Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 30 September (BelTA) – The Yuri Bashmet International Festival in Minsk promotes Belarus’ positive image abroad, Irina Rakhvalova, the head of the arts department of the Belarusian Culture Ministry, said on 30 September at a press conference held to mark the opening of the Yuri Bashmet International Festival, BelTA has learned.

Irina Rakhvalova noted that Belarus is hosting the large-scale cultural forum for the eleventh time. The festival brings together the greatest musicians from all parts of the world. This year, the program of the festival has been expanded to include the special project These Eyes in Front of Me. Songs written by Valery Obodinsky will be performed on 6 October by Belarusian singers Anatoly Yermolenko, Yadviga Poplavskaya, Alexander Tikhonovich, Inna Afanasyeva, Viktoria Aleshko, Irina Dorofeyeva, Alyona Lanskaya, Vladimir Gromov, Georgy Koldun, Sasha Nemo and others accompanied by the Presidential Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus conducted by Honored Artist of Belarus Viktor Babarykin.

The festival that over the years has evolved into a multifaceted celebration of art, will open at the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society on 30 September with a Moscow-Vienna concert. The concert will feature eminent Italian violinist Sergei Krylov, ranked by Mstislav Rostropovich among the top five best violinists of the 20th century, and pianist Rostislav Krimer. The musicians will play a program that they have already successfully presented at the greatest music venues in Europe, including a prestigious festival at the world’s oldest opera house, Teatro della Pergola in Florence.

Minsk will be hosting the 11th Yuri Bashmet International Festival from 30 September through 11 October. The festival is held in line with a resolution of Belarus’ Council of Ministers, with the support of the Culture Ministry and Minsk City Hall. The Belarusian mobile carrier MTS is the official partner of the festival.