This week, the online service 'Stay Home with Russian Seasons' has arranged very special webcasts. The audience will enjoy one of the most spectacular cultural events in Russia - the closing ceremony of the International Military Music Festival 'Spasskaya Tower'. The broadcast is geared up jointly with the Russian Centre for Science and Culture (RCSC) in Brussels (Belgium), and anyone can watch the performance of outstanding musicians either on the official website of 'Russian Seasons' http://russianseasons.org/, or on the website of the RCSC in Belgium https: // ruscentre.be. The Festival's screening is timed to coincide with an important holiday, Defender of the Fatherland Day celebrated in Russia on February 23
The holiday has a history for almost a century. Originally, at the beginning of the 20th century, it had been a national holiday, the Day of the Soviet Army and the Navy. Over time, February 23 was regarded as an unofficial Men's Day. In Russia, it is customary to celebrate it on a grand scale, and since 2002, Defender of the Fatherland Day is an official public holiday.
On Tuesday, February 23, the main theme of the International Military Music Festival 'Spasskaya Tower' is going to be the Officer's Ball. On Red Square, to the live accompaniment of military bands playing waltzes and marches, dozens of couples will demonstrate historically-themed costumes of the Petrine and the Soviet wartime eras. Over 20 military bands from various countries of the globe took part in one of the most spectacular events in Moscow, including the Orchestra of Suvorov Military College Students of the Moscow Military Music School named after Lieutenant General V.M.Khalilov, a company of drummers of the Military Music School that opens all military parades on Red Square; also, the ensemble of drummers from the Boarding School of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation took part in the Festival. The annual 'Spasskaya Tower ' Festival is always breathtaking with its night musical pageants with elements of pyrotechnic, light installations and grandiose fireworks.
'In 2020, 'Russian Seasons' were widely demonstrated in Belgium. Despite the pandemic, the program of online events has multiplied the audience; thus, instead of the planned 30 events, the Belgian public was actually presented with several dozen exhibitions, performances and concerts. It is important that 'Russian Seasons in Belgium' keep on going today, showcasing all the variety of genres and formats of contemporary Russian culture. This time, by giving the example of a major international event, the 'Spasskaya Tower' Festival,' comments Director of the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Brussels V. G. Bunina.
In thirteen years, the Festival has hosted more than 160 companies from 54 countries and has become the largest international cultural project in Russia, entering the top three most famous military music festivals in the world. Each year, more than 90,000 people visit the 'Spasskaya Tower' Festival. Now, the online viewers of 'Russian Seasons' will be able to watch this unparalleled performance. The streaming of the closing ceremony of the XI International Military Music Festival 'Spasskaya Tower' will also take place on the website of the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Brussels: https://ruscentre.be .
On Thursday, February 25 , on the 'Stay Home with Russian Seasons' online platform, viewers will be able to watch a concert by the People's Artist of Russia Denis Matsuev presented by the Okko multimedia service. On this day, improvisations on the themes by the Norwegian and American composers Edward Grieg and George Gershwin, one of the most celebrated jazz musicians of the 20th century Duke Ellington, jazz composer and saxophonist Charles Parker, the greatest Russian composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff will be performed. Friends of Denis Matsuev, talented musicians, will also take part in the program. Among them are the Honored Artist of Russia Andrei Ivanov (double bass), prominent Russian jazz drummer Alexander Singer, improviser Arkady Shilkloper who will play rare instruments, French horn and Alpine horn; the winner of the 5th season of the All-Russian contest of young talents 'Blue Bird', 10-year-old Anastasia Tyurina will treat the audience with her virtuoso balalaika playing, and the bright 16-year-old jazz vocalist Yaroslava Simonova, another winner of the 'Blue Bird' contest of the same season, will demonstrate her original vocals in an improvisation based on George Gershwin's themes, as well as the vibrant piano performance of her own composition in Chinese called 'Waiting'.
The webcasts start at 8pm Moscow time.