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1993
             
Russia was marking the 120th birthday of Sergei Rakhmaninoff. At the Moscow Conservatory where the great 20th century composer, pianist and conductor once honed his skills, they were holding the first Rakhmaninoff international competition. Only pianists, 120 in all, were taking part in the four-round event with the Grand Prix going to the 17- year-old Muscovite Olga Pushechnikova who impressed both members of the international jury and Rakhmaninoff's grandson Alexander Conuse…
An equally unique competition of bass singers was held in Moscow to mark the 120th birthday of Russia's greatest operatic bass Fyodor Chaliapin. What made the contest so special was that it imposed no age limits on the contestants who included the Bolshoi's famous 66-year-old lead singer Alexander Vedernikov. The main prize went to the 28 year old Moscow Conservatory graduate Vladimir Dits.
In still another major competition in Moscow, the famous viola player Yuri Bashmet brought together young players from all across the country. Yuri Bashmet who had done so much to make the viola a lead instrument, headed a star-studded jury of leading musicians, actors, film makers and producers. The jury did a great job awarding the most refined and artistically-endowed performers, of whom Italian Danilo Rossi was one…
Yuri Bashmet and conductor Valery Gergiyev become the proud winners of the much-coveted State Prize. Both are internationally acclaimed musicians named, at various times, as the musicians of the year in many countries…
Meanwhile, the great pianist Svyatoslav Richter both Yuri Bashmet and Valery Gergiyev consider their tutor, wins Russia's prestigious Triumph award…
Richter was more than just a pianist, he was the ultimate embodiment of creativity. The organizer of the December Nights music and art festival, he was now out to organize a summer festival in the small town of Tarusa, some 200 kilometers away from Moscow. Here, amid the scenic forests and glades of central Russia, music and nature come together in such perfect harmony…
The year 1993 was brimful with all kinds of festivals. In Moscow they held a festival of medieval music marking the 1000th birthday of Guido d'Arezzo, the man who invented musical notation. The event, dubbed as The Millennium Of A Genius, brought together the leading old music ensembles from around Russia…
Meanwhile, St.Petersburg was playing host to modern music of the highest quality where composer Sofya Gubaidulina and friends unveiled their new work.
In Novosibirsk, there were Russian and German flags flying in front of the headquarters of the local philharmonic society where young Russian and German musicians were showcasing their skills…
Musicians from Russia, France, the United States, Austria, Israel and Mexico gathered in Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga for the second Andrei Sakharov music festival. The program was very consonant with the name of the great Russian scholar and rights campaigner with the participants putting emphasis on time-tested classical pieces. The 20th century music also found its way into the program where conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky unveiled the reconstructed score of Dmitry Shostakovich's little-known Conditionally Killed revue. British composer Gerard McBernie did much to reconstruct the lost score…
The year 1993 also abounded in all kinds of major folk festivals. Amateur folk singers from Japan, Spain, the United States, Germany and Poland gathered in the traditionally very musical town of Belgorod in southern Russia.
And folk instrumentalists held their own event, which started in Moscow and moved on to other Russian cities. The participants from the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Britain, Sweden and Australia traveled on a riverboat giving concerts at every stop. It appeared that the Russian balalaika, domra and accordion had implanted themselves firmly on foreign soil…
Russia's most famous balalaika player Mikhail Rozhkov marked his 75th birthday playing a series of concerts. The whole thing looked more like a full-blown festival where the ever-young musician proved once again that the great conductor Herbert von Karajan hit the nail right on the head when he called him "the Paganini of Russian balalaika"…
In another celebration, the famous organist Garri Grodberg marked 40 years of his professional career. Starting out professionally when he was still in Conservatory, he quickly endeared himself to the concert-going public. He did much to make organ concerts become popular like they had never been here before. Garri Grodberg also takes credit for bringing organs to many concert halls across Russia…
Garri Grodberg marked his 40 years on stage with a one-man festival playing his favorite organ pieces in the Big Hall of the Moscow Conservatory…
The much-loved pop singer and the ultimate showman Valery Leontyev kept up the good job belting out a fascinating mix of catchy tunes, groovy rhythms, big sound and fancy lighting and costumes. This time round Leontyev was unveiling his brand-new Full Moon show which, just like everything done by this much-talented performer, got people joining in sharing just about every detail of the larger-than-life stage extravaganza .
 
THE RUSSIAN MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY is prepared for you by Olga Fyodorova.


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