A concert of the Belarusian-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra led by People’s Artist of the USSR, Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation Yuri Bashmet took place on the Main stage of the State Academic Maly Theater of Russia.
The concerts of the Belarusian-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra are supported by the Standing Committee of the Union State, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus. The main idea of creating the Orchestra is the development of culture, academic art, music education, identification and professional development of young musicians, creation of conditions for the preservation and development of the cultural identity of the peoples of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus within the Union State.
The orchestra consists of 90 of the best young musicians from Russia and Belarus, who passed a competitive audition and became members of this unique collective. A rehearsal session was also organized especially for the orchestra, during which young musicians had the opportunity to get acquainted and learn how to interact with each other. In addition, master classes with famous teachers of Russia and Belarus were organized for the children.
On behalf of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the musicians and the audience of the concert were welcomed by Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Andrey Malyshev. “This musical union under the leadership of Maestro Yuri Bashmet creates conditions for the professional growth of young orchestra members, promotes the establishment of creative and friendly contacts, strengthens the common cultural space of Russia and Belarus,” Andrei Malyshev said.
As Maestro Bashmet noted, communication with young musicians is very exciting for him: “I see how they are charged with joint creativity, and it’s very cool. This project is a landmark, very important and necessary for me and for the guys. Playing in an orchestra brings musicians incredibly closer together, makes them a single organism, and I am sure that this experience will be remembered by all the guys for a long time. It is wonderful that young talented musicians from Russia and Belarus unite in a single team to first spend a difficult rehearsal period, and then perform concerts in Moscow and Minsk. These concerts are a unique opportunity to hear not the Belarusian and Russian youth orchestras separately, but both of them on the same stage,” the maestro said.
The concert program included works by Pyotr Tchaikovsky: the fantasy overture “Romeo and Juliet”, Lensky’s aria from the opera “Eugene Onegin” (arranged for oboe), violin concerto (part 2), symphony No. 5, as well as a French horn concerto (part 1) Richard Strauss and Fantasy on the theme of the opera “Carmen” for percussion instruments by Dmitry Lukyanov. Soloed: Dmitry Korneenko (Belarus, French horn), Fedor Osver (Russia, oboe), Stanislav Pavlov (Belarus, violin), Daria Barashkina and Anna Smirnova (Russia, percussion instruments).
Immediately after the concert, the young musicians headed to Minsk, where on November 22 the band will also give a concert on the stage of the Belarusian State Philharmonic.
