On December 9, on Heroes of the Fatherland Day, the world premiere of Valery Voronov’s Requiem of the Forgotten took place at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. The musical canvas, created specifically by order of Maestro Bashmet and woven from the words of poets who went through the war – K. Simonov, B. Pasternak, R. Gamzatov, Y. Levitansky – became the voice of those whose names were taken away by time, but whose sacrifice is forever inscribed in history. More than 2 million people watched the live broadcast of the concert.

The world premiere was attended by actors Polina Agureeva, Irina Kupchenko, Evgeny Tkachuk and Alexey Vertkov, soloists Nikolai Zemlyanskikh (baritone) and Danila Knyazev (bass), as well as the A. Yurlov State Academic Choral Chapel of Russia and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Russia conducted by People’s Artist of the USSR, Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation Yuri Bashmet. The concert was directed by Polina Agureeva.

“I’ve been looking forward to this premiere with trepidation. First of all, I was counting on understanding Valery Voronov’s music. This music is very powerful, one might even say mighty, the language for the general public may not be so familiar, but we are moving forward. And in this case, it is a combination of the degree of today’s life with the fact that today we remember people who loved their country, their Homeland. And even if there are no names, if we do it and remember it, it means they are alive. There were a lot of young people today, including in my orchestra. And I hope that they will take this baton of memory from us. As we accepted from our parents, from my grandfather, he fought for me, took me to demonstrations. And I’ve understood something about the war since I was a kid. Because his two brothers didn’t come back. I am sure that this world premiere is of great importance, especially today,” Yuri Bashmet said.

The musical premiere was accompanied by visual effects – paintings from the Great Patriotic War era from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery and photographs by the RIA Novosti news Agency.

“I had a very simple idea. I took a painting from the time of the war, which, to my shame, I know very little. The first part of Requiem is color painting, the second is graphics, that is, people painted it during the war or immediately after. There are amazing works, and I am very grateful to the Tretyakov Gallery because they helped me choose them. The third part is portraits, which I cannot look at indifferently. These are the faces of people who are no longer there. And I really want them to come back. And knowing Valery Voronov as a very sensitive person, devoid of pathos, it seems to me that everything turned out very sincerely. The fourth part contains photos of real battles. It all ends with a clip that the girl made by film director Natalia Martynova,” Polina Agureeva shared.

The main idea of the Requiem of the Forgotten is the theme of memory and human dignity. It is dedicated to all those who left without leaving a name, but whose lives and sacrifices are not forgotten, but continue to resound in the hearts of people. This is not only a musical commemoration, but also a reflection on memory as a force capable of overcoming oblivion, about the price that was paid for Peace, about the value of every human life. Requiem for the Forgotten is not a religious requiem in the traditional liturgical sense, but a musical reflection on human loss, Homeland, sacrifice and hope.

“This is a very important topic, the topic of memory. The title “Requiem of the Forgotten” refers to a poem by Rasul Gamzatov. There are lines there: “There are 20 million of us who are forgotten, killed, and did not return from the war.” The main theme here is memory. And here, of course, memory opposes the power of oblivion. The essay was created over the course of a year and contains many textual alloys. I used some liturgical texts, as well as poems by people who survived the war – Simonov, Gamzatov, Levitansky, Pasternak, and even a quote from a Belarusian folk song. And all these alloys help to immerse yourself in this state of memories and the memory of a generation, for example, my grandfather,” said Valery Voronov.

Источник: https://t.me/russian_concert_agency