The Transformation of a Music Festival in St. Petersburg “The World of Art. Contrasts”

Abstract

The article presents the history
of an extraordinary music festival organized
in St. Petersburg by two composers Igor
Rogalev and Igor Vorobyev. The festival was
first called “From the Avant-garde
to the Present Day,” subsequently “From
the Avant-garde to the Present Day.
Continuation,” and during the last three years —
“The World of Art. Contrasts.” This festival was
founded in 1992, and its aim was to create
a venue for performance of music
by contemporary composers
and representatives of the “forgotten
generation” of the early 20th century Russian
avant-garde movement, such as Nikolai
Roslavetz, Alexander Mosolov, Arthur Lourie,
etc. Many premieres of these and other
composers were performed at this festival,
as well as well-known works by such early
20th century established masters as Arnold
Schoenberg, Alexander von Zemlinsky,
Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartok, etc.
Some of the leading contemporary composers
of the late 20th and early 21st century were
invited to participate in the festival,
as were numerous outstanding performances,
ensembles and orchestras up to
the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater,
artists, poets and writers.
At the present time the artistic goal
of the festival is to connect the strata of music
by contemporary composers with
the masterpieces of the great classics
of the previous centuries — from
the Renaissance era to the 19th century.
Each year the festival has a certain particularthemes, such as, for instance, Italian music
or Japanese music, around which the program
is built endowed with a broad stylistic
and genre-related pallette.