Performed by renowned pianist, Honored Artist of Russia, Professor of the Gnessins Russian Academy of Music Yuri Bogdanov, the opening chords of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sarabande from Partita evoked a rich array of emotions in those, who gathered at the Magtymguly Turkmen Music and Drama Theater.
The concert program featured works by Antonio Vivaldi, Rodion Shchedrin, Frederic Chopin, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Alexander Scriabin, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, among others.Vocalists Tsvetana Omelchuk and Elizaveta Antonova captivated the audience with their impressive vocal range and extraordinary performance skills.
Singing the Seguidilla from Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen, Tsvetana Omelchuk, the soloist of the Mariinsky Academy of Young Opera Singers, miraculously transformed into the seductive gypsy girl, Carmen, whose charms were utterly irresistible.
Famous songs such as I’ll Get Outside’, A Little Bird Sat on a Tree’, A Bell Rings Under the Curve’ performed by the soloist of the Moscow Regional Philharmonic Society Elizaveta Antonova, offered the music lovers a unique window into various types of Russian folk songs and singing techniques.
Tender and soul-stirring sounds of the domra (a long-necked stringed folk instrument) played by Darya Karplyuk in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Oriental Dance, Csárdás (based on well-known Hungarian folk melodies) and the Neapolitan La Colomba’ (The Dove) created an eclectic mix of music.
Darya Karplyuk also artfully demonstrated another side of her musical talent by playing her mentor Yuri Bogdanov’s B minor Prelude and E-flat minor Prelude for Piano. “Turkmenistan, we love you, and we will certainly come back again!” the Russian pianist Yuri Bogdanov brought the concert to a close with these words.
Words of sincere admiration and gratitude, bouquets of flowers, selfies with the well-known performers added an extra sparkle and charm to the evening of music co-organized by the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan and the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Turkmenistan.
Here are brief interviews with the performers.Yuri Bogdanov: - How did I start playing the grand piano?You had better ask my parents about this.According to them, I started singing when I was nine months old, and it was a Russian folk song.
I composed my first work at the age of four.The opuses I created during childhood are stored in a special folder and will be analyzed in depth someday.
Their time has not come yet.The two preludes composed by me were presented to Ashgabat’s music-loving public.Darya Karplyuk: - I come from the city of Electrostal (Moscow Region), where I finished the Children’s School of Music named after my grandmother Zhanna Andreenko.
I started learning the piano at six.At eight, I took a great interest in the domra after hearing its mesmerizing sounds.When I was thirteen, the renowned pianist Yuri Aleksandrovich Bogdanov paid a visit to our School of Music.
After graduating from school, I entered the Gnessins Russian Academy of Music, where Professor Bogdanov taught.Now, I am a teacher and assistant to Yuri Bogdanov.Combined together, the domra and piano create a perfectly harmonious balance.
I am delighted that this old folk instrument is today enjoying a popular revival.Elizaveta Antonova: - I was born in the city of Voronezh and represent a third generation of folk singers in my family.
I took to the stage at three.I have been living in Moscow since I was 15.As far back as I can remember, I either practiced or performed.
I long to praise and celebrate my homeland, beauty and talent of the Russian nation in folk songs.Tsvetana Omelchuk: - We wish we could stay in Ashgabat for more than only two days.
We hope we have enough time to see the sights of your beautiful capital.It is such a wonderful city!If I have the chance to visit Turkmenistan again, I will not miss it.