Ildar Abdrazakov’s concert was held at the RUSSIA EXPO

On May 9, a concert of Russian opera singer Ildar Abdrazakov and the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra was held on the Main Stage of the RUSSIA EXPO. The organizer of the event and the broadcast was the Rossiya TV channel.

The concert began with a minute of silence in memory of those who perished during the Great Patriotic War. The event was held with the participation of the National Center for Historical Memory under the President of the Russian Federation. Elena Malysheva, head of the center, spoke about the reasons why songs, especially those of the war period, are so important as a means of preserving historical heritage.

"A special layer of musical culture and historical memory in terms of importance is war and post-war songs. If we analyze them as historical sources, we see very important historical narratives. For example, the legendary song "Three Tank Men" is not only about friendship, but also about the historical events at Lake Khasan — about the aggressive plans of Japan's militarists against the USSR and about the realities of a two-front war that our country could have faced. Or, for instance, the song "Dark Night" is not just about friendship, but through the heroes of the movie, where the song was heard — one from Odessa, the other from the Urals — it is shown that the whole country rose to fight. There is also a heroic theme in war songs — as in the works of Alexandra Pakhmutova, there are requiems — for example, in the song "Cranes", and a tribute to the courage of our soldiers and the memory of them — as in the song "Immortal Battalion". All this allows us to reflect and preserve our values and our historical memory on an emotional level," said Elena Malysheva, head of the National Center for Historical Memory under the President of the Russian Federation.

Ildar Abdrazakov — Merited Artist of the Russian Federation, People's Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan, People's Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan, winner of the Golden Mask National Theater Award and two Grammy Awards. During the concert, together with the artists of the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra, he performed compositions of the war and post-war years — "Smuglyanka", "Where the Motherland Begins", "We Need One Victory" and many others.