4th International Mstislav Rostropovich Festival underway in Moscow
Baku, March 29 (AZERTAC).The IV International Mstislav Rostropovich Festival is underway in Moscow from 27 March to 2 April 2013. The Festival was established three years ago by the Moscow City Government and the M.L. Rostropovich Foundation of Cultural and Humanitarian programs under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
Over this period of time, the Festival has become an integral part of Russian cultural life. Its title specifically avoids the words “in Memory of” or “In the Name of” Rostropovich, a fact that carries great symbolic significance. As the festival`s Artistic Director, Olga Rostropovich has emphasized, Maestro Rostropovich always remains with us in spirit, with his many admirers, family, friends, colleagues and former pupils. During the Festival, one could say that Mstislav Rostropovich`s presence can be tangibly sensed in the hall. This is why, in Olga Rostropovich`s words, “the single most important aspect of the artistic concept behind the festival lies in programming works of the highest quality in the best interpretations.”
The 2013 Mstislav Rostropovich Festival is dedicated to the famous Russian singer Galina Vishnevskaya, People’s Artist of the USSR and Full Cavalier of the Order for Merit to the Fatherland. During half a century of musical partnership, the two great musicians, Vishnevskaya and Rostropovich set an unprecedented standard of committed service to each other, to Art and to People.
The opening date of the International Mstislav Rostropovich Festival is permanently fixed as 27th March, Maestro`s birthday. It will be marked by a performance at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire of Giuseppe Verdi`s Requiem, a work which occupied a seminal place in Galina Vishnevskaya`s repertoire and which she recorded twice, first under Igor Markevich`s direction in 1958, and then under Alexander Melik-Pehsaev in 1960. Participating in the opening concert are the outstanding Italian singers Barbara Frittoli (soprano) , Veronica Simeoni (mezzo) Achilles Maccado (tenor), Riccardo Zanellato (bass) and the choir and orchestra of the Teatro Comunale of Bologna under the direction of Michele Mariotti.
Further events in the Festival include performances by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra under Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Maris Yansons, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (London) under Charles Dutoit, the English Chamber Orchestra under Paul Watkins. They will be joined by such world-renowned soloists as the guitarist Pepe Romero (Spain), the pianist Stephen Hough (UK) and the cellist Arto Noras (Finland). Maintaining its established tradition, the Festival will not limit performances to Moscow , but they will also take place in St Petersburg (on March 31st), and in Orenburg (24th — 27th April).
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