On 26 June, the Russian House in Brussels hosted the opening of the exhibition “Double Portrait Against the Background of a Century”, organized by the Russian National Museum of Music. The exhibition is dedicated to two outstanding composers of the twentieth century—Sergei Prokofiev, whose 135th anniversary is celebrated this year, and Dmitri Shostakovich, whose 120th anniversary also inspired the creation of the exhibition.

The exhibition offers visitors a unique opportunity to explore the artistic journeys of these two musical geniuses through rare archival materials. Among the exhibits are original manuscripts, rare printed editions, concert and theatre posters, costume and stage design sketches, as well as photographs from different periods of their lives. Together, these documents reveal not only the history of their creative work but also the cultural atmosphere of an entire era. QR codes throughout the exhibition make the experience interactive, allowing visitors to listen to recordings of Prokofiev’s and Shostakovich’s most celebrated compositions and immerse themselves in the soundscape of their time.

A highlight of the opening was the lecture “Three Faces of the Russian Avant-Garde: Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Kandinsky” delivered by Mikhail Bryzgalov, Director General of the Russian National Museum of Music. In his presentation, he explored the intersections of the creative paths of three remarkable figures of Russian culture and demonstrated how the ideas of the avant-garde manifested themselves in different ways in their artistic legacies.

For Wassily Kandinsky, the avant-garde represented the culmination of many years of artistic exploration and the embodiment of the idea of the synthesis of the arts, inspired to a great extent by music. For Sergei Prokofiev, it became a decisive stage in the development of his compositional language, opening new possibilities for bold musical experimentation. For the young Dmitri Shostakovich, the Soviet avant-garde served as the starting point of an extraordinary artistic journey that would profoundly shape twentieth-century Russian music.

The lecture was illustrated with archival images and audio excerpts from works by Prokofiev and Shostakovich, enabling the audience to gain a deeper understanding of the artistic context of the period and the close relationship between music, painting and the broader cultural movements of the early twentieth century.

The event attracted considerable interest from the Belgian public. Attendees listened attentively to Mikhail Bryzgalov’s lecture and actively participated in the discussion afterwards, asking numerous questions about the works of Prokofiev and Shostakovich, the distinctive features of the Russian avant-garde, and the relationship between music and the visual arts. This lively exchange reflected a genuine interest in Russian musical culture and its place within the world’s artistic heritage.

The evening became not only an introduction to the rich legacy of twentieth-century Russian culture, but also a reminder that authentic art continues to connect generations and nations. The ideas born during the avant-garde era remain relevant today, while the music of Prokofiev and Shostakovich continues to resonate as a living dialogue between history, humanity and time.

The exhibition will remain open to visitors until 31 December.