On September 10, the State Academic Capella of St. Petersburg Gallery will open an exhibition by the Russian National Museum of Music entitled "We were approaching this day...", dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. This exhibition is about the role of music during the Great Patriotic War, the selfless work of Soviet musicians, the diverse and rich musical life of wartime, and the well-known and little-known names, melodies, and works that were created during the war and after its end.
Decades have passed since Victory Day, but the memory of those unforgettable pages of military history is still alive. Music played an important role in strengthening the morale of the people during the war. It inspired people to fight the enemy, supported their belief in liberation from the invaders, and became a source of light and hope.
The exhibition is dedicated to well-known and little-known musical pages of history. It tells the story of young militiamen who were graduates of the Moscow Conservatory, those who died prematurely at the front, and those who, having gone through the long journey of war, preserved its memory in musical works; the labor exploits of musicians and composers at the front, in the rear, and in the ring of the Leningrad blockade; about the music that played from loudspeakers and in concert halls. A separate page is devoted to the music competition for the creation of the USSR anthem in 1943.
The culmination of the exhibition is a section dedicated to the celebration of Victory Day. In the first days of May 1945, improvised performances by our artists resounded victoriously in Berlin at the walls of the Reichstag: Lydia Ruslanova sang, violinist Yuli Reentovich played, and a "concert of victors" was held, in which Soviet composers and poets participated.
Concerts by outstanding Soviet artists were held triumphantly in the cities of liberated Europe. The victory was marked by the creation of festive musical compositions. Memories of the war were reflected in plays, films, operas, symphonies, and oratorios. Echoes of those heroic days were also heard in the songs of the postwar years.
Work on creating music did not stop for a moment during the Great Patriotic War, and the same is true today. During the special military operation, professional composers created more than 200 musical works, and if we include bard songs, amateur songs, songs written by soldiers at the front, and compositions by those who were moved by the circumstances, the number rises to about half a million. This is also covered in the exhibition.
Participation conditions: badge.