The Library of the Belarusian State Academy of Music presents the thematic exhibition “Composer, conductor, teacher, classic of Belarusian vocal music – Stanislav Moniuszko”: to 205 years since the day of the birth (1819-1872).
In 2024, the music world celebrates the 205th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding creator of the 19th century Stanislav Moniuszko – composer, organist, teacher, conductor, musical and public figure, who made a significant contribution to the development of Belarusian, Polish, Lithuanian and Russian musical cultures.
Stanislav Moniuszko was born on May 5, 1819 in the former estate of Ubel, Igumensky district, Minsk province (now Chervensky district). There, among the wonderful nature, he spent his childhood. The future composer enthusiastically listened to and memorized the songs of the peasants, and therefore Belarusian motifs dominate in all the master’s works, especially the early ones. Grigory Shirma, a prominent musical figure, wrote: “There is such a wealth of song and folk intonations that sometimes you get the impression that you are somewhere near Slutsk or near Minsk at a folk festival.” Contemporaries called S. Moniuszko a “composer-songwriter”; he wrote more than 300 songs in the folk spirit to the words of A. Mitskevich, Ya Chechot, V. Syrakomli, A. Odinets and T. Zan. The choral cantatas “Milda”, “Niela”, “Madonna”, “Crimean Sanets”, “Provides” are of particular value for musical art.
In total, the composer created 20 operas and operettas, three ballets, two requiems, the most significant of which were “Pebble”, “Terrible Yard”, “Idylia” (“Village Woman”).
Currently, there is a growing interest in the work of S. Moniuszko on the part of musicians: his compositions are performed all over the world, including Belarus, Poland, Russia, the USA, Turkey, Romania, Cuba, Mexico, Japan.
On September 3, 2016, the grand opening of the monument to the creators of the Belarusian national classical opera – composer Stanislav Moniuszko and playwright Vincent Dunin-Martsinkevich – took place in Minsk. Streets in many cities in Poland, as well as Minsk, Grodno, and Smolevichi, are named in honor of the composer. In April 2023, the Republican Open Vocal Competition named after S. Moniuszko was held at the Belarusian State Academy of Music
The exhibition presents materials from international scientific conferences, popular science and literary and artistic publications, monographs on the history of art and local history, articles by famous Belarusian and foreign researchers of the work of S. Moniuszko, sheet music and audiovisual documents of the composer’s musical works.
The exhibition is located in the foyer of the Great Concert Hall of educational building No. 1 (Internatsionalnaya St., 30) from May 20 to September 10, 2024.
