The year 2023 is a special one for all admirers of the composer S. Rachmaninov, as it marks the 150th anniversary of his birth. Festivals and concerts are held all over the world in honor of this occasion, and anniversary albums dedicated to Rachmaninov's work are also released. One of them is the new monographic album Symbol of Faith, featuring the pianist Elena Tarasova performing Rachmaninov's music.
The album Symbol of Faith is a tribute to Alexander Ermakov (1951–2022), the founder of the Museum-Reserve of S. Rachmaninov "Ivanovka." Alexander Ermakov played a crucial role in preserving and spreading the composer's legacy. Thanks to his efforts, the Ivanovka Museum-Reserve has become one of the most significant Russian music museums.
Alexander Ermakov was a Soviet and Russian educator, musical arts historian, winner of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in Literature and Arts (2019), and Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation. Ermakov was not only a prominent cultural figure, but also an active promoter of Rachmaninov's work. He made every effort to keep the story of the composer's life connected with Ivanovka alive and accessible to all. Ermakov was also the person who managed to create a major center of musical culture in the Russian countryside — such practice had previously existed only in Europe.
Alexander Ermakov devoted most of his life to Ivanovka. For 50 years, he led the museum and initiated an extensive scientific and concert life for the estate, organizing festivals and conferences, and overseeing the museum's editorial and publishing activities. Under Ermakov's leadership, the museum collaborated with major Russian musical institutions, published dozens of monographs, collections of articles, anthologies, and music prints. Ivanovka annually holds concerts and music festivals dedicated to the works of Rachmaninov, as well as other events.
The Ivanovka Museum-Reserve has a complicated history. The Tambov Rebellion of 1920–1921 destroyed most of the buildings in Ivanovka. The reconstruction of Ivanovka began only in 1968 with the resolution of the Bureau of the Tambov Regional Committee of the CPSU and the Regional Executive Committee No.550, and largely thanks to D. Kalashnikov, an author of books and publications about Rachmaninov. The foundation of the Rachmaninov House Museum in 1978 was both the result of the previous decade of work and the beginning of a lengthy process of recreating the estate. Alexander Ermakov became the first director of the museum, remaining its permanent head until his death. He breathed life into this place. The estate museum and later the Rachmaninov Museum-Reserve in Ivanovka is now an integral part of the world's cultural landscape.
"Adjacent to our estate there was a small village called Ivanovka, consisting of approximately 100 households. Endless fields surrounded us, merging with the sky on the horizon. In the distance, in the west, we could see the bell tower of our parish church, located five versts from Ivanovka. To the north, there was a windmill, to the east — nothing but fields, and to the south — our aspen forest. For many versts around Ivanovka, these aspen trees and our garden near the house were the only trees among the fields. So, this forest was a refuge for hares, foxes, and even wolves that sometimes came running, but especially for birds, which made their nests there, filling the air with chirping and singing. ... All of this together — the view of the fields, their scent, the larks singing high in the sky, and the endless expanse — has remained in my memory forever. The peculiar charm of these fields still seems to me incomparable." (S. Satina)
Originally, the Ivanovka estate belonged to the Satins, relatives of Rachmaninov, but later Rachmaninov bought it. For 27 years, the composer spent every spring and summer (and often autumn) at the estate. That very period was the most creatively fruitful, 85 percent of his works were composed there. In this sense, it is hard to deny the significance of Ivanovka for the creative legacy of Rachmaninov, as well as Russian and world music in general. The composer himself, already in exile, wrote: "I said that I have always strived to go there, to Ivanovka. To be honest, I must say that to this day I aspire to be there." Rachmaninov passed away in California in 1943, knowing that Ivanovka, dear to his soul, was gone. But in a way, the composer was destined to return to the estate after his death — in the restored Ivanovka, Rachmaninov's music and his memory live on to this day.
