‘The Sea of Music He Grew Up with — He Has Carried It Through Life and Gifted It to Us’

The Lev Lyubimov memorial concert took place at HSE Cultural Centre.

HSE University welcomed solo opera singers from the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre, winners of international contests: Natalia Petrozhitskaya (soprano), Vladimir Dmitruk (tenor), Dmitry Zuev (baritone), Mikhail Golovushkin (bass) and Tatiana Lobyreva (piano).

The night was a commemoration of Lev Lyubimov, one of HSE University founders and a renowned professor. Prof. Lyubimov had a deep passion for music, and thanks to him, the university has a tradition of chamber nights known as ‘Professors’ Wednesdays’. Prof. Lyubimov was a particular fan of opera, and as a result this concert programme consisted of some of the most popular and loved fragments from Russian and foreign operas.

The first part saw arias and duets from operas by Tchaikovsky (Evgeny Onegin, Iolanta, The Queen of Spades) and Mussorgsky (Boris Godunov), while the second part was dedicated to European classics, including Mozart, Rossini and Verdi.

Marina Lebed
Director of the Centre of Music Projects

On June 14th, Professor Lyubimov would have turned 85, and we would have loved the yesterday’s concert to be an anniversary one! But it turned out differently…

I think that many people know it was Lev Lyubimov who initiated the music nights at the Professors’ Club. And when the Faculty of Economic Sciences was on Myasnitskaya, Prof. Lyubimov was a regular guest at our concerts: we were always thrilled to welcome him. Almost two decades have passed since then; we moved to new venues, became part of the Open University project and made friends with many singers, bands, theatres and orchestras. All this sprang from Prof. Lyubimov’s initial idea — it was his innovation and, importantly, part of his personal story.

Prof. Lev Lyubimov’s father was a renowned opera conductor, Lev Vladimirovich Lyubimov, who started his conducting career at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre. From there, he moved to Sverdlovsk Opera, Nizhny Novgorod Opera, and Belarus Theatre of Opera and Ballet. Of course, in his life Prof. Lyubimov met many great artists, including Shalyapin, Kozlovsky and Lemeshev, and music was always playing at his home. So, our dear Prof. Lyubimov, who loved to joke that spent his childhood in an orchestra pit, absorbed the smell of the stage and impressions from meeting great musicians in his early years. The sea of music he grew up with — he has carried it throughout his life and passed it on to us.

Follow the announcements of concerts at the university and in the city on the Centre of Music Projects page, Events section.

June 10, 2021