Press releases

MINSK, 9 September (BelTA) – The UNESCO headquarters in Paris hosted a concert to celebrate the 250th birthday of Michal Kleofas Oginski jointly organized by Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland on 7 September, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Embassy in France.

The concert was organized under the auspices of UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and the Permanent Delegates of Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland to UNESCO. The concert "Letters about Music" marked the anniversary of the birth of Michal Kleofas Oginski, a renowned composer, diplomat, patron of arts, and politician. The decision to include Michal Kleofas Oginski’s 250th birthday in the 2015 UNESCO list of anniversaries of historic events and eminent personalities was made at a session of the UNESCO General Conference.

The concert was attended by some 1,000 diplomats, heads and employees of Permanent Delegations to UNESCO, representatives of the UNESCO Secretariat, members of the general public, French businessmen, and representatives of Belarusian, Polish, and Lithuanian communities in France. Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Lithuania Gediminas Kirkilas was the guest of honor at the event.

Irina Bokova welcomed the guests of the concert and praised the contribution of Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland to the promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions, one of UNESCO’s key principles. The concert featured performances by Belarusian pianist Yekaterina Glazovskaya, Ciurlionis String Quartet from Lithuania, and Polish opera singer Elisabeth Zapolska.

The concert was organized with the assistance of the French-Belarusian association “Life in Music”.

The visitors to the event also enjoyed the photo exhibition “A Farewell to the Homeland” dedicated to the life of Michal Kleofas Oginski. The exhibition comprised works by Vitaly Rakovich (Belarus), Algimantas Aleksandravicius (Lithuania), and Prot Jarnuszkiewicz (Poland). The event was organized with the support of the Belarusian, Lithuanian, and Polish National Commissions for UNESCO.