This Sunday, August 25, Moscow’s parks and gardens could do nothing but surrender to the captivating sounds of music and vivid dancing pas performed by the foreign participants of the 2024 Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival. Ensembles from Belarus, Guinea, Venezuela, Egypt, China, Thailand, Turkey and South Africa infused the day with a boost of energy and pure joy.
The upscale show encompassing all major parks of the capital city kicked off at noon.
Our guests from Belarus, the Exemplary Band together with the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, proved that military musicians are indeed high-end professionals. In the Bauman Garden Park they performed a program featuring an array of music styles and traditional Belarusian tunes paying tribute to their great country and telling the audiences about its richness and beauty. “We have never been part of such an upscale project, and we are honored to be around these days. We are meeting different people, making new friendships, and sharing experiences. That is very inspiring”, confessed Anastasia Zhigolovich, a piccolo player of the Belarus Exemplary Band.
Meanwhile, the Red Presnya Park for an hour became a corner of Egypt in Moscow. All dressed in stunningly white Pharaoh attires, musicians of the Military Symphonic Band of Egypt wowed the audiences with their national marches and our popular songs. Russian Kalinka, Smuglyanka and other tunes sounded completely different when performed by the Egyptian artists as they do it using several bagpipes.
The Festival's youngest guests have traveled to Moscow all the way from Thailand. In the Ermitazh Garden these joyful boys and girls were playing national melodies and introducing the audiences to an ancient Thai martial art of Muay Thai.
Oleg and Elena commented that they were from Perm and came to Moscow on purpose to attend one of the Spasskaya Tower Festival evening shows. However they were delighted to discover that the festival offers so many extras, and happy to meet the band from Thailand closer, taking some pictures, of course.
Though being new to the Festival and Russian audiences, musicians of the South African Air Force Band made a tremendous success in the Izmailovsky Park. Flowy national tunes and jazz pieces took everyone on board, settling in a very light and peaceful atmosphere that later was fired up by vibrant dances and very authentic attires worn by the ensemble’s dancing team.
“We were walking in the park when suddenly sounds of music were heard. So we decided to come and see just an excerpt, but remained till the end. It was just luck and it was good luck”, said Svetlana and Maxim. “It’s great to see that people do not draw differences and are happy to learn about each other’s national cultures”, added the couple.
It was the leading park of Moscow, the Gorky Park, that hosted one of the Festival fans’ favorites, the Great Military Band of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Colorful outfits, vibrant dances and the invariably cheerful mood of the musicians resonated in the souls of the Russians. With people both moved and moving, this open ground concert was a hit.
Moscow’s Sokolniki Park this time provided a stage for our guests from Turkey who had brought to Russia an authentic performance with historical context and a folklore vibe. The Mehter of Inegol City Historic Ensemble together with the Masters Kiliç-Kalkan Dance Group presented Moscow audiences amazing traditional outfits, unusual wind and drum instruments as well as authentic Ottoman military historic rituals. To the brave sounds of marches the masters of Kiliç-Kalkan danced exhibiting a variety of battlefield patterns by waving and striking their swords and shields. A manifestation of bravery and courage, the dance has been preserved as a military tradition until the present day.
Not far from the Sokolniki Park Moscow’s Kuzminki Park was welcoming the Band of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Known for their perfect discipline and high-end professional skills, the Chinese musicians proved that military artists can easily step out of the box. Master of the music genre, they staged a genuine theatrical performance that, for sure, couldn’t lack the world-famous Russian Kalinka. The ensemble’s musicians left the stage to the standing ovations of the audiences that included a lot of Chinese people who came to support their fellow citizens.
In parallel, the main stage of the Fili Park was taken over by the gorgeous Amazons of Guinea ensemble. All smiles and positive emotions, they conquered the visitors with their unique tunes, dances and songs.
If you want to witness all these amazing performances at once and emerge in the atmosphere of pure joy, we invite everyone to visit the Spasskaya Tower Festival unfolding on the cobblestones of Red Square from August 23 to September 1.
The Festival is being 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, and enjoying the long-standing support of the Russian MoD, MFA and Moscow’s Department of Culture.
This year’s Festival is being carried out with the support of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.
Tickets for the Tattoo are available via the Festival official website (www.spasstower.ru) and the Festival’s ticket office on Manezhnaya Square near the 1812 War Museum. The ticket office is open daily, from 12 am to 9 pm.
ORGANIZERS URGE YOU AGAINST BUYING E-TICKETS SECOND-HAND OR FROM THIRD PARTIES. PLEASE, BE CAREFUL!
