Hvorostovsky/Orbelian/Philharmonia of Russia on Tour

Artist News

January 4, 2006 — For Immediate Release
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Constantine Orbelian, Philharmonia of Russia extend Russian “Hero Cities” tour to bring “Songs of the War Years”
program to U.S. Music Centers and London’s Barbican

Five U.S. Music Centers and London’s Barbican will recreate the unique “Songs of the War Years” program that gave hundreds of thousands of Russia’s concertgoers a never-to-be-forgotten experience last summer. Such a concert, featuring music especially close to Hvorostovsky’s heart, was just too good an idea to be limited entirely to Russian audiences; and now American and English audiences have something very special coming their way.

The concert tour of great Western cities that started in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 15, and concludes in London on Saturday, February 17, will give an international audience a taste of what all the excitement was about last summer in Russia:

Los Angeles Opera, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion: January 15
Washington Performing Arts Society, Kennedy Center: January 18
San Francisco Symphony Series, Davies Hall; January 22
New York City, Lincoln Center Great Performers Series; January 25
Miami, Concert Association of Florida, Jackie Gleason Theatre; January 31
London, Barbican Centre; February 17

The original idea for the Russian Tour was the 60th Anniversary celebration of the end of World War II, with a performance in Moscow’s Kremlin Palace attended by 53 heads of state, followed by visits to seven Russian “Hero Cities” — all of them prominent in pivotal battles and heroic victories during the war. The cities honored were Tula, Smolensk, Volgograd (Stalingrad), Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg and St. Petersburg (Leningrad).

In each city, Dmitri Hvorostovsky sang a program of Russian songs and romances that helped to sustain the country’s citizens during the 1941-45 duration of Russia’s involvement in World War II. Many of these songs are now considered classics, dear to every Russian, young and old.

The response to these concerts throughout Russia was electric: vividly evocative to the older audience and surviving veterans who had lived through the terrible war, and ear-opening to younger people, deepening their understanding of the relevance of this music.

New arrangements of these “classic” songs were made especially for Hvorostovsky and Orbelian; and it is these new arrangements that make up the “Songs of the War Years” program, and are available on two Delos recordings with Hvorostovsky, Orbelian and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra: Where Are You, My Brothers (DE 3315) and Moscow Nights (DE 3339).

In the current tour program, Hvorostovsky and Orbelian will begin with Russian operatic arias, including arias from Rachmaninov’s “Aleko,” Rubenstein’s “Demon” and “Nero,” and Borodin’s “Prince Igor.” The generous vocal program will be enriched by several orchestral selections by Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Shostakovich.

The second half of the program will be devoted to the beloved Russian songs; here the ensemble will be joined by the unique Russian folk ensemble “Style of Five”, adding to the authenticity of the sound. These songs run the gamut from themes of lost love, yearnings for home, and farewells to departed comrades, to pride in the homeland and defiance of the enemy. The emotions are universal; equally meaningful to east and west.

Russian journalist Boris Shapiro-Tulin wrote an interesting and enlightening feature article about the “Songs of the War Years” project and its significance; and a reprint of this article accompanied the “Hero Cities” tour program on its journey and to its venues. Russian musicologist Levon Hakopian has translated the article, which now forms a brochure available in English for American and English audiences.

Russian Television commentator Natalia Chernova described the effect of the “Songs of the War Years” program this way:

“At the end of the concert the entire audience, with tears in their eyes, stood up to hear the last chords of the music… And it became evident to anyone what it is that will help us to save, to defend and win, where winning is very difficult, nearly impossible. It is the power of the human spirit. If you doubt that power, look at the faces of the soloist, the conductor, the orchestral musicians, the choral singers, and the audience."

Constantine Orbelian wrote to his friends in the U.S. about his and Hvorostovsky’s experiences-of-a-lifetime during their “Hero Cities” tour. The words below, quoted from leaders of present-day Volgograd (Stalingrad; the site of unspeakable devastation during the war years) tell the story more poignantly than outside observers could possibly describe:

“The Governor of the region and the Mayor of Volgograd held a reception for us at the hotel. First the Mayor thanked us for ‘giving the people something that they thought they had lost. Russians have a great need to be proud of their country without the connotation of the Soviet Union and the political system; they need to be proud of what their people have done and achieved, and the identity of who they are. And this program, so carefully put together, gives us just that; exactly what we needed.’

“Then the Governor spoke of ‘the power of Dmitri’s voice; his noble, deep and unique interpretation of the songs that everyone knows … But as we go on listening to Dmitri sing them, we realize that we have never heard the songs performed like this before. We listen to familiar words with a new meaning; and it doesn’t seem that they were written 60 years ago, but that they were written today, and are as vital and important to us now as they were then. It is as if we are hearing them for the first time, and are experiencing the emotions that made these songs something that would compel an entire country to fight and defend their homeland. We are at once moved, touched and humbled by what this great man has done for us.’"

HVOROSTOVSKY, ORBELIAN, PHILHARMONIA OF RUSSIA TOUR PROGRAM:
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006.

Rimsky Korsakov: Procession of the Nobles from Mlada
Rachmaninov: Aleko’s Aria from Aleko
Tchaikovsky: Polonaise from Eugene Onegin
Rubenstein: “Ne plach ditja” from The Demon
Rubenstein: “Na vozdushnom oceane” from The Demon
Mussorgsky: Dawn on the Moscow River – Prelude to Khovanschina
Borodin: Prince Igor’s aria “Ne sna ne Otdikha Prince Igor
Tchaikovsky Dance of the Skomorokhs from The Snowmaiden
Rubenstein: Epitalama Vindex “Poju tebe Bog Gimeneja” from Nero

— Intermission —

Molchanov: “Vot soldaty idut” The Soldiers are coming
Bogoslovsky: “Temnaja noch” Dark is the Night
Basner: “Na bezymjannoj vysote” On a Nameless Hill
Shostakovich: Waltz from the film The First Eschelon
Molchanov: “Zhdi menya” Wait for me
Novikov: “Dorogyi” The Roads
Tariverdiev: “Gde to daleko” Somewhere far away
Blanter – Kovalenkov: “The Sun hides behind the Hills”
Fradkin: “Slutchaynyy Val’s” Unexpected Waltz
Frenkel: “Zhuravli” Cranes
Nozhkin: “Posledniy Boi” The Last Battle