MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. The 15th Anniversary Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival will start on August 26 in Moscow and will run until September 4. The festival events will take place on Red Square, at the All-Russian Exhibition Center (VDNH) territory, as well as in parks and squares of the capital.
In 2022, the orchestras of all Russia's power structures: the Defense Ministry, the Federal Guard Service, the National Guard, the Federal Security Service and the Emergencies Ministry Ministry will take part in the festival. Such famous musicians as Oleg Gazmanov, leader of the Moral Codex group Sergey Mazaev, leader and founder of the Va-Bank group Alexander Sklyar, participant of the Russian ‘Voice’ Fyodr Rytikov and others will also perform.
Bands from Armenia, Belarus, Venezuela, Egypt, India and Thailand will also take part in the Spasskaya Tower. Artistic director of the festival Sergey Khlebnikov previously said in an interview with TASS that due to the political events of this year, the emphasis in the geography of the participants has shifted from Europe to other continents: Asia and Africa.
A number of previously announced musicians were forced to withdraw due to Russia’s special operation in Ukraine. In previous years, the program of the Spasskaya Tower, one of the top three military music festivals in the world, was dominated by European and American countries.
2022 Spasskaya Tower surprises
A special guest at this year's festival will be the large orchestra of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, assembled to participate in the Spasskaya Tower by order of Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez. The orchestra has more than 90 members, including the best military musicians from all the armed forces' branches, as well as graduates of the country's leading musical institutions.
In addition, such vibrant bands as the Egyptian Symphonic Military Band, the Boonwattana School Marching Band (Thailand) and the Panghat Performing Arts Group from India will come to Russia to perform.
"First and foremost I would like to thank the leaders, conductors and bands of those foreign countries who are taking part in the 15th Anniversary Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival," Sergey Khlebnikov told reporters after a press conference dedicated to the opening of the festival, "For the fifteenth time the festival on Red Square symbolizes the desire of Russian bands, Russian culture to cooperate with international bands, organizations and armed forces units".
According to him, the festival was conceived as a military-musical festival and maintains this format. "With a special joy we also invite folk national bands from other countries to participate. We want this to emphasize that we respect the national traditions, the national culture of other countries," Khlebnikov added.
The artistic director also announced musical surprises, which at the moment the management of the Spasskaya Tower keeps in secret. Another feature of the 2022 festival will be the daytime program of the September 3 event at the Main Cathedral of Russia’s Armed Forces.
Festival’s opening ceremony
On August 26 at 13:00 Moscow time, at the daytime venue of the Spasskaya Tower Festival in the All-Russian Exhibition Center (VDNH), the cavalry honorary escort of the Presidential Regiment will present the best performances in the program of horse show, timed to the opening of the festival. Cavalrymen will show their skills in dressage, show jumping and trotting and also cordeo riding, i.e. without controls.
Horse show will take place on the territory of the Center of National Equestrian Traditions of the VDNH. The entrance to the daytime festival events will be free for the spectators.
The opening ceremony of the 15th Anniversary Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival will be held on Red Square at 20:00 Moscow time. Traditionally, the opening will begin with a fanfare of Valery Khalilov’s composition, which is called the Spasskaya Tower. The conductor was the first musical director of the Spasskaya Tower Festivals and one of its creators.
TASS is the official media sponsor of the festival.