The Muscovites and guests of the capital, walking today in VDNH, excitedly welcomed this vibrant and astonishingly colorful musical event.
The parade was opened by officers from the Russian Navy's Central Band named after Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, who were dressed in the dazzling white uniform.
Along the route, the musicians of the Great Military Band of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces ‘Supreme Commander Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias’ were accompanied by dancers dressed in costumes in the colors of the Venezuelan flag, red, yellow and blue. Artists familiar with carnival processions took the crows on an exhilarating musical journey.
The soloist of the Military Band of the Russian National Guard Forces Chief Department for the Krasnodar Region stirred special ovations for his sabre-handling skills.
The musicians of the Egyptian Military Symphonic Band dressed as Egyptian pharaohs, for sure, were among the fan favourites. As far as the outfits are concerned, the Panghat Performing Arts Group representing India could have easily competed with the band from Egypt. With their colorful national costumes on, Indian musicians and dancers happily interacted with the crowd.
The Boonwattana School Marching Band from Thailand, as well as the Suvorov Cadet Band of the Moscow Military Music College, excited and entertained the crowd with their dynamic performances.
“The procession is a very democratic genre, when you can come for a walk with your family and watch the performance of the participants of the Spasskaya Tower Festival. And military bands are pretty familiar with it. If the musicians march and play from the heart, then the audience always responds to this with incredible sincerity”, said Valentin Lyashenko, Head of the Central Band of the Russian Navy.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Hayk Grigoryan, Head of the Military Band of the Armenian Armed Forces General Staff, the crowd immediately grasped the Armenian motives. He noted that the Russian audience is familiar to musicians from Armenia.
“Everything here is special for us, because we have a lot of kindred, a lot in common: culture, mentality, and a common soul. It’s very exciting, it’s very nice to notice all this, it’s very inspiring and it immediately becomes easier for musicians to play,” said Grigoryan.
Tonight, all the bands, taking part in the marching parade, will step onto the cobblestones of Red Square to become part of the Spasskaya Tower Festival second evening show.
The Festival is carried out following the Order of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, under the aegis of the Public Council headed by Mr. Alexander Zhukov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Moscow Department of Culture.
Photo: Maria Moskvitsova, Georgiy Basalaev
