IX International Ethnic Festival “Music of the World”

St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatrical and Musical Art

Region: Saint Petersburg, Russia

The virtual presentation of the "Music of the World" festival, annually organized by the Saint Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music, immerses a broad audience in the musical heritage of various peoples and regions of Russia.

The main criterion for selecting performers for this online event is an innovative approach to music: employing novel techniques and stylistic experiments that reveal unseen aspects of traditional melodies. The festival draws inspiration from the extensive collection of musical instruments owned by the Sheremetev Palace—Museum of Music, raising questions about the role and place of instruments like the yatag, khomus, morin khuur, sopilka, cymbals, and balalaika in today's music industry, which encompasses digital technologies and artificial intelligence. The festival showcases how these traditional instruments can blend with contemporary musical genres, presenting styles such as ethno-jazz, ethno-rock, fusion, electronic music, throat singing, and ambient music, thereby emphasizing cultural and national identity through modern sounds.