeah and your responsibility is for its culture. I do my best and i perform quite often. So is your friend Vladimir Putin responsive to that . I think he supports. First of all i done see him often maybe three, four times a year, i have known him for 20 year, long before he was a president. In saints petersburg of course. I was rather nonman already then because i lead such an institution. In a way, face of the country. So you get rather famous, if are you on the top of this institution, leadership, you represent immediately a lot even if you dont deserve it yet. You already represent 230 years tradition, glorious tradition. But the good quality of today is he understands that treasures of National Culture and you dont take it like a just another item, i think. We are building now in europe a house. 2 is important for us to have such an incredible opportunity, a platform where we perform op ra, sim fonic music, educational projects will go up immediately because all the schools, universities, city of five million people. You can perform one leg nut cracker 20 time ace year, you can perform 50 times a year, each of those 50 nuts crackers a year you can devote 40 to schools it is a huge opportunity to help young people understand their part draft decision. Because of course they have all these toys and also kid does it all the time but they will go for the first time at 8 or 9 years old to see the magic of theatre. Most of them will come back, we know that most of them will come back. Its much easy everto start at 8, 9, 10 and then understand ballet, opera, theatre, music, rather than do it when are you 25, 30 for its first time. Its too late, maybe. Back to politics for a moment. When you look at russia today, democracy, economic growth, human rights, press freedom. Where do you think they are on those issues . I think for the country which has 20 years history, if you start from breakup of soviet union, things are looking better than do they. In the scenario in which i saw myself 12 years ago, the country was to disintegrate because there was no unity and we could see it, we are could feel it and the historical role of putin and his colleagues, dont forget about the government he had, the names ring familiar, the minister of finance and economy who introduced the change. The economy started to work. Everyone thinks it is oil prices. No. It is oil price, one element, is important. But also how government and how leadership of the country Work Together in order to make rules and circumstances for the growth and also for young people to get jobs, for example. Look at spain now. The word is at 50 of young people on unemployment. Rose that is the number. Its terrifying, correct. Rose yes so then at 25 you dont know how every second, young professional doesnt know where he will work. So russia does maybe a little bit better than average in europe. With human rights, well, the stories get famous, they even get more famous than the killing of miners in south africa which amazes me in the modern world. Rose you mean the story does get a lot of attention. But there were even medvedev thought, had some question about how long they should be in prison. I think they should not even talk about seven years, thats ridiculous. Rose i mean your friend, the president could stop this in a second. Well, i dont think first of all hes thinking about how to put these girls in prison in the first place. Most of the people in russia were disgusted with the fact that they went to the biggest. Rose they didnt approve it is one thing not to approve what they did, it was a is a tire about him, yes. I think i separate. Its to the about him. Its about country. In any case i hope there will be much more peace this is why we are here. And i think in russia just to answer very important question you asked me, i think russia needs now in the next, three, five years lets put a short distance of 3, 5 years, a certain unit. The leadership of russia is a complicated thing. For example my very good friend exfinance minister who spent 12 years as a finance minister of russia, maybe being one of the best financial ministers in the world, doesnt even realize its not necessarily coming from here or from england. Sometimes from other countries, they are very brilliant people there. So he demonstrated. What . The art of being a leader in the fferntion world, especially when you have a big country and hundreds of billions of debts. And in two, three, four years, countries in much better shape went up, i repeat, the country doesnt have has very little, you know, russia is today, blessed maybe with this comfortable situation that we dont have trillions in debts. Today it would be like this. In america it is different. But someone at some point will be responsible. Its to the good to think that our children have to pay price or grandchildren this is not helpful. And is one of the most prominent figures in russia, always was rite hand of putin. And looking at financial situation, looking 59 problems everywhere in russia, very steadily, very quietly without many, many interests, the situation became much better so country is not the healthiest in the world. But i feel somewhat healthier than many or maybe even healthier than most. Freedom of press, i think in russia the complications are that press represents either Public Opinion but not always. Or corporate interests, very often, very, very often. This is adventureous so it is around the world. Corporate interests, very mighty powerful corporations macking huge money. They, i dont think they make it a secret but they have to put the interests first and big part of Russian Press will be somehow on their side. Thank you for coming, pleasure to see you. My pleasure as always. Rose thank you for joining us, see you next time 69 captioning sponsored by Rose Communications captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org captioning sponsored by wpbt this is n. B. R. Susie good evening everyone. Im susie gharib. Fiscal cliff talks at the white house end with no deal, but president obama says hes still hopeful and says weve got to get this done. Gold prices pulled back today on worries about the fiscal cliff, will the metal shine in 2013 . Then cuba, tonights market monitor sees big opportunity on the tiny island when the embargos lifted. Thomas herzfeld, of thomas herzfled advisors joins us. That and more tonight on n. B. R. president obama says hes modestly optimistic a fiscal deal can be reached in time. He said hes instructed senator harry reid and senator Mitch Mcconnell to come up with a plan that can pass in congress. His brief comments a short while ago came after a whit