100th anniversary of Anatoly Bogatyrev celebrated in Zaslavl
The music festival organized by the National Academic Concert Orchestra of Belarus jointly with regional and district authorities of Minsk region was held in Zaslavl. This educational event has been held in the ancient town for 13 years already.
A specially prepared concert program dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the founder of the national music composition school, Anatoly Bogatyrev, was the festival highlight.
“I remember him rather well. Indeed, he had a giant stature, a powerful talent, personality, strength of mind, education, and high intelligence. Music by Bogatyrev has not lost its relevance and sounds modern even today. Us contemporaries, perhaps, have not fully realized the importance and scale of his work, yet future generations will surely do it,” said Olga Dodiomova, doctor of cultural studies, professor and an all-time host of the festival.
Born in Vitebsk, Anatoly Bogatyrev studied music in Minsk. His first teacher was Nikolai Aladov, a brilliant representative of St. Petersburg music school. Later he was taught by Vasily Zolotarev, one of Rimsky-Korsakov’s students. Naturally, traditions of the Russian classical music became a solid foundation for future music composer Anatoly Bogatyrev.
He died in 2003 at the age of 90. Able to compose anything ranging from opera to romance, he created a lot of wonderful music works within his lifetime.
He had a bright pedagogical talent. Among his students are well-known Belarusian composers Yevgeny Glebov, Dmitry Smolsky, Sergey Cortes, Yuri Semenyako, Igor Luchenok, Andrey Mdivani, Eduard Zaritsky and many others.
Music by Anatoly Bogatyrev and his successors was brilliantly played in Zaslavl by chamber ensembles of the National Academic Concert Orchestra of Belarus.
“Traditionally, we pay tribute to the musical heritage of famous Belarusian composers at Zaslavl festivals. In the past years the festival featured music by Pukst, Lukas, Podkovyrov, Abeliovich and Turenkov. The orchestra hosts educational celebrations in five towns of Minsk region. This year for the first time the festival will be held in Luban,” said Mikhail Finberg, director of the National Academic Concert Orchestra of Belarus.
