Russian Culture in Vienna: An Evening Dedicated to Classical Romance and International Music Day
Guests gathered at the Russian Embassy in Austria for an evening of music. The event, held at the end of September, centered on Russian romances—performed by singer and Honored Artist of Russia Nina Shatskaya.
Russian songs and romances were performed at the Russian Embassy in Austria / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / C.Stadler/Bwag / CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
Nina Schazkaja curated the program with well-known works and classics of Russian folk and salon music, such as “The Mail Troika Races By,” “Kalitka” (The Gate), “Black Eyes,” “From Dawn to Dawn,” and “On the Long Road.” The artist’s interpretive artistry—she is known for her sensitive and jazzy adaptations of the classical romance repertoire—was very well received by the audience.
In his welcoming remarks, Andrei Grosov, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Austria, highlighted the historical and cultural significance of the genre: “The romance holds a special place in our culture. It emerged at the intersection of poetry and music; in it, the words of Pushkin, Tyutchev, and Fet are combined with the melodies of Glinka, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff. It is no coincidence that it is said the romance reveals the soul. The Russian soul, with its breadth, depth, and inclination toward sincere emotions, finds its most precise expression in this genre, while Russian romances themselves resonate in the hearts of people from various countries and cultures.”
International Music Day
The concert took place immediately prior to International Music Day, which is celebrated annually on October 1. To mark the International Music Day, the Russian Embassy in Vienna was transformed into a stage for traditional sounds.
In addition to the works of classical composers such as Mikhail Glinka, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Dmitri Shostakovich, Russia continues to represent a rich musical heritage today.