World Premiere of Alexander Vustin’s New Work

On 20 January 2016, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall will host the world premiere of “Lukeria’s Song” for folk singer and symphony orchestra by Alexander Vustin (b. 1943). The piece was written in 2015 and is dedicated to the conductor Vladimir Jurowski.

Says Alexander Vustin, “ ‘Lukeria’s Song’ for folk singer and orchestra is based on a Christmas song by Lukeria Yakovlevna Druzhinina, a resident of the village of Veegora (in the Arkhangelsk region), as heard and recorded in the summer of 1977 by Boris Tobis and me during our joint folklore expedition. Lukeria was not just a songstress, but a natural-born actress. A single, peasant woman living on the brink of poverty, she, at age 70-plus, astounded us with her force-of-nature energy and her powerful spirit. Lukeria didn’t merely sing; she acted out her songs, whether they were traditional ballads, laments or carols. It was sometimes difficult to categorize them, so fervently and passionately she performed them all — she fell into ecstasy during her performances. Her Christmas song — an amalgam of liturgical melodies and traditional folk carols (kolyadas)—was performed as one unit, in one breath (so to speak). To me, her energetic rendition mystically evoked the trumpets in Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio.’ ”

Soloist: Natalia Boriskova (folk singer). Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski.

Also on the program are Tchaikovsky’s “Suite No. 2” and Stravinsky’s music from the ballet “The Fairy’s Kiss.”
 
The concert starts at 19:00