By Semen Kulakov
A preliminary agreement has already been reached with Iosif Kobzon, who has agreed to take part in the festival,” notes Anatoly Sinkovets, Head of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee’s Cultural Department. “On our side, we’ll do everything possible to welcome such a prominent personality to Mogilev; he has made an invaluable contribution to the development of singing.”
It’s planned that the jury of the contest will also include diploma holders and laureates of last year’s contest, who are now known at home and abroad: Natalia Podolskaya, Irina Dorofeeva, Iskui Abalyan, Ruslan Alekhno and Yevgeny Gor (Russia) and Teimur Bodzhgua (Georgia). They can also hold master classes for young entrants.
The young people’s pop song contest was replaced by a contest for vocal and instrumental ensembles (memory of Vladimir Mulyavin) but is now being revived, with entrants singing popular hits from previous years. The fate of the Vladimir Mulyavin contest is yet to be decided, as such musical groups are few in number in Belarus and the CIS, with the number of entrants dwindling in recent years. “We’ve elaborated all possible variants of its organisation and preservation, while thinking about a new concept and format,” explains Mr. Sinkovets.
The International Zolotoy Shlyager-2013 Music Festival was first organised in November 1995, with support from the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.
The forum has become a unique event in the cultural life of the Republic, the region and internationally, being a wonderful holiday of music and song. Its sincere poetic lyricism is unique while the festival brings together ‘forgotten’ artists who perform golden Soviet classics. The Zolotoy Shlyager was accepted into the International Federation of Festivals, and has featured acknowledged masters from around the world, from over 20 countries.
