Presidential Library marks International Music Day

Every year, on October 1st, the International Music Day is celebrated worldwide. This holiday came to Russia in 1996. The Presidential Library's portal features collections dedicated to famous musicians and composers, including scores of their works, concert posters, photographs, correspondence, and audio and photographic materials.

This year marks the 220th anniversary of the birth of Russian composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, who was the first classical composer in Russia and the founder of the Russian national trend in opera. Like Alexander Pushkin in literature, Glinka created a new language of Russian music.

The collection Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) includes several sections that cover publications about the composer's life and work, memories of him, correspondence, autobiographical notes, portraits, monuments, and other materials related to Mikhail Ivanovich.

The collection Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) features musical scores with the composer's conductor's notes, photographs with inscriptions by composers M. Balakirev, E. Napravnik, and N. Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as other cultural figures from that time. Of particular interest is Tchaikovsky's own musical autograph, his handwritten note about the distribution of parts in the opera Enchantress, and a collection of articles on the staging of Queen of Spades by V. Meyerhold at the State Academic Maly Theater in 1934. The collection also includes pamphlets from the Guide to Concerts series published by the Leningrad Philharmonic.

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Stasov, an art historian and prominent figure of the late 19th century, who is being celebrated this year, the Presidential Library has presented a new collection.

Throughout his life, Stasov was closely associated with prominent figures in Russian culture, including members of the Mighty Five circle of composers.

At the lecture, Where was Sergey Rachmaninoff born? raises the question of the birthplace of the famous Russian composer and presents various opinions that have emerged in historiography on this issue. The possible birthplaces of Sergei Rachmaninoff are Novgorod, Saint-Petersburg, and within Tambov region, where there are three geographical locations that could be considered the birthplace of the musician.

The lecture also discusses the life of the composer and his parents, as well as presents unique footage of the work of Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich in a video dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the first performance of his famous Seventh (Leningrad) Symphony during the siege of the city. Another video shows the transfer of Dmitry Shostakovich's score for the Seventh Symphony by the St. Petersburg Radio House to the Presidential Library for digitalization, which was later used to perform the work during the siege in Leningrad.

Information about contemporary musicians is also available on the Presidential Library's portal.

From the author's artistic photo project Violins of Russia - music in photographs by Sergei Venyavsky, more information about the musician Andronik Yagubyants from Rostov-on-Don is available. In 1998, he completed the work on his own concept for a French classical bow, and at the Tchaikovsky Competition, he became the first laureate from Rostov to receive several diplomas for his bow playing. Later, he received the second title of laureate and a silver medal at the same competition for his cello performance.

For more interesting information about musicians and music, please visit the portal of the Presidential Library.