BAKHRUSHIN THEATRICAL MUSEUM CELEBRATES
ITS 110TH BIRTHDAY
- On October 29 the Bakhrushin State Theatrical Museum in Moscow celebrated
its 110th anniversary. Named after its founder, Alexei Bakhrushin (1865-1929),
it boasts a unique collection of costumes, props, fragments of sceneries,
sketches to various theater productions, photographs and other relics tracing
the history of the Russian theater from its roots to modern times. Bakhrushin
was
born into a
wealthy merchant family that owned several industrial enterprises and was
famous for its charity activities. Most of his relatives were infatuated
with art. Bakhrushin's mother was passionately in love with the theatre
and she passed that love on to her son. Says the museum's official Svetlana
Semikolenova: "Legend has it that Alexei Bakhrushin betted one of
his brothers, a connoisseur and collector of painting, that one could collect
anything and said he would amass a vast collection devoted to the theatre."
Although many laughed at the idea, it gradually became the chief preoccupation
of his life. On October 29, 1894 Bakhrushin's collection was put on public
display, first at his estate mansion, from which it later moved to a specially
constructed building in Old Russian style, where it has been located ever
since. In 1913 Bakhrushin handed his museum over to the state. "The
actor's fame is like a smoke, there is nothing left after him when he dies
and he is doomed to be forgotten. But thanks to your strength of will and
energy, he has been immortalized," these words by outstanding Russian
actress Maria Yermolova grace the exposition's first hall devoted almost
entirely to Bakhrushin's life. Here one can see his writing desk with lots
of figurines of actors and dancers on it, betraying the owner's infatuation
with the theater. One of the halls telling about the roots of the Russian
theater is stylized as a 17th-century city square on a holiday. Noisy trade
stalls, prompt street vendors offering their goods, a huge stuffed bear
in the middle (a trained bear was invariably present at all such events),
and, of course, puppet shows with the famous Petrushka buffoon or on Biblical
plots - the very first forms of a professional theater - bring you back
into the distant past. The motley gaiety of the Holiday Square gives way
to a large exposition tracing the history of domestic theater in 19th-20th
centuries. For decades the imperial Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg
and the Maly Theater in Moscow topped the list of Russia's major professional
theaters. On display are portraits of actors who played there, their costumes
and personal belongings. Towards the late 19th century the Russian theatrical
school ranked among the best in the world. Separate sections tell about
the famous playwright Anton Chekhov, great theater reformist Konstantin
Stanislavsky and the foundation of Moscow's MKhAT Theatre. The musical
theater is also widely represented: sketches to first productions of Mikhail
Glinka's operas, photographs of Avdotia Istomina, Tamara Karsavina, Anna
Pavlova and other renowned ballet dancers; the Chaliapin room boasts photographs,
costumes and belongings of famous bass singer and recordings of his best-known
parts. The turbulent and controversial development of the Russian theater
in the 20th century shows itself in a whole range of rarities from avant-garde
sets for productions of 1920s to videotaped post-modernist experiments
of modern directors. Since the mansion's floorspace does not allow all
of the rarities from the museum's huge collection (around 1,500 items)
to be put on view within its walls, the museum organizers theme exhibitions
in other Russian cities and abroad. "The Bakhrushin Museum is now
sort of a conglomerate with numerous branches in the regions, including
memorial museums of actress Maria Yermolova, actor Mikhail Schepkin, dramatist
Alexander Ostrovsky, a theater gallery and salon, a memorial apartment
of the great theater experimenter Vsevolod Meyerhold," says Svetlana
Semikolenova. "Not long ago actress Maria Mironova bequeathed us her
apartment with the family museum of the Mironov dynasty." The museum
marked its 110th birthday by launching a jubilee exhibition, "One
Hundred and Ten Masterpieces", featuring the most valuable treasures
from its rich collection.
PRISONERS OF BEAUTY: EXHIBITION AT THE
TRETYAKOV GALLERY
- A new exhibition, "Prisoners of Beauty", has got under way
at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. A large-scale project devoted to the
19th-century Russian academic and salon art, it features masterpieces from
the gallery's collection, and also from Moscow's Historical Museum, St.
Petersburg's Russian Museum, and fine art museums in Novgorod, Omsk, Taganrog,
Samara and Perm. On display are paintings of the 19th and early 20th centuries,
best samples of academic art continuing the esthetic traditions of Renaissance
focusing on "beauty in everything": the beauty of a human body,
conceptual plot, composition, and coloring. Most of the paintings on display
graced the parlors of well-known aristocrats in Russia and Europe. The
aim of the project is to draw attention to salon art, which existed all
through the 19th century but was somehow overshadowed by realistic painting.
Salon artists, often dubbed "carefree", because they were not
interested in social problems, psychological conflicts, or the "seamy
side" of life, held that art must elevate people, distract them from
the dull routine of everyday existence, enlighten them and gladden the
eye. Salon art required good education, virtuoso professional skills and
enormous working capacity, no wonder nearly all salon painters were "cum
laude" graduates of art academies. Their works are distinguished by
interesting themes, perfectly balanced lines and composition, impeccable
technique, and a diversity of textural effects. The exhibition features
an array of styles that were prevalent in salon art: "antique style",
"Russian style", "oriental style", and "medieval
Europe". A large multi-figure canvas by Genrikh Semiradsky, "Thrine
at the Feast of Poseidon in Eulezines," arrived from St. Petersburg.
"Russian style" is represented by Konstanin Makovsky's paintings,
among them "Portrait of Princess Zinaida Yusupov." Also on display
are still lives, landscapes, flower compositions and genre scenes by his
much lesser-known colleague Pavel Svedomsky. One of his most remarkable
canvases is "Medusa". Considering that salon art was used as
an element of decor, it was only natural that the exposition should also
include pieces of furniture, jewelry, porcelain, bronze sculpture, as well
as clothes, both aristocratic outfits and folk costumes. "Prisoners
of Beauty" is an attempt to give an objective picture of the multi-trend
evolution of Russian painting and restore historic justice towards painters
who made an essential contribution to the 19th-century art but were undeservedly
forgotten.
THAIKOVSKY BIG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SOLOISTS
AT THE MOSCOW PHILHARMONIC
- This season soloists of the Tchaikovsky Big Symphony Orchestra, one
of Russia's best orchestras, directed by Vladimir Fedoseev, will give a
series of concerts at the Moscow Philharmonic Society. The 5 concerts will
feature violinist Mikhail Shestakov, flutist Maria Fedotova, bassoonist
Teymur Bul-Bul-ogly, clarinetist Vladimir Permyakov, and also string quartets,
trios and quintets playing Russian and foreign classics of the 17th-20th
centuries, contemporary pieces and jazz. The idea belongs to maestro Fedoseev
and music critic Olga Dobrokhotova. Chamber music suited for performance
in a small hall and meant for one or several instruments first appeared
4 centuries ago. For musicians chamber music is a wonderful opportunity
to polish technique and develop individual style. The Tchaikovsky orchestra's
string quartet set up by Mikhail Shestakov four years ago has already gained
recognition in Russia and abroad, its repertory consisting mostly of Russian
authors. The opening concert of the Tchaikovsky orchestra soloists' Philharmonic
program will premiere a piece composed by the orchestra's percussionist
Vasily Polyakov, "Marimba Cat", dedicated to his baby daughter.
KARAGOD FOLK ENSEMBLE
- This year a well-known Russian folk ensemble, Karagod, celebrates its
25th birthday. It was the first to bring folk rites accompanied by folk
songs to professional stage. "The ensemble owes its name to a centuries-old
Slav tradition of round dance known as "khorovod" to the sound
of folk music and songs," says the ensemble's director, professor
Yevgenia Zosimova. "In southern Russia that kind of merrymaking was
called "karagod". We took this name after our first folklore
expedition, because we felt the magic power of southern Russian traditions."
The ensemble has been working hard
throughout all these years, premiering new programs (the best songs from
which entered a double album of Russian folk songs), playing in and recording
sound tracks for films, among them "The Young Russia", touring
Europe, America, India and China, performing in numerous folk festivals,
and traveling to various regions to collect new folk rites and songs. Each
of the ensemble's musicians can play several instruments, including woodwind
folk instruments such as "kalyuk", "kugikly", "pyzhata",
and also "zhaleika" and "Smolensk violin". This season
Karagod presented its jubilee program called Tatira. The word "tatira"
was recorded in one of the villages near Tver north of Moscow, whose residents
kept repeating "ta-ti-ra-ta-ta" between the lines of a song,
which sounded like a children's count or a spell.
- 11/15/2004
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