The Unique Russian Composers’ Heritage Revival Project Was Launched

As of today, heritage of many famous Russian composers has been buried in oblivion and is on the verge of extinction. Last time many compositions were performed only at the beginning of last century; most records have been lost. E.ON Russia and Orpheus Radio have jointly selected several compositions that will be restored and recorded. Concert recordings of the musical compositions will be placed on the server of the European Broadcasting Union.

The unique opera Raphael of A.S. Arensky is among the musical compositions to be restored on a first-priority basis. The opera was written in 1894 for the First All-Russian Artists Convention and on the occasion of the Tretyakov Gallery opening. Last time the composition was staged in the 1920s, and it was recorded in the original performance in the 1950s. Unfortunately, the recording was lost, and the composer’s name was almost forgotten. When recording the opera, it is the original performance of the musical composition that is currently planned to be restored, as according to the idea of A.S. Arensky, the part of Raphael Santi was performed by a woman (mezzo-soprano). Orpheus Radio Symphony Orchestra and the soloists have already started the opera rehearsals.

Really rare and valuable editions requiring urgent restoration have been selected for the Book Artifacts Restoration Program. Specialists of the Russian State Library restoration workshop have already started restoring the first item – P composed by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov and written to his dictation by a student. This edition published in 1885 is an important original of the great composer’s theoretical work.

“Classical music language, restoration of masterpieces of music materials and books – those are timeless values, a universal language for communication of generations. This project allows us to make a contribution to the culture development and information justice restoration,” Maxim Shirokov, CEO of E.ON Russia, said in his interview to Orpheus Radio.

Concert performance of the revived opera Raphael and the exhibition of the restored book artifacts will be arranged within the framework of the project in Moscow.