October 17, 2022 | Zaryadye Concert Hall
To the 150th birthday anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams
Academic Grand Choir «Masters of Choral Singing»
Soloists: Anna Aglatova, soprano
Igor Podoplelov, bass-baritone
Conductor – Arsenty Tkachenko
Mendelssohn. The Hebrides Overture
Debussy. The Sea (La Mer), three symphonic sketches for orchestra
Vaughan Williams. Symphony No. 1 in D major (“A Sea Symphony”)

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The concert on the occasion of the 150^th birthday anniversary of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958), which the conductor Arsenty Tkachenko decided to turn into an unusual show with video projections of maritime paintings by Ayvazovsky, Benoit, Bogolubov, Dubovsky, Kuindzhi and other renowned artists. Their canvases will embellish the NPR's program dedicated to maritime motifs in music. The project involves the participation of the State Russian Museum and the Ivan Aivazovsky Feodosia Picture Gallery.

The high point of the concert will be A Sea Symphony by Vaughan Williams for soloists, choir and orchestra to the poems from Walt Whitman's book Leaves of Grass (1855). It is worth noting that Whitman, American poet-modernist, wrote free verses that complicated the composer's work though providing more freedom in metric and melodic structuring, thus giving birth to a unique form of text and music interaction.

The concert will also feature well-known gems by Mendelssohn (Hebrides or Fingal's Cave Overture) and Debussy (symphonic three-section poem La Mer). The Grand Academic Choir “Masters of Choral Singing” and soloists Anna Aglatova (soprano) and Igor Podoplelov (bass-baritone) will join the NPR in the concert.

“A Sea Symphony is a perfect example of the combination of English, German and French styles in one work,” says Arsenty Tkachenko. “Having educated in Great Britain Vaughan Williams continued his studies with Max Bruch in Berlin and Maurice Ravel in Paris, and we remember it while compiling the program. A Sea Symphony is one of the most grandiose scores by Vaughan-Williams in its idea and the number of musicians: a large symphony orchestra, choir, two soloists, while the choir sings during the whole piece. Vaughan Williams is not solely one of the founders of English composition school, but also one of the greatest symphonic composers of the 20^th century. It is a great pity that his works have been rarely performed in Russia.”