Return of the masterpiece of George Sviridov to the public

IRKUTSK. The Symphony No. 1 of George Sviridov was discovered and performed.

The opening of a new season in the Irkutsk Philharmonic was sensational. 16 years after the death of Georgy Sviridov, his unknown symphony was first performed in public. The world premiere was preceded by a small miracle. The epigraph to this news could well be Akhmatov’s “When would you know from what rubbish…”. For eight decades, the old sofa at the composer’s summer cottage kept a real treasure - a musical manuscript with one of his first works. The composer’s nephew - Alexander Sergeyevich Belonenko - was lucky enough to find him. An accidental find was “Symphony No. 1”, the authenticity of which was confirmed by examination. According to the main version, this is a thesis prepared by a novice composer, student of the great Shostakovich, for graduation from the Leningrad Conservatory.

The musicologist Alexander Belonenko is the main curator of the creative heritage of George Sviridov and president of the memorial fund created after the death of the composer. He took up the work of preserving the huge music and audio archives, publishing the complete works, and also recording discs, due to sad circumstances - the death of both sons of Sviridov and his widow. The initiative to transfer the found score to the Irkutsk Governor Symphony Orchestra arose thanks to Belonenko’s trip to Irkutsk in January last year.

At the evening dedicated to the opening of the Year of Literature, the Governor’s Orchestra took part in the literary and musical composition on Pushkin’s “Snowstorm”. Careful attitude to the music of Sviridov and the high professionalism of the team, which in recent years has been led by Ilmar Arturovich Lapins, who knew George Vasilyevich personally, made a great impression on the composer’s nephew. So strong that the right of first performance at no cost was granted to virtuosos from Irkutsk.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru