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Local Composers Caught Up in Anthem Fever

By Vladimir Kovalyev

Staff Writer

Just when it may have been safe to turn your radio back on, the St. Petersburg Union of Composers has caught the Kremlin's anthem fever and presented a set of lyrics to local officials for the city's currently wordless theme song.

St. Petersburg's little-heard rallying song currently consists of a wordless movement from the opera "The Bronze Horseman," by the Belgian-born Russian composer Reingold Glier, which was adopted as the city anthem in 1991.

Fittingly, the Union of Composers has selected the beginning stanzas of Alexander Pushkin's renowned poem, "The Bronze Horseman," and set them to Glier music on a compact disc that was presented to City Hall last Friday.

The disc included several possible renditions of the melody, from a solo voice to a full choir. But according to the Union of Composers, parts of Pushkin's masterpiece may have to be edited to fit the music better, a task union head Andrei Petrov said the union would be happy to take on itself.

According to Petrov, the idea to add words to the city anthem came about last year, when Gov. Vladimir Yakovlev was elected for his second term.

"There was stability in the city and politicians started talking about the 300-year anniversary of St. Petersburg," coming up in 2003, Petrov said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

"The anthem would be a very important thing for a celebration of this kind."

Even so, the new anthem with lyrics has to be approved by City Hall and the Legislative Assembly.

But so far, officialdom seems largely thrilled by the idea of having a city anthem you can sing.

Gov. Yakovlev's spokesman, Alexander Afanasyev, said a draft law regarding the lyrics was being drawn up and would be sent to the Legislative Assembly for its approval within a few weeks.

"The anthem has existed for years with no words and that is illegitimate," said Afanasyev in a telephone interview on Tuesday, adding that the governor "likes the words."

But what of the idea of actually editing Pushkin's famous verse to fit the music?

Lawmaker Leonid Romankov, who heads the Assembly's Commission for Culture and Education, said he didn't think Russia's answer to Shakespeare would be turning in his grave.

"I don't think Pushkin would be offended if he found out that his poem is used for the anthem for his native town and such a significant town as St. Petersburg," said Romankov in an interview on Wednesday.

The Union of Composer's Petrov agreed.

"If the lyrics are passed by the Legislative Assembly, it would be a unique situation not just for the city, but for the world," he said.

"Just imagine how great it would be if Britain had words of Shakespeare and Italy had words of Dante."

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