Belarusian National Song and Poetry Festival Molodechno 2016

The city of Molodechno, the country’s Capital of Culture in 2016, which was declared the Year of Culture in Belarus, has recently played host to the 16th edition of the Belarusian National Song and Poetry Festival Molodechno 2016.

The festival occupies a special place in the Belarusian events calendar. It is the only forum in Belarus with the word ‘national’ in the title. It is worth noting that the festival features music and poetry by Belarusian poets and composers only. The 2016 edition of the festival opened at the Summer Amphitheater in Molodechno on 10 June. The solemn opening ceremony was followed by the first-night concert Vladimir Mulyavin’s Song Legacy by the National Academic Orchestra of Belarus conducted by Professor Mikhail Finberg, the initiator of the festival.

This year’s edition of the Molodechno festival celebrated the life and art of Vladimir Mulyavin and his legendary band Pesnyary. Apart from the first-night concert, it also featured the production Pesnyar by the Maxim Gorky National Academic Drama Theater, exhibition I Am Always With You… Mulyavin, and photo project Unknown Photographs of Vladimir Mulyavin by Yuri Ivanov, a World Press Photo winner.

On 10 June, the Palace of Culture hosted the final round of the national contest of young pop singers. In the evening, winner Alexander Savanets received the main award of Molodechno 2016 and the prize of Vladimir Mulyavin – a crystal guitar – from the hands of the famous singer’s widow Svetlana Penkina.

The festival in Molodechno wrapped up with a concert Belarus Is a Source of Inspiration featuring young Belarusian singers and famous artists as Irina Dorofeyeva, Inna Afanasyeva, Viktoria Aleshko, the Chisty Golos band, and the Palats band…

Fireworks mark the opening of the festival