Russia’s highest profile jazz music festival

Russia is a large and culturally diverse country, with many ethnic groups, each with their own locally developed music. Russian music went through a long history, beginning from ritual folk songs and the sacred music of the Russia’s highest profile jazz music festival Orthodox Church. You can help by adding to it.

Written documents exist that describe the musical culture of the Rus’. The most popular kind of instruments in medieval Russia were thought to have been string instruments, such as the gusli or gudok. In the period of Muscovy, two major genres formed Russian music: the sacred music of the Orthodox Church and secular music used for entertainment. Secular music included the use of musical instruments such as fipple flutes and string instruments, and was usually played on holidays initially by skomorokhs — jesters and minstrels who entertained the nobility. Russia was a late starter in developing a native tradition of classical music due to the proscription by the Orthodox Church against secular music. The focus on European music meant that Russian composers had to write in Western style if they wanted their compositions to be performed.

Their success at this was variable due to a lack of familiarity with European rules of composition. Some composers were able to travel abroad for training, usually to Italy, and learned to compose vocal and instrumental works in the Italian Classical tradition popular in the day. Russian language operas Ivan Susanin and Ruslan and Lyudmila. Russian folk music became the primary source for the younger generation composers. In the late 19th to early 20th centuries, the so-called “romance songs” became very popular. The greatest and most popular singers of the “romances” usually sang in operas at the same time. The most popular was Fyodor Shalyapin.

After the Russian Revolution, Russian music changed dramatically. The early 1920s were the era of avant-garde experiments, inspired by the “revolutionary spirit” of the era. However, in the 1930s, under the regime of Joseph Stalin, music was forced to be contained within certain boundaries of content and innovation. Classicism was favoured, and experimentation discouraged. The musical patriarchs of the era were Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Aram Khachaturian and Alexander Alexandrov.

Jazz was introduced to Soviet audiences by Valentin Parnakh in the 1920s. Russian songs of the time, as well as of orchestral and experimental music. The 1930s saw Prokofiev’s scores for Sergei Eisenstein’s epic movies, and also soundtracks by Isaak Dunayevsky that ranged from classical pieces to popular jazz. The 1960s and 1970s saw the beginning of modern Russian pop and rock music. Union of Composers and approved by censorship. Music publishing and promotion in the Soviet Union was a state monopoly.

To earn money and fame from their talent, Soviet musicians had to assign to the state-owned label Melodiya. This meant accepting certain boundaries of experimentation, that is, the family-friendly performance and politically neutral lyrics favoured by censors. It can be compared to the American folk revival movement of the 60s, with their simple single-guitar arrangements and poetical lyrics. Rock music came to the Soviet Union in the late 1960s with Beatlemania, and many rock bands arose during the late 1970s, such as Mashina Vremeni, Aquarium, and Autograph. Russian pop music is well developed, and enjoys mainstream success via pop music media such as MTV Russia, Muz TV and various radio stations. Right after the fall of the Iron Wall, artists, like Christian Ray, took an active political stance, supporting the first president Boris Yeltsin. Russian production companies, such as Hollywood World, have collaborated with western music stars, creating a new, more globalized space for music.

The rock music scene has gradually evolved from the united movement into several different subgenres similar to those found in the West. Rock music media has become prevalent in modern Russia. The most notable is Nashe Radio, which promotes classic rock and pop punk. A specific, exclusively Russian kind of music has emerged, which mixes criminal songs, bard and romance music. Electronic music in modern Russia is underdeveloped in comparison to other genres.