The Moscow Chamber Orchestra 'Musica Viva' and the Moscow State Academic Chamber Choir performed Mozart's Requiem at dawn at the Veliky Novgorod Kremlin on June 22, the anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War.
Memorial Concert
On the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, a memorial concert began at 4 a.m. on an open stage set up in front of the walls of the St. Sophia Cathedral within the Novgorod Kremlin. The concert featured the Moscow Chamber Orchestra 'Musica Viva' under conductor Alexey Vereshchagin and the Moscow State Academic Chamber Choir.
Although many musical works were performed, the centerpiece of the concert was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 'Requiem'.
Participation and Security
Entry to the Kremlin opened two hours earlier than usual to allow Novgorod residents and tourists to attend the concert. Listeners were required to register online in advance and pass through a security check at the Kremlin entrance. A large number of people arrived at the Kremlin at dawn on Monday morning.
Wreath-Laying Ceremony
Separately, in memory of the fallen heroes, residents of Novgorod laid wreaths at the Eternal Flame memorial together with the Governor of the Novgorod Region, Alexander Dronov.
A Concert Becoming a Tradition
The memorial concert held on the day the Great Patriotic War began first took place in Veliky Novgorod in 2024, marking the 80th anniversary of the city's liberation from Nazi invaders. At that time, the E. F. Svetlanov State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia under Dmitry Yurovsky performed in front of the St. Sophia Cathedral. A year later, the choir of the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre performed Sergei Rachmaninoff's 'All-Night Vigil' in the Kremlin.
The concert was organized as part of the cultural and educational program of the 'Oneg' Museum-Estate, with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, the regional government, and social investor Andrey Komarov.
