A new youth project from the Russian Seasons–"Russian Seasons. Young Talents," launches on December 19, 2022. 9 participants, some of the most talented students of the country's leading music schools, 9 episodes, in which each plays a concert, 9 heartfelt interviews, in which the participants express themselves as individuals, talking about their creative path, life plans and dreams.
They were filmed in places symbolic of the project's theme: the estate museum of Fyodor Chaliapin and the museum apartment of A. Goldenweiser. Both locations were provided by the Russian National Museum of Music, the Russian Seasons' long–time partner,
The project organizers had the difficult task of choosing from many musically gifted children who would eventually represent the first edition of "Young Talents."
Even though the artists taking part in the performance were young (from 8 to 15 years old), each of them had done a significant amount of work on themselves above all: it was difficult to hide their anxiety and fussiness backstage, but it did not affect the children, each showing great promise, to go on stage, instantly cheer up, and play their favorite pieces.
"Our goal is to help encourage as many gifted children as possible to discover music as the foundation of their creative path. The preparation and further development were equally exciting because communicating and interacting with children is challenging. It is a symbiosis of genuine passion and ill-concealed enthusiasm for their work; wild, in a good sense, lively mind, not yet burdened by the socially imposed attitude that one can't help but envy: adults often have too much professional precision. So we are very much looking forward to December 19, when the project will become available on the platform. To further advance our development, it is essential for us to see the audience's reaction, too," said Alexei Lebedev, director of the Russian Seasons .
An exciting acquaintance will begin with Andrei Zaitsev and Maria Zaitseva (ages 12 and 9) . They connected their creative journey with wind instruments. Andrey is the winner of the XX television competition of young musicians, "The Nutcracker". The Zaitsevs' repertoire includes various music, from baroque to contemporary. In addition to their main instruments, the children play the piano and block flutes (alto, soprano and sopranino).
Mikhail Kaufman (14 years old) entered the 4th grade of the Sveshnikov Moscow Choral School in June 2019. Mikhail is the winner of Grand Prix diplomas in many national and international vocal competitions, he was a finalist in the seventh season of the All-Russian open television competition for young talents "The Blue Bird."
Ivan Ilyin (14 years old) is currently studying at the Gnessin Moscow Special School of Music. He is the winner of the IV International Festival-Competition of percussion instruments, "Drum Wave." He began his career at five and a half, and now Vanya is a regular participant in festivals, competitions, and concerts. In addition, he is a member of the Spivakov International Charitable Foundation program. He plays drums and xylophone.
Olga Azanova (8 years old) is the youngest project participant. She showed great interest in music from an early age. In 2021, she joined the preliminary group of the Central Music School, and in 2022, after comparative testing, she became a student of the 1st class of the Central Music School.
Another participant in the video project is Spyridon Hatzidimitriadis (14 years old). A Greek with a Russian soul is how you can describe this young musician. Spiridon chose the balalaika as his main instrument. According to the artist, he always wondered what sounds it could make. He is the first-degree laureate of the Moscow Open Balalaika Performers Contest.
Alana Plieva (11 years old) is a student of the Central Music School at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, winner of the II Elevato Piano International Competition for Young Pianists in Switzerland (I prize, 2021).
AlisaSuchkova (9 years old) has been studying at the music school since she was 5 years old; she actively participates in various contests and loves to perform on stage in front of an audience.
David Khachatryan (15 years old) began to show interest in music at age two. In 2020, he entered the Central Music School at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory. He is a diploma winner of the International Competition for Young Musicians in the piano category and the HarmoniumOnlinePlus First Prize winner.
Yelisey Mysin (12 years old) is a regular participant in Denis Matsuev's projects, grant holder of the International charitable foundation "New Names", and 1st prize winner at the 4th Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians 09.2022 (China) and Yamaha company scholarship will finish the series of concerts. In 2018, Yelisey participated in the "Russian Seasons" opening ceremony in Italy. In 2020, he tried acting and starred in the film "About Lelia and Minka" based on the stories of M. Zoshchenko (directed by Anna Chernakova, 2020).
A long-standing friendship and successful creative cooperation connect the Russian Seasons and the Museum of Music. The museum was happy to support this fantastic initiative to create a project for young people and about young people through the perspective of art. This is how new stars are born on the musical scene. Project participants are the future artists on the big stage who must follow a long and challenging path. I am sure that the unique atmosphere of the Museum-apartment of the famous teacher and pianist Alexander Goldenweiser and the Museum-Estate of the great Russian artist Fyodor Chaliapin, where the great musicians of the world visited, inspired the participants to conquer new heights, " said Mikhail Bryzgalov, Director General of the Russian National Museum of Music.
Broadcasts of the performances of young talents will become available on the Russian Seasons official website in the "LIVE" section starting December 19 at 20:00 Moscow time: russianseasons.org.