January Nights - a successful continuation of the famous festival

MOSCOW. "The Little Humpbacked Horse" at the opening of the anniversary "January Evenings".

The appearance of the children’s counterpart of December Evenings was inevitable. The idea of synthesizing painting and music, proposed by Irina Antonova and Svyatoslav Richter for an adult festival, was also effective for the harmonious education of the younger generation. The indefatigable director of Gnesinka, Mikhail Sergeyevich Khokhlov, is one of those restless devotees who strive to make classical music an integral part of the life of every child through its talented popularization.

The efforts of Khokhlov 20 years ago created the Gnesinsky Virtuosos Orchestra and the Piazzolla-Quintet ensemble, organized a Baroque music festival and a virtual Gnesinfest. Khokhlov is one of the founders of the Nutcracker contest, the creator of the Music in Pictures project, and the initiator of the appearance of the music album for drawing.

The ingenious notion of “January Evenings” - visualization of images that arise when listening to music, and demonstration of children’s works during concerts - becomes an act of co-creation of young musicians and peer-listeners. Each of the festival days is dedicated to a specific topic and takes place on a site ideally suited for these purposes: the White Hall of the Museum named after Pushkin, Richter’s memorial apartment, Museyon Center for Aesthetic Education. The first concert, held on January 24, was dedicated to Ershov’s fairy tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse".

About 500 drawings sent to the organizing committee of the festival participated in the creation of a colorful video sequence. The musical frame of the beloved fairy tale was the music of Manuel de Falla and Bach. The works of the ingenious composer of the Baroque era and the great Spanish musician who glorified his country in the 20th century, showed in the Russian fairy tale some new, unexpected facets, its philosophical depth. The program of the anniversary “January Evenings” includes a theatrical performance, collective drawing with live music, a gala concert of the winners of the Nutcracker contest.

Two years after the founding of the festival, in 2009, the initiative to hold the “January Evenings” was supported in several other regions: Orenburg, Kazan, Yekaterinburg and other Russian cities. 2016 is no exception.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru