Rachmaninov festival in Tambov and Ivanovka - preservation of traditions and a celebration of music

TAMBOV. The opening of the 35th Sergei Rachmaninoff Festival took place on his birthday.

The Znamenskoe estate of the Kozlovsky district of the Tambov province was acquired by the great-great-grandfather of the composer, Gerasim. Sergei Vasilievich’s grandfather was a pianist and composer, a student of the Irish virtuoso pianist John Field, his father and great-grandfather were amateur musicians. For a quarter of a century, the composer has repeatedly visited these places, invariably spending several months a year on the Ivanovka estate, where his wife was from. After the Bolsheviks came to power, all the original buildings in the village were destroyed, the estate, which kept the composer’s manuscript scores, paintings, books and other priceless relics, was looted.

Now here is the Rachmaninov Museum-Estate with a magnificent park laid by Emilia Elizabeth Dorothea von Kruudener, the grandmother of Natalia Alexandrovna Rachmaninova. Ivanovka owes its revival to director Alexander Ivanovich Ermakov, an ascetic who restored these places to their former glory and splendor. Among the enthusiasts resuscitating the estate is the famous pianist Lugansky, one of the headliners of the current festival. In the immediate plans of Nikolai Lvovich is the construction of a concert hall in Ivanovka.

The first concert could be compared with a delightful overture or a fascinating prologue, creating a unique atmosphere of a music festival. The Ovations met the Third Concert of Rachmaninov and the Little Russian Symphony by Tchaikovsky performed by the Tambov Symphony Concert conducted by Fabio Mastrangelo. Laureate of International Competitions Tatyana Kolesova performed an encore several works at the request of the public, delighted with her interpretation of Rachmaninov’s music. The program of the next days includes performances by Tambov groups, concerts by the Norwegian pianist Joakim Knopf, which will feature music by Edward Grieg, as well as a symphony orchestra conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev. The culmination of the festival will be a gala concert in Ivanovka, in which famous soloists and groups will take part.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru