Traditional music
The first professional musicians appeared at the court of Kiev in the 9th century. These skomoroki were distinguished by the originality of the instruments they used: the rozhok, a wind instrument, the gusli, with plucked strings, and the volinka, a kind of bagpipe. The conversion of Russia to Orthodoxy, which tolerates only singing and considers all musicians as profane, will condition the history of Russian music for several decades. Only the carillon was not prohibited, and it is understandable why the Russians are masters of this instrument.
Thus, although traditional music varies from region to region, it is often purely vocal (with exceptions here and there). All over the country, one can find mnogogolossie polyphony ("several voices"), byliny or chastushka (sung poems). More locally, in Siberia, the Tuvan people of the Altai region practice throat singing typical of Mongolian music, such as khöömei. This diphonic singing based on a "drone" produced by the larynx was once an essential tool in shamanic ceremonies. Today it is very common during celebrations of all kinds and is now accompanied by instruments: the khomus (a jew's harp), the byzaanchy and the morin khuur (typical violins). The style has been listed as a Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2009 and enjoys some stars. If the great master of khöömei and Tuvan music remains Kongar-ool Ondar, the current big names are Huun-Huur-Tu - an absolute reference to listen, they often tour in France - and the Alash Ensemble. The association of diphonic songs with morin khuur can also be found in the music of the Buryat people (the largest ethnic minority in Siberia), usually with the addition of chanza, a plucked string instrument. Namgar is probably the best group of the genre to listen to in order to discover its beauty.
On the whole, traditional and folk music have been very well preserved through the ages and particularly valued during the Soviet era, as a symbol of Russian identity. A pillar of local culture, traditional music appears regularly in Siberia during various events or religious festivals such as Naadyme for the Tuvan people, Chyl Pazy and Tunpairam (Khakash festivals) or Surkharban (among the Buryats). It is also worth noting that in Yakutsk, famous for being "the coldest city in the world", one can warm up during locally inspired performances including dances, songs and traditional instruments at the Opera and Ballet Theatre.
The music of indigenous peoples
In its huge area (more than twenty times the size of France), Siberia is home to more than one and a half million indigenous people. They are the Aleuts, the Chukchi, the Chuvans, the Khanty, the Orok, the Teleoute or the Yukagir (to name but a few), "small peoples of the North" cultivating singular forms of musical expression of which shamanism (or communication with the spirits) is the backbone. A world apart, made up of solitary and collective songs, both male and female, in which praises and laments are expressed, lullabies are told or rituals are chanted (such as the one aimed at preventing youth suicide among the Nganassane). If some are a capella, others are accompanied by instruments such as the inevitable khomus, the khendir (drum), the komurgaï (flute), the zja zjaj (drums), the sangkyl'tap (zither) or the taryg (harp). The indigenous Siberian music is very well documented in Les Esprits écoutent, a boxed set of 11 CDs (published by Buda Musique) where we find the work of collecting in situ by the ethnomusicologist Henri Lecomte.
Classical music
Immense and rich in beauty, it takes a lifetime to fully embrace Russian classical music. The country's symphonic music, populated by great minds and moving works, has offered the world the splendor of the Russian Romanticism of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the virtuosity of Rachmaninoff, the eternal avant-gardism of Igor Stravinsky, the magnificent torment of Dmitri Shostakovich, the classical modernity of Prokofiev, and the passion and intensity of contemporary conductor Valery Gerguiev. In short, classical music would be very dull without Russia.
And if we zoom in on Siberia, we realize that the region is a breeding ground for talent commensurate with its gigantic size. There are great voices like Kozine Vadim (1903-1996), a famous Russian tenor, very popular in the 1930s, or Dmitri Hvorostovsky, a baritone adored by music lovers for the beauty of his tone and his stage presence. The latter died in 2017 at the age of 55. Children of Siberia, let's not forget Denissov Edisson (1929-1996) and Kirill Petrenko. The first, a mathematician by training, was discovered by Shostakovich and then staged for the first time in 1986 by Pierre Boulez in Paris with his opera L'Écume des jours. He remains one of the classic Russian authors of contemporary music. The second is quite simply the most promising Russian conductor, conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at a young age.
The classic scenes
The other evidence of the undeniable musical quality in Russia is undoubtedly the overall level of excellence of its stages. In addition to the inimitable Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres, there are also some fabulous venues in Siberia. To begin with the amazing Perm Opera, which is becoming the rising star of provincial theaters. How did it do that? In 2010, it poached the daring and iconoclastic Greek conductor Theodor Currentzis, the former director of the Novosibirsk Opera. A judicious operation that has made the place famous all over the world. Another remarkable place: the great concert hall of Krasnoyarsk. In the historical center of the city, on the banks of the Yenisei, this modern building from the 1970s houses the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble of a very good level directed by the Russian-American Vladimir Lande. Often a synonym of good surprises. Otherwise, all major provincial cities offer a quality stage and ensemble such as the Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Orchestra (a central piece of the region's musical life) or the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Theatre, once conducted by Arnold Kats, a great name in Siberia. There are also the Irkutsk, Vladivostok, Tyumen and Sakhalin Island Philharmonic Orchestras, all of which are worth a look at their programs.
Russian rock
From Victor Tsoï, a Soviet icon, to the hyper-popular Lyube - of whom Vladimir Putin is the first fan - Russians love rock. And consequently produce a lot of it. If the history of the genre in the country goes back to perestroika with the psychedelic rock of Yuri Morozov in the 1960s, it is during the 1980s that the scene explodes with the famous Mashina Vremeni, Nautilus Pompilius, DDT, Akvarium and especially the mythical Kino. Absolute legend of Russian rock, led by its iconic leader Viktor Tsoï, the band Kino and its dark and soft new wave are still as popular among the children of the 2000s and we feel their influence on recent rock hits like Motorama or Pinkshinyultrablast.
Given the success of the genre in the country, Siberia unsurprisingly has many places to listen to it. Among the most remarkable are Rock-City, one of the most popular clubs in Novosibirsk with its always wild atmosphere, The Rocks Bar in Irkutsk, which hosts good local bands, or Mumiy Troll Music Bar in Vladivostok, named after the famous rock band Mumiy Troll and with many concerts.
The dance
To ignore dance in Russia is to forget one of the main monuments of the country. If the country abounds in traditional dances - the Khorovod or the Troika are beautiful examples -, it shines since generations by its excellence in the field of the classical dance. An excellence embodied by the great Siberian name of ballet: Rudolf Nureyev. A star among stars alongside Plissetskaya and Baryshnikov, Nureyev has turned classical dance codes and forms on their head. Born in Irkutsk in 1938, he trained at the prestigious Kirov Ballet in Leningrad. Very early on, his presence and charisma fascinated audiences around the world, starting with Paris, where he was invited to perform regularly. Indomitable, Nureyev shook up the highly codified world of classical dance with his strokes of genius or anger, infusing an unprecedented psychological depth into the characters he interpreted and refusing to submit to the traditions of the genre.
If Russian classical dance inevitably evokes images of the Bolshoi or Mariinsky, the two places do not have a monopoly on the genre in the country. Far from it. One can see beautiful performances on the stages of Siberia as the Perm Opera, considered as the third capital of ballet after Moscow and St. Petersburg and whose Diaghilev festival is a must-see. A program as full as prestigious. The Mariinsky Theatre in Primorye, cousin of the famous Mariinsky in St. Petersburg, is also of an excellent level. The Opera and Ballet Theatre in Novosibirsk has a very good troupe and the most advanced technical equipment in the country.
