GALA CONCERT FOR THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VICTORY AT KURSK

The grand opening of the first phase site of the Battle of Kursk Memorial took place in the settlement of Ponyri, Kursk Region, on August 23, 2023. The opening took place alongside the concert dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Kursk. This large-scale event gathered more than 2,000 spectators and was watched by millions of people on the Internet and on television.

The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin congratulated Russians on the 80th anniversary of the victory at the Kursk Bulge:
«I sincerely congratulate all people of Russia on this event, and, of course, primarily our dear veterans and, with special feeling, the people of the Kursk, Belgorod, Oryol and Voronezh regions. The fighting of the heroic Salient of Fire took place on these lands, the endless fields, the copse, the heights. The Salient of Fire will remain forever one of the pinnacles of the great feats of our people… The significance of the victory in this landmark battle cannot be overestimated: it destroyed and eliminated the striking power of the Nazis, marking a turning point in the Second World War».

For the event, the Ponyri memorial complex became a large open-air concert venue. The stage was set up at the foot of a sculptural composition, in the center of which is a ten-meter-high figure of a soldier standing tall for his homeland.

The concert featured the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Russia, Konstantin Khabensky, Mikhail Porechenkov, Sergey Shakurov, Igor Petrenko, Lidia Velezheva, Alexey Vertkov, and the Sretensky Monastery Choir. The program was built of musical and poetic works written or first performed in the difficult and hopeful year of 1943. The artistic director of the concert was People’s Artist of the USSR, Maestro Yuri Bashmet. The concert was hosted by Maria Sittel and Andrey Chernyshov.

«The piece by Georgy Sviridov composed especially for the unveiling of the monument, which at the time never took place, was also performed at the concert for the first time,” said maestro Yuri Bashmet. “And this piece has not been used in the orchestral programs for many years, so, among other things, this is also a premiere.»

Yuri Bashmet also said that this concert continued the series of commemorative concerts of the previous three years. These are the Victory Concert on Mamaev Kurgan (2020), the Requiem Concert dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (2021), the concert to mark the 80th anniversary of the first performance of Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony (2022), and the concert dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad (2023).

“I am happy that all these big projects engage the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Russia, which is built of young and talented people from different Russian regions who know and honor the history of their great country and are happy to serve it with their art,” said Yuri Bashmet.

The concert was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.