Press releases

MINSK, 2 October (BelTA) – The 8^th International Yuri Bashmet Festival opens in Minsk on 2 October, BelTA has learnt.

The forum will kick off with a music and literature event which participants will be People's Artist of Russia Konstantin Khabensky and USSR People’s Artist Yuri Bashmet. The well-known actor will recite poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky. The poetry will be accompanied by Grammy Award holders, the chamber orchestra "Soloists of Moscow” conducted by Yuri Bashmet. Solo parts will be performed by international competition prize-holders, pianists Rostislav Krimer and Ksenia Bashmet.

The festival program will be continued by Polish composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki on 4 October. On this day the festival will feature a concert of the best soloists of the Bolshoi Theater from Moscow, Warsaw and Estonian opera theaters conducted by famous composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki and famed conductor Andres Mustonen. They will perform masterpieces of world classics and Penderecki’s Credo, an orchestral piece the performance of which involves more than two hundred people. These include a symphony orchestra, a large chorus, a children's chorus and soloists.

The Big Concert Hall of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society will present a premiere Architecton by Belarusian composer Valery Voronov, a piece for four pianos, a reader and a symphony orchestra. Soloists will include Natalia Kotova, Valery Borovikov, Sergei Voinitski and Dmitry Gorbach. Partaking in the performance as a reader will be Belarusian rapper Mikhey Nosorogov.

The gala concert will also include one of the world’s most prominent oboe players Professor of Lubeck High School of Music Diethelm Jonas (Germany), prize-winner of the International Competition n.a. G.Veniavsky violinist Alisa Margulis (Germany), Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Belarusian State Academy of Music (Director – Andrei Ivanov; Conductor – Alpaslan Ertungealp, Turkey).

The forum will highlight the 25^th anniversary of the Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Perlin. Partaking in the concert of world classics on 11 October will be prize-winner of Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition Artem Shishkov (violin, Belarus), prize-winner of the International P.Tchaikovsky Competition Ivan Karizna (cello, Belarus), prize-winner of international competitions Stanislav Anischenko (double-bass, Belarus), concertmaster of the chamber orchestra "Soloists of Moscow" Andrew Poscrobko (violin, Belarus).

Legendary violinist Maxim Vengerov will wrap up the music forum on 12 October. The acclaimed musician will perform in Minsk for the first time. The Maestro will perform famous romantic miniatures and masterpieces of the classical music. He will play Kreutzer 1727, one of four Stradivari violins with the sobriquet Kreutzer, and a bow, which previously belonged to Jascha Heifetz, one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. The solo concert will take place in the Big Concert Hall of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society.

First held in 2006, the International Yuri Bashmet Festival is conducted under the auspices of the Belarusian President and is aimed at combining the creative forces of Belarus, Russia and other countries.

The author of the idea of the Yuri Bashmet festival is the Belarusian pianist, winner of international competitions, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London Rostislav Krimer, who is also the arts director of the festival. People's Artist of Russia, winner of the state prizes of the USSR and Russia Yuri Bashmet is the honorary co-chairman of the organizing committee of the festival.