MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2020) Many Russian musicians have expressed gratitude to "Stay Home with Russian Seasons" online platform for the opportunity to stream online cultural events and get acquainted with a large online audience, Fabio Mastrangelo, a world-famous conductor and an Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg State Music Hall Theater, told Sputnik on Thursday while commenting on the award the platform received on Wednesday.
The worldwide lockdown amid a surge in COVID-19 cases encouraged cultural institutions, artistic unions and public organizations in Russia to join their colleagues worldwide by leveraging innovative online technologies to offer virtual tours and live-stream� concerts. Audience across the globe also had an opportunity through the platform to get acquainted with the best examples of the Russian culture in digital form.
On Wednesday, the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum announced winners of the "Culture Online" Award.
The award was given in five nominations to the best cultural projects of 2019-2020, which effectively implemented cutting-edge digital technologies and striking innovative projects that were widely covered in media and attracted special public attention. "Stay Home with Russian Seasons" project won nomination in the "Best Online Platform" category.
"I am a personal friend of Alexey Lebedev [director of 'Russian Seasons'] and when he called me at the very start of the lockdown period asking me to support his initiative of creating a cultural network of musicians and theaters as a response to the canceling and/or postponement of a number of events planned in France, Belgium and Luxemburg I responded with great enthusiasm. We [St. Petersburg Music Hall Theatre] contributed a significant amount of high-level video recordings to the collection that the Russian Seasons promptly put together and were satisfied with their strategical placement within the programming of the on-line transmissions," Mastrangelo said.
According to the maestro, the platform ensured a bigger virtual audience than the orchestra might have enjoyed if its tour to Cannes and Nice would have taken place as planned.
"Besides, since the internet has no limitations to either the number or location of the listeners, the most diverse audiences had a chance to access these on-line events. I mean Italians, English, Americans and so forth. So, the result was that Russian Culture received an otherwise impossible impulse worldwide," he added.
Nevertheless, the musician emphasized that music was an art form that should ideally be experienced live, adding that he saw nothing wrong in utilizing the internet to divulge cultural performances if a balance between real and virtual worlds was observed. "Coexistence is possible and, perhaps, even desirable," he added.
"Of course, we all understand that direct exposure to culture remains a priority. No on-line transmission even of the highest technical quality will ever be able to recreate the same emotional atmosphere which we experience during a concert, ballet, or opera performance. But, at least, Russian Season's initiative helped to fill the gap which had been created by the closing of borders and the impossibility of traveling," Mastrangelo concluded.
In addition to the "Best Online Platform" award, an expert board headed by the State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alla Manilova nominated "Kultura.rf" portal for "Online Breakthrough of the Year" prize after examining 235 projects of various formats.
A Russian-language blog dedicated to art and culture on social networks VKontakte, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Telegram, Twitter was eligible to compete in the "Best SMM Campaign" nomination.
In the "IT and Culture Integration" category, professionals chose the most valuable project implemented by using artificial intelligence. This year "Museum of the Missing Paintings" by the Russia Today Media Group was the best in this category.
Russo-German Music academy online dedicated to the 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II, won in the category of "Best Online Project" while "Special Jury Prize" went to several online projects including to an event showcasing a performance of the song "Victory Day" by a combined group of 1,000 young musicians under the direction of Yuri Bashmet, timed to the 75th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War by Russian Concert Agency.
Geographically, the contestants represented 43 Russian regions. There is also an international component to this award that brought together experts from Russia and Germany.
