Culture of the Don Land. Учебное пособие

Many renowned soloists have performed with the Orchestra, among them L.Oborin, E.Gilels, M.Rostropovich, D.Oistrakh, I.Oistrakh, LKogan, Ya.Zak. Ya.Fliyer, R.Serebryakov, S.Neigauz, and others.

The Orchestra repertory includes all symphonies and concertos by Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaykovsky, Rachmaninov; pieces of symphonic music by Rimsky-Korsakov, Scriabin, Mahler, R.Strauss, Stravinsky A special place is given in the performing activities to author's concerts, for example those of Khrennikov, Shchedrin, Eshpai, Shnitke.

The Camerata Ensemble

The Camerata Ensemble was formed in 1986. It consists of the leading soloists of the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. These are Merited Artist of Russia, Professor Yuri Shishkin (flute). Merited Artist of Russia Mikhail Vilyevok (violin), Dmitri Sheikman (violin). Merited Artist of Russia Yuri Spiridonov (alto). Merited Artist of Russia Mikhail Shcherbakov (cello), Oleg Bagin (cembalo).

The repertory of the Ensemble includes both popular and less known works by Bach, Purcell, Handel, Vivaldi, Mozart, Bortnyanski, Fomin, Glinka, Tchaykovsky, Prokofiev, Sviridov, Don-land composers Klinichev, Khodosh, Pristupov, Balayev; works by German composers Stefan Heuke and Peter Wolf.

The Ensemble gives various concerts. These may be tours in Germany, France, Poland, Finland, Malta; participation in international music festivals, including the Schleswig-Holstein Festival (1991–1992), radio and television recordings.

The Cossacks Song and Dance Ensemble

The Ensemble was founded in the year 1936. The need to reorganise it became urgent in 1970. By that time its creative trend had been finally formed, the Don land folk song traditions making the basis for its concert repertory.

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The ensemble usually performs large song and dance compositions united by a single theme, «chaplets» of songs consisting of wedding roundel and nuptial songs, war and marching songs, dance songs and ballads, narrative dances dedicated to both past and present of the Don-land Cossacks.

In the years 1979 and 1984 the Ensemble won top places during all-Russian competitions in which professional choirs and ensembles participated. It has made a number of records with more than 60 most fine songs of its concert repertory. The Ensemble was decorated with the Order of Friendship of the Peoples in 1986.

The Don-land Cossack folk art is well known to the people of many Russian cities, as well as to those living in different European, Asian, American and African countries.

Rostov Municipal Jazz Band

Rostov Municipal Jazz Band was organised by the teacher of the City Art School Kim Nazaretov in 1974 as a students' training group of the newly established Jazz and Variety Faculty.

In the year 1982 a Jazz and Variety Department was formed at Rostov Conservatoire, and the Band at once raised its status acquiring the title of a conservatoire orchestra. The Band conducted by Kim Nazaretov gave many concerts; programs generally consisted of jazz compositions. It participated in quite a number of Russian and foreign music festivals.

Among the Band's soloists is Merited Artist of Russia V.Popov. The Kim Nazaretov Jazz Band performed in Scotland (1988), Poland (1989), Germany (1990, 1992), Greece (1996). In March 1995 Rostov Municipal Jazz Band took part in the festival dedicated to L.O.Utyosov's centennial in Odessa.

Rostov Municipal Jazz Band regularly performs for jazz lovers. Its music can be heard at special subscription concerts

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and during the dancing nights named «Nostalgie» traditionally held in the Municipal Cinema and Concert Centre after Kim Nazaretov.

Painter Gennadi Zapechnov

Gennadi Zapechnov belongs to those few contemporary artists whose character was moulded under the impact of the Russian artistic tradition. Zapechnov's works are artistically exquisite; they reveal the feeling of self-valuable colour and light vibrations of the canvas texture. The above qualities manifest themselves to the full in the painting cycles entitled Don-Land Flowers, Don-Land Bounties, At the Don River. Yet everything started with small-size, amazingly soulful and beautiful with modest low-key beauty landscapes showing Northern Russia: the pictures of Vyshni Volochyok, forests and lakes of the Tver land, Shushenskoye, all those places where, at the artists' cottages, several generations of Russian Soviet masters have been formed.

The best among those perlaceous Winters, Towers and Snows is an early picture named At the Pond. One may clearly see here deep comprehension of the native Russian landscape painting tradition originating from Vasili Savrasov, Apollinari Vasnetsov, a tradition manifesting itself in an extended spatial understanding of a mood landscape and, at the same time, in a deeply personal perception of late autumn.

Gennadi Zapechnov is a mature artist possessing his brushwork, plots, his own song of the Don, the river that he loves so deep. The painter's landscapes have now become much larger.

Most probably, this is the connoisseurship of the classical nature of Zapechnov's works that attracts art lovers from the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Scotland and France.

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Painter Vladimir Tishakov

They say that history is more exact than mathematics. The works of painter Vladimir Tishakov may surprise even an experienced connoisseur with the documentary exactness of their plot, the history real evidence, and, on the other hand, with a specific optimistic world description, so wise and light, embodied in a most difficult genre of lubok (cheap popular print).

Take a closer look at the photoprints of the artist's masterpieces. Is this not an illustration to the history of the DonLand Cossacks? There also is another evidence of the painter's unique style. These are tens of canvases included in private collections in Germany, Italy, the USA, Bulgarian Hungary, and other countries. At present V.Tishakov paints a series of canvasses depicting the Don-Land Cossacks. These will show the events of the years 1919–1991.

Activities:

1.Read the given text and be able to discuss the information in your group.

2.Discuss the given texts in the form of a group dialogue. What would you like to speak about? What other interesting information of this kind could you offer to your group-mates?

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Module 6. SOME TOWNS AND SETTLEMENTS OF

THE ROSTOV REGION

Find the answers to the following questions:

1.What cities of the Rostov Region are worth speaking about? Why?

2.About what city would you like to speak about? Why?

3.What cities are connected with the names of prominent writers? Name them and the writers.

Text 1. Taganrog

The cities in Russia emerged in different ways. Some of them appeared as warrior-towns, castles that guarded Russian borders; others appeared as centres of crafts and trades and adminisrative centres; some towns developed from villages or country settlements. Having fulfilled their brief desnities many towns disappeared from the road of history, but a greater part of them stood the test of time. Taganrog is among the latter. The emergence of this city is inseparably connected with the first steps of the Russian Navy, with the struggle of Russia for security of its southern borders and for going out to the Azov and Black seas.

Russia made its first attempts to force its way to the southern seas twice: in the 80s of the 17th century. In 1687 and 1689 Russian troops organized war campaign in the Crimea but failed to win. After the seizure of Azov in 1696 Peter the Great visited this sea to choose a place for a navy harbour. The expedition anchored at a high, deserted cape which was named Tagan-Rog. It was there that Peter the Great decided to build the harbour for the first Russian regular navy. September 12, 1698 is considered to be a foundation date of Taganrog which first had the name of Troitsk-on-Tagan-Rog.

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After the Crimean campaign Sevastopol became the main base of the Russian Navy in the South and Taganrog remained a trading city. It grew and, developed rapidly. In 1860 it was populated by 21 thousand people.

A national hero of Italy Guiseppe Garibaldi visited Taganrog in 1833.

Nowadays Tagantog, after Rostov, is the second biggest city in the region with a population of about 300 thousand. It is a large industrial and commercial centre as well as a sea-port, popular resort, and the birthplace of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.

Pay attention to the pronunciation of the following words:

emerge, emergence, campaign, seizure, harbour, navy, miraculous, environment, ecological, plaque, commemoration.

Vocabulary notes: warrior-towns – города-воины

crafts – ремесла settlements – поселения

having fulfilled their brief destinies – выполнив свое краткое предназначение

stood the test of time – выдержали испытание временем is inseparably connected – неразрывно связано

navy – военно-морской флот to force its way to – пробиться к

failed to win – потерпели поражение harbour – гавань.

Text 2. On the city beach

Mr. M.: The Azov Sea is unlike other seas. The water is not at all salty.

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G.I.: Nothing miraculous. At its deepest point it is only 16 meters; many rivers flow into it and it's connected with the Black Sea by a very narrow strait near the city of a Kerch.

T.: But it's nice here. I like it.

N.P.: We often come here for a week-end, especially in summer. Grigori and Ilia go fishing, but not here, a little farther from the beach.

G.I.: The Azov Sea is full of fish. It is its main treasure. But I must admit that now there are fewer fish than before. And the water is not so pure as ten or fifteen years ago. Plants and factories have polluted it. In my opinion people should understand that pure water and clean air are the important treasures to be left to our children and grandchildren. By the way, do you have the same problems with the environment in Scotland?

Mr. M.: Yes, we do. Scotland has always been famous for its pure water and healthy mountain air. Many people speak in favour of keeping nature clean and suitable for life. Last year our family took part in ecological march.

S.: It was an unforgettable event! For several days we were living in a camp and helped to clean forests and the banks of the Clyde River.

Mrs. M.: Shall we have time to go sightseeing? I'd like to see Chekhov's house.

I.: Naturally we'll show you the museum-house of Chekhov, the monument to the founder of the city – Peter the Great, the Drama Theatre and the Picture Gallery.

Ir.: Before we go back, we'll have enough time to see everything without any haste.

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Vocabulary notes: nothing miraculous – ничего удивительного the environment – окружающая среда

speak in favour of keeping – выступают за сохранение.

Text 3. Taganrog. Sights

The people of Taganrog keep with love the memory of their outstanding fellow-townsman Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. The museum-house of Chekhov is situated on the street which bears his name. In the yard we can see his bust and on the house – a memorial plaque with the words: «Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born in this house on the 17th of January, 1860». The monument to this prominent writer was opened in Taganrog in commemoration to his 100th anniversary. The sculptor is Rukavishnikov.

The monument to Peter the Great stands in the park near the sea. This is a work of sculptor Antokolsky. Not far from it a visitor can see the famous stony staircase built in 1823. It played an important role in city's defence during the Crimean war in the last century.

The Drama Theatre, founded in 1866, and the Picture Gallery are in the centre of the city. The names of many famous people of culture are connected with Taganrog. It was visited by V.A.Zhukovsky, A.S.Pushkin, V.V.Mayakovsky, P.I.Chaikovsky. The legendary actress Faina Ranevskaya was born here.

Taganrog is a city of sun and sea, green colours and fresh winds. Visiting this city will always bring you joy.

Vocabulary notes: fellow-townsman – земляк

in commemoratin to – в ознаменование

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Text 4. Taganrog (supplementary reading)

In the year 1998 Taganrog celebrated its 300th anniversary. This is a significant milestone in the biography of the city that is a large historical, cultural and economic centre of the South of Russia. From the viewpoint of the history of the Russian State, Taganrog is associated with the name of Peter the Great and the Tsar's struggle for the might of Russia at its southern frontiers.

Taganrog is located along the shore of the Sea of Azov, in a 70 km distance from Rostov-on-Don. History itself doomed it to be a sea trading gate, a large port opening access to the Volga, the Black Sea and Caspian areas. Here the most important thruways cross – air routes and railways.

The population of Taganrog is making 292 thous. Alongside the lately fast developed small business, specifically in the sphere of service, the traditional facilities go on operating in the city, these being referred to metallurgy, harvester and boiler building, ink industry, electronics, construction complex.

Favourable geographical location, availability of large enterprises, strong research potential and developed financial infrastructure have become a basis for the creation in the city of Taganrog of a free economic zone. This opens great possibilities for the further development of the city economy.

Activities: Discuss the following points:

What do you know about another famous city founded by Peter the Great?

What do you know about the life and activities of A.P. Chekhov?

Have you ever been to Taganrog? What are your favourite places in this city?

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Rostov and the region face many ecological problems. Try to name them and say what is necessary to do to solve them.

Text 5. The city born at Peter the Great's will

Find the answers to the questions:

1.What is Taganrog proud of?

2.What roles did Chekhow play in his plays?

3.What is worth seeing in Taganrog now?

4.Are there places in the city connected with A.Pushkin, P.Tchaikovsky and Gzuseppe Garibaldi in Taganrog?

The history of Taganrog is very exciting and it can be taken as a plot for a thrilling novel. The first settlements on the territory of the present-day city appeared in the IV–VII centuries B.C. But nothing is known about the fate of that ancient Taganrog that fell into oblivion.

Much later on the maps of Italilan seamen we can find the town again which is situated in the place where the Don falls into the Sea of Azov. That town was called Porte-Pizano. Many scientists think it to be the predecessor of modern Taganrog. But Mongol-Tartar invasion and later the Turkish one razed it to the ground and dropped it out of the memory.

The date of the third birth is known exactly. It happened on July 27, 1696 at 4 p.m., when Peter the Great pointed the site for the construction of a new fortress Troitskaya (St. Trinity) on the cape Tagany Rog, which can be translated from the Tartar language as «high, prominent cape». Later the town got the name Taganrog.

Engineers De Laval and Borgsdorf were the supervisors of the construction site. Twenty two thousand workers were engaged in the construction. On July 3, 1699 Peter himself with

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