The 200th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Dargomyzhsky is celebrated in the Smolensk region

The name of the famous composer will be immortalized in the Smolensk region – the bust of Alexander Dargomyzhsky will appear in Vyazma in May. The funding for the monument will be allocated from the Reserve Fund of Governor Alexey Ostrovskiy.

The founder of the realist movement in the Russian music Alexander Dargomyzhsky was born in the Tula province, but he considered the Smolensk area to be his homeland. In the Smolensk region he spent the first four years of his life and then he came here regularly. In a brief autobiographical note he said: "I was born in 1813 in the village. The estate of my father and mother, Duchess Kozlovskaya, was located in the province of Smolensk". Smolensk found its place in the composer’s works: of 16 folk songs in Dargomizhsky’s records 14 are songs of our region.

The events celebrating the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth started in Smolensk on February, 7. The celebrations began with the area scientific and practical conference dedicated to the life and work of the musician. Today as part of the anniversary events the exhibition dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth was opened in the Local History Museum of Vyazma.

In 1971 Alexander Dargomyzhsky’s grandnephew Andrey Mets presented some personal belongings of the musician to Vyazma. Now the thematic exhibition in the Local History museum is comprised of the mantel clock, the kerosene lamp, the small envelopes in the Chinese style, the chandeliers and candles. The composer’s family gave the museum some photos, including a unique picture with Shalyapin (on the back of the card there is the singer’s autograph), who starred in Dargomizhsky’s most famous opera "Mermaid". It should be noted that Local History Museum of Vyazma is the only one in Russia dedicated to the musician.

Besides the opening of the exhibition there will be another important event dedicated to the memory of the composer which will be held in the region in May - the bust of Dargomyzhsky will be erected in Vyazma as part of the National Music Festival of Mikhail Glinka. This was announced at the opening ceremony by Head of the regional Culture and Tourism Department Vladislav Kononov.

After visiting the museum exposition everyone could take part in the presentation of the book "Smolensk in the life and work of A.S. Dargomyzhsky” by Alexey Pugachev, the well-known local historian from Smolensk.

V All-Russian Open Festival-Contest "Young Concertmaster", the final of which will be held on February, 16, will mark the end of the celebrations in the region.