MULTI-MEDIA PROJECT “RUSSIAN COMPOSERS’ HERITAGE REVIVAL”

27 September

Radio station “Orpheus” and PJSC “Unipro” are presenting the next stage of the multi-media project “Russian Composers’ Heritage Revival. Unknown Mossolov.” It is not a secret that today  musical heritage of a lot of Russian composers is unfairly forgotten. Moreover,  part of it is irrevocably lost. The tasks of the project are to make that lost music sound again, to show how rich and varied indeed  is Russian musical heritage, to restore historical justice and to incorporate the musical pieces which have never been performed into the modern cultural context.

The stages of work on the project show its unique and versatile nature: search for the rarest scores in the Score Library, their restoration, making a documentary film, recording little-known composer’s works in the studio, issuing a triple CD, preparing and holding a press-conference and performing the restored musical pieces. The concert and studio recordings were broadcast in the air of radio “Orpheus” and were placed at the server of European Broadcasting Union.

The first part of the project, implemented in 2014,  was devoted to A. S. Arensky, a bright composer working at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The second part of the project was dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian conductor, pianist, choirmaster, teacher, the  People’s Artist  of Russia and the four-time winner of the Stalin Prize Nikolai Golovanov. He was famous as the principal conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre in the period 1948-1953.

The third part, timed to the one hundredth anniversary of the revolution, centers around a unique musician, the first avant-gardist  of the twentieth century Alexander Mossolov. This constructivist composer was tremendously popular in the 20-30s of the previous century, but is almost completely forgotten nowadays. Everyone has heard something of him, but no one knows enough. So far a big part of his works has not been published or performed, some of his pieces have been lost irrevocably. Not long ago the scores of some Mossolov’s works were found in the Score Library of Radio “Orpheus”. We decided to restore justice - the forgotten Mossolov’s music will sound again after 90 years of oblivion!

The programme includes:
- “Factory. Music of machines”,
-  Symphonic picture for a grand orchestra “A tractor column arrives at the village”,
- Symphonic poem,
- Suite for an orchestra “Holiday in the park”

Alexander Mossolov’s works will be performed by:

Symphony Orchestra of “Orpheus” radio station, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Sergei Kondrashev

Soloist Olga Ionova (soprano)

State Academic Moscow Regional Choir named after A. D. Kozhevnikov

Folk Academic Choir of Traditional Russian Song of “Orpheus” radio station