1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905
1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 | 1910
1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915
1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920
1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925
1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930
1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935
1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940
1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950
1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955
1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960
1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965
1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970
1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980
1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985
1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990
1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994
1995
             
In downtown Moscow they were re-erecting the magnificent carcass of the Christ the Savior's Cathedral, which in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was Russia's main Orthodox cathedral. Built on popular donations commemorating Russia's 1812 victory over Napoleon, the original temple was blown up on Stalin's orders in 1931 and replaced by a giant open-air pool. Now, 64 years on, the construction of an exact replica of the old Cathedral symbolized the resurrection of the Russian nation itself… Like a century ago, ordinary people footed the bulk of the bill and famous musicians donated their performance proceeds to have the magnificent structure back in place as soon as possible. Mstislav Rostropovich was among the first to give a series of fund-raising concerts both in the Conservatory Big Hall and right on the construction site…
With the construction over, they put up marble plaques at the entrance bearing the names of those who helped finance the construction. Rostropovich's name topped the list of benefactors….
Meanwhile, the world-acclaimed maestro was working at the Bolshoi Theater staging Modest Mussorgsky's opera Khovanshchina. Until then the opera Mussorgsky never lived to finish, was offered in the rendition of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov who not only skillfully put the unfinished score into shape but also drastically altered the original text. Rostropovich decided to get back to the original score and the very carefully revised one Dmitry Shostakovich did in the Sixties.
Rostropovich brought together a stellar cast of performers and, on November 9 Khovanshchina premiered with astounding success…
In January they were holding a festival in Moscow marking the 50th anniversary of the Borodin String Quartet. Not only had they made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest serving such outfit around, but were also widely acclaimed for their inimitable mastery. The Borodin quartet had toured more than 60 countries and now, their longstanding service to music was gratified by high state awards bestowed on them by Russian and several European governments.
In Moscow the concert-going public flocked in to see Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet and Mstislav Rostropovich all paying tribute to the Borodin String Quartet….
The year 1995 saw another two anniversary festivals - one marking the 80th birthday of pianist Svyatoslav Richter and the other tributing composer Georgy Sviridov who also turned 80 that year…
Still recuperating after a heart operation and a broken leg, Svyatoslav Richter never showed up though and his many friends, among them pianist Eliso Virsaladze and cellist Natalya Gutman, all came out on stage paying much-deserved tribute to one of the greatest players who ever tickled the ivories…
Composer Georgy Sviridov, still very agile and bubbling with energy, receives a congratulatory message from President Boris Yeltsin and an order. The best present of all, however, are the wonderful concerts where his music is performed by the best orchestras, choirs and lead singers, among them the outstanding baritone Dmitry Khvorostovsky…
The dance group of the Moscow Kremlin Concert Hall led by Andrei Petrov unveil the new Napoleon Bonaparte ballet consisting of small miniatures each recreating an episode in the life of the great French Emperor…
The dancers and the public love the music contributed by one of Russia's most prominent composers, Tikhon Khrennikov. Since giving up his fifty year-old leadership of the Composers' Union in the wake of the Soviet breakup, Khrennikov, now in his eighties, has devoted himself fully to his main vocation…
Moscow was playing host to a veritable constellation of classical and pop luminaries with Montserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, Sir Elton John, Diana Ross, Julio Iglesias and Toto Kutugno alternatively shining on the stage of the city's prestigious Kremlin Concert Hall…
Never to be outdone, Russian performers keep wowing the world with the Bolshoi opera and ballet companies spending almost two months performing in Japan…
Violinist Vladimir Spivakov and his Virtuosi of Moscow chamber orchestra are also off, first playing the United States and then moving on to Europe. In Italy, the Santa Cecilia Music Academy awards Spivakov their much-coveted big gold medal…
Meanwhile, young Russian musicians, all scholarship holders of the New Names charity fund, are performing for Prince Michael of Kent at his St.James Palace in London.
The New Names then move on to the gilded splendor of the Moscow Kremlin's St.George's Hall where President Boris Yeltsin makes the first entry in the Gold Book of Young Russian Talents…
The Novosibirsk Philharmonics' chief conductor Arnold Kats and the queen of Russian pop Alla Pugacheva become winners of the annual State Prize. Pugacheva is the first pop performer to receive this very prestigious award…
A hard-driven and ever-changing powerhouse on stage, Alla Pugacheva topped the Russian charts for a whole 20 years and gave the Russian pop a new face so different from what we had all those Soviet years…
There was only one singer in the whole country who was as popular as Alla Pugacheva - her young husband Filipp Kirkorov. A towering giant, good looking and the ultimate showman, he is the darling of ladies ranging in age from 5 to 50. Each new song he sings becomes a hit in just overnight…
 
THE RUSSIAN MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY is prepared for you by Olga Fyodorova.


BACK TO MAIN PAGE