Russian Spiritual Culture Days finished in Serbia. The events took place from 4 to 8 October.
The State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble Rossiya named after Lyudmila Zykina performed in five cities across the country: Vranje, Pirot, Niš, Aleksinac, and Sremski Karlovci.
The Serbian audience was offered a program of Russian folk music and classical works by Soviet and foreign composers: The River Runs by E. Kolmanovsky, Oh, Snow, Snow by G. Ponomorenko, Tell Me, Girls by R. Falvo, Concert Rondo by N. Chaikin, By the Long Road by B. Fomin, the Russian folk song I See Wonderful Wide Open Spaces, etc. The famous Kalinka was performed at the finale.
The Rossiya Ensemble has toured Serbia on numerous occasions. According to Artistic Director Dmitry Dmitrienko, “specially for the tour, one of the founders of the “Rossiya” Ensemble, Viktor Gridin, brilliantly arranged the famous waltz “Danube Waves” for the accordion, and created a musical composition, “Cinderella and Vanya”, based on the musical piece by Alexey Arkhipovsky. This piece, performed by the soloists of “Rossiya” Ensemble Vladimir Dunayev and Luiza Nuriyeva, was one of the highlights of the concert.”
In Aleksinac, musicians from the Rossiya Ensemble also took part in the unveiling ceremony of the restored monument to Russian volunteers who perished in 1876 during the Serbian-Turkish War for the liberation of Serbia from Ottoman occupation. Their performance of the Russian national anthem and Vocalise by Sergei Rachmaninoff created an exclusive atmosphere for this momentous occasion.
Master classes by musicians from the Valentin Berlinsky String Quartet were held at the University of Arts in Belgrade. Members of this young ensemble, renowned in Russia and abroad, are winners of international music awards and graduates of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory: Dennis Gasanov (first violin), Pavel Romanenko (viola), Mikhail Kalashnikov (cello), and a graduate of the Ippolitov-Ivanov State Music and Pedagogical Institute Fyodor Kalashnikov (second violin). They shared their unique experience of performing music of the Classical and Romantic periods, as well as works by contemporary composers.
Sremski Karlovci became the main venue for the final day of the project. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated at St. Nicholas Cathedral by Metropolitan Aristarchus of Kemerovo and Prokopyevsk and Metropolitan Vasily of Srem, along with clergy from the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches. The choirs of the Sretensky Stavropegic Monastery and the Karlovci Theological Seminary took part in the service performing liturgic chants.
Soloists of the Sretensky Monastery Choir held a master class for the students of the Seminary.
The Vidikovac Cultural Center hosted a photo exhibition by the Kizhi State Historical, Architectural, and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve, titled Kizhi: A Reborn Masterpiece of Russia. The exhibition celebrates the completion of the restoration of the Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord on Kizhi Island—the largest, most complex, and most harmonious traditional wooden building in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The photographs were taken by photographer Igor Georgievsky.
The Days of Spiritual Culture in Serbia culminated in a concert at the Vidikovac Cultural Center, featuring the Rossiya Ensemble and the Sretensky Monastery Choir. Iconic church chants were performed, including God Is With Us by P. Chesnokov, Having Seen the Resurrection of Christ (from the All-Night Vigil) by S. Rachmaninoff, The Symbol of Faith by A. Grechaninov, as well as music by secular composers, including The Grape Seed by Bulat Okudzhava, Call Me Quietly by Name by Igor Matvienko, etc.
Among the guests of the concert were the Mayor of the Sremski Karlovci Municipality, Dražen Đurđić; the director of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Belgrade Evgeny Baranov; representatives of the Russian Embassy in Serbia; as well as residents and visitors from Serbian cities.
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Russian Spiritual Culture Days is a unique multi-genre project of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, aimed at promoting the spiritual and moral values of the Russian people and the treasures of Russian culture and art in foreign countries. The project is implemented by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation in close collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Russian Orthodox Church. The project organizer is the Autonomous Non-profit Organization “Russian Seasons.” Since 2008, events of Russian Spiritual Culture Days have been held in nearly 50 countries.
