An evening of romances to the poems by Russian poet Afanasy Fet took place in Ashgabat.The musical performance is timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the lyricist who made a significant contribution not only to Russian literature, but also to musical art.
There are a large number of songs and romances to Fet’s poems produced by more than a hundred composers, including Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Rachmaninov.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, who had a personal acquaintance with Afanasy Fet, compared his poetry with Beethoven’s music: “Like Beethoven, he was endowed with the power to touch such heartstrings that are inaccessible to other artists, although strong, but limited to the word alone. He is not just a poet, but a poet-musician”.
At a creative evening in Ashgabat, Honored Artist of Turkmenistan, pianist Vladimir Mkrtumov told the guests about some interesting biographical facts from the life of the lyricist. The acquaintance with the poet’s work was continued by the masters of academic singing Bakhar Durdiyeva and Nury Nuriyev.
“These are completely new romances for me that have been integrated into my repertoire thanks to joint work with Vladimir Sergeevich Mkrtumov”, Bakhar Durdyeva says. I enjoyed discovering the music of Russian composers Nikolai Medtner and Anton Arensky. I think I will learn a couple of their romances to Fet’s verses in the future.
The attractiveness of Afanasy Fet’s poetry for composers is due to its musicality.Vladimir Mkrtumov also reminds of this, inviting the guests to enjoy the romance “Come to the kingdom of roses and wine”.
Adapting oriental poetry for the Russian reader, Fet translated the poems by Persian poet Hafiz, which take on new colors, literally dissolving into the musical score of the romance.
“A similar evening was supposed to take place in Moscow, and I consulted my friend, musicologist Mikhail Sigelman, about drawing up a concert program”, Vladimir Mkrtumov says.We wanted some of the planned Moscow romances to be performed in Ashgabat.
Thanks to such creative evenings, both the audience and the musicians are enriched spiritually.Of course, we know many romances, but it is impossible to grasp the immensity.
Therefore, it is worth much to assemble a specific program and establish a special outlook.This is exactly the classics that should be known.
The chamber concert evening became the concluding chord in the series of cultural events organized by the representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo in Turkmenistan. On the occasion of the upcoming New Year’s Holiday, the artists and guests at the evening were presented with gifts on behalf of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs.
According to Yevgeny Beloglazov, the education, science and culture department head of Rossotrudnichestvo in Turkmenistan, next year creative evenings and meetings will be continued on a new stage in the reconstructed representative office building.