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In 2021, Russian Seasons presented an unforgettable program to South Korean and Belgian viewers, celebrated its first anniversary – 5 years, and aired more than 100 broadcasts on the online platform Stay home with Russian Seasons.
The project’s main development phase in 2021 was the events organized by the Russian Seasons in the Republic of Korea. It is no less symbolic that for more than 30 years, the countries have been connected by fruitful cooperation. Since October 2021, when the Russian Seasons solemnly opened in Seoul, the project held ten concerts in six different cities: Seoul, Daejeon, Incheon, Gwangju, Goyang, Novongu. Three of them were shown on Stay Home with Russian Seasons resources and got more than 500,000 views. The concerts were also broadcasted on Korean resources with a maximum of 18,000 Korean singular viewers.
The project was inaugurated on October 2, with a concert by the Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra conducted by maestro Yuri Bashmet. During the next few days, the musical program was shown in five other different South Korean cities. The next part of the program was a performance by the famous Russian violinist Vadim Repin, accompanied by South Korean pianist Dae-Hyun Kim. The musicians gave two different concerts in Seoul and Daejeon on October 17 and 18, 2021.
"It was very thrilling, challenging, however, pleasant, that we were among the first to be seen by the Korean audience in two years. The opening concert proved that the Russian Seasons Festival was long-awaited and welcome in South Korea. The warmth and love, which we received is proof of that," – said Yuri Bashmet.
The next phase of the project’s South Korean program took place a month later: on November 21, as part of the tour continuation, a lecture by Leo Tolstoy’s descendant, Presidential Advisor on Cultural Affairs – Vladimir Tolstoy, was held at Hankuk University of Foreign Languages. It was followed by a milestone event, the unveiling of a bust of the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy at the Seoul House of Literature and an exhibition of young artists’ works from the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.
The Russian Seasons events series concluded with two exceptional concerts by the Mariinsky Theater Stradivarius Ensemble, conducted by maestro Valery Gergiev, on November 24, 2021.
"For the 30 years of cooperation Russian – South Korean cooperation in the cultural sphere has been enriched by many wonderful projects. It is delightful that in its 5th anniversary year, the Festival was held in the Republic of Korea," Olga Lyubimova noted in her address during the project’s online closing ceremony in South Korea.
On December 30, 2021, the "Russian Seasons" online closing ceremony was held in the Republic of Korea-2021. The closing ceremony included a broadcast of the ballet "The Nutcracker" performed by Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet students to music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and performed by the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. The New Year’s Eve performance video was made the day before at the famous Mariinsky Theater. On New Year’s Eve, December 31, the broadcast of the ballet ‘The Nutcracker’ was presented on the project partner platform Smotrim.
"I hope that in 2022 all the musicians of the world will be able to feel relief and that the hardships that were there will subside. That we can do what we love fully and that the halls will be full again," – Valery Gergiev in his address at the online Closing Ceremony in South Korea.
In addition to South Korea, the project program also covered the Kingdom of Belgium. The revival of the project, after the pause in 2020 due to coronavirus restrictions, was symbolized by the traditional ceremony of dressing the famous Belgian fountain statue ‘Manneken Pis’ in Brussels in a stylized version of the Russian Guardsman costume, which took place on June 12, 2021, Russia Day. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the municipal authorities and the Russian Ambassador to Belgium, Alexander Tokovinin. Also, as part of the Russian Seasons in Belgium and with the support of the Russian Center for Science and Culture, the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella Choir, directed by People’s Artist of the USSR Vladislav Chernushenko, performed for the audience in Brussels. The concerts were held in the country’s four largest Catholic cathedrals and covered all of Belgium’s regions: Brussels, Flemish, and Walloon. The performances were attended by more than 3,000 European and Russian spectators.
In December, a series of concerts by soloists of the All-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra and classical music concerts performed by the Mariinsky Theatre Stradivarius Ensemble under the baton of Maestro Valery Gergiev was held at the Bozar Center for the Fine Arts in Belgium.
Despite the pandemic and various restrictions, the Russian Seasons managed to share a very significant part of Russia’s cultural code with European and Korean audiences. Which was highly appreciated and warmly received.
To provide access to cultural content from Russia for anyone interested, the Stay Home with Russian Seasons online service continued its work. This year, the platform hosted more than 100 broadcasts, with viewers connecting from France, the United States, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Great Britain, Spain, and Russia. A total of 20 million viewers watched the broadcasts during the year.
Another stage in the project’s development was the Discovering Russia with Russian Seasons video excursions series. The online video library has become not only a guide to the backstage of Russian museums, theaters, and concert halls but also allowed viewers to become part of Russian history. The second season program, which launched in 2021, included tours of the Russian Museum, the Fabergé Museum, the Russian National Museum of Music, the Tsarskoye Selo museum-reserve, the State Russian Museum’s Marble Palace, the Alexandrinsky Theater, the Spasskoye-Lutovinovo museum-reserve of Ivan S. Turgenev, the Abramtsevo State Historical-Art and Literature Museum-Reserve. The total number of viewings for three seasons amounted to about 1.5 million.
In 2022 the Russian Seasons project will present its program in Scandinavian countries: Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
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