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FULL SVIRIDOV ANNIVERSARY CONCERT Moscow 2025 Alexander Sukhanov
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: SVIRIDOV ANNIVERSARY CONCERT
- Composer: Sviridov Georgy
- Libretto: various
- Venue & Opera Company: Zaryadye Hall, Moscow, Russia
- Recorded: September 24, 2025
- Type: Concert Live
- Singers: Alexander Sukhanov
- Conductor: Arseniy Tkachenko
- Orchestra: Tchaikovsky State Academic Large Symphony Orchestra,
- Chorus: Masters of Choral Singing Academic Large Choir, Cantus Boys Choir under the direction of
- Chorus Master: Lev Kontorovich
- Stage Director:
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Format: DVD
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: nosubs
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
To commemorate Georgy Sviridov’s anniversary, performers will present a program of his works, as well as Andrei Mikita’s Passacaglia in Memory of Sviridov. Before the concert, at 6:00 PM, there will be a lecture by Alexander Belonenko , Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Board of the National Sviridov Foundation, and Director of the Sviridov Institute .
“Georgy Vasilyevich Sviridov is a Russian genius who has not yet been truly appreciated. His work will be of enormous significance in the coming revival of Russian culture,” said Academician Dmitry Likhachev.
The performance will feature excerpts from the composer’s final, unfinished work, the choral cycle “Chants and Prayers.” The full work consists of 27 pieces, but Sviridov conceived it as a grand cycle, “From Liturgical Poetry,” comprising 43 movements. Before his death, the composer prepared the composition for publication, but a significant portion of the material survived on scattered sheets published after his death.
The centerpiece of the first half will be the premiere of the choir “Bless, My Soul, the Lord.” This hymn exists only on audio cassette, performed by Sviridov himself, who sang one part and played the remaining parts on the piano. The complete manuscript of the chorus is lost or never existed: the composer only wrote down the opening and closing fragments, while the cassette contains almost the entire piece. The hymn had never been performed before, as significant work was required to transcribe the audio recording. Under the direction of the composer’s heir, Alexander Belonenko, the restoration work was carried out by Maxim Pozhidaev, choirmaster of the Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after D. D. Shostakovich. As part of the premiere, an audio recording of the performance will be made for subsequent distribution of the choir’s digital release of “Bless, My Soul, the Lord.”
In the second half, the Passacaglia in memory of Sviridov will be performed for the first time by Andrei Mikita, a member of the Union of Composers of Russia and professor at the Moscow Conservatory.
The program will conclude with the vocal poem “Rus’ Sets Away,” based on the verses of Sergei Yesenin. Sviridov dedicated the poem to his friend, musicologist Arnold Sokhor, who passed away while the composer was working on it. Although structurally considered a cycle, the composer himself defined the work as a poem in twelve songs. It is a vast musical canvas in which Sviridov reflects on the fate of his homeland and the role of the poet. In his diary entries, he wrote that the work is distinguished by “extraordinary melodic brilliance… richness, diversity, and purity of harmony. This is truly Russian music—new, luminous, of a crystal-clear style.” The composer compares “Rus’ Sets Away” to “a huge fresco in ancient style,” containing “tender lyricism, passionate, pathetic monologues, and tragic images.”