Every night, the guests coming to Red Square to attend the performances of the Fifteenth Spasskaya Tower International Military Music are taken on a spectacular journey through the world of music. Along with the music bands that are, for sure, the main stars of all evening performances, the lights, colors, and fire have also become an indispensable part of this music celebration. Lighting designers, engineers, and pyrotechnical specialists, altogether 40 people, put into action this enchanting beauty.
For the Festival, Moscow’s Red Square gets equipped with powerful lighting devices so that the audience can see the performance in the tiniest details. The guests on the stands should grasp all the director’s ideas and see the bands in their best shape. As lighting designer Yuri Krasilnikov said, the most powerful spotlights in the world are now installed on Red Square.
"The same devices are installed at the top of the Ostankino tower. Before that, we used them at the opening of the FIFA World Cup in Moscow. Thus, amount-wise, the Spasskaya Tower Festival is comparable to such grand events as the World Football Championship or the Universiade in Krasnoyarsk," explained Yuri Krasilnikov.
He also noted that every band had its own individually crafted lighting pattern. Sometimes musicians can make their own adjustments.
Along with the performance on the cobblestones of Red Square, one may notice a genuine lighting show unfolding on the walls and domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral. Engineer Iliya Susorov is responsible for this stunning performance.
"The lighting pattern differs depending on the band performing at the venue. Using various effects, we try to achieve the best similarity to the music pattern as possible. We also have to bear in mind the lights on the main stage, the director’s commands, as well as the participants' outfits. Thus, when the Indian ensemble is performing, we use a special video with the elephants. All the guests on the stands get very excited. For Egypt, we have country-styled lighting. For Thailand, a bright yellow spiral is dancing on the cathedral’s walls" said the specialist.
To bring to life all the designer’s ideas, special video projection equipment is used. Light beams from several projectors come together into one picture, while video files are played following a special pixel map.
As always, the stands get very excited when they see fire flames and fireworks during the bands’ performances. It’s the work of a big team of pyrotechnical specialists led by Eva Rubinstein. "Fire flames can follow various patterns depending on the director’s vision of the scene. If the usage of pyrotechnic effects is a carefully elaborated story, the usage of fire flames is where we let our fantasy fly", shared the leader of the team.
All the ensembles’ performances are supported by the colorful fireworks that highlight the performances’ brightest points.
Throughout the performance, 25 cannon shots can be heard all over Red Square, with seven of them signaling the start of each evening show.
Everyday, at the end of the evening show, the skies high above Red Square are colored by the dazzling fireworks, that last for almost two minutes.
Tonight, about 30 Russian and foreign ensembles stepped onto the cobblestones of Red Square.
Among the guests of honor was Oleg Leonov, a Russian public figure, rescuer, coordinator of the Liza Alert search and rescue team, deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
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: Anne Klein, Alexey von Bock, Alexandr Salov.
