News & Events in Belarus

MINSK, 10 October (BelTA) – The opening night of the 13th International Yuri Bashmet Festival on 10 October in Minsk drew overflow audiences, BelTA has learned.

Greetings to the participants and guests of the festival, which has become a significant event in the cultural life of the country, were sent by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. The message was read out by Culture Minister Yuri Bondar.

“This music festival in Belarus has become a good tradition and a significant event in the cultural life of our country. Thanks to it, the Belarusian audience has got a unique opportunity to hear the classical masterpieces and the best works of contemporary composers performed by international stars and talented young performers,” the greetings read.

Honorary co-chairman of the organizing committee of the festival, People's Artist of the USSR and Russia Yuri Bashmet addressed the audience and said that it was very nice to receive greetings from the head of state every time, and this year marks the 13th edition of the festival. According to the great maestro, 13 is a lucky number. For example, Yuri Bashmet said that he won one of the competitions in Germany performing 13th.

Yuri Bashmet thanked the head of state, the Culture Ministry and the Minsk city authorities for the support and noted that artists feel it and appreciate it alongside the love and attention of the audience. He also thanked the viewers and expressed the hope that they will receive only the finest emotions.

The opening ceremony of the festival featured the world premiere of the concert for viola, piano and orchestra celebrating Yuri Bashmet and Rostislav Krimer. In Minsk, the concert was performed by the outstanding musicians themselves. The piece is called Landscapes of Fading Memory (by Master Arnolt Schlick). It was written by Belarusian composer Valery Voronov.

The concert also featured the Grammy Awards winners, the Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra under the baton of People’s Artist of the USSR and Russia Yuri Bashmet. The soloists of the evening were violinist Vadim Repin, violist Yuri Bashmet and pianist Rostislav Krimer. Outstanding musician Vadim Repin played the violin of the Stradivarius Rode 1733.

The festival program is as impressive as always. On 12 October, the Big Hall of the Palace of the Republic will host a musical and theatrical production featuring Vladimir Pozner, Andrei Makarevich, Dmitry Sitkovetsky and others.

One of the concerts will be held in the early hours of 14 October in the Minsk metro station Petrovshchina. The concert will start at two in the morning. Performing in the Minsk metro will be the East-West Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Rostislav Krimer. The orchestra includes the best musicians from Eastern and Western Europe. The concert will also feature the star of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus Oksana Volkova and the choir, and also Bez Bileta band, singer Dyadya Vanya and his band One Hell Thing, and Pesnyary. Tickets for the concert have already been sold out.

The guests will enjoy classical music and rhythmic gymnastics at the concert on 17 October. The East-West Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Rostislav Krimer will perform at the Grand Hall of the Belarusian State Philharmonic. This is an outstanding orchestra that unites winners of the most prestigious international competitions, including the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, and concertmasters of the best orchestras from Western and Eastern Europe. Alexander Knyazev, honored artist of Russia and cellist, will be the soloist of the evening. Two-time winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, he has won admirers in many countries and performed with such orchestras as London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, with conductors Kurt Masur, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yevgeny Svetlanov and many others on the best stages of the world.

Ekaterina Galkina, a multiple winner of the World and European rhythmic gymnastics championships, the leader of the Belarusian national team, will also perform on the stage of the philharmonic. The music accompaniment is kept secret, but there is no doubt that the show will be great.

The program also includes the symphonies of Mieczyslaw (Moisey) Weinberg, a composer, whose music is one of the most performed in the world today.

The 13th Yuri Bashmet International Music Festival is held in Minsk on 7-20 October. It is organized in line with the corresponding resolution of Belarus’ Council of Ministers with assistance of the Culture Ministry and the Minsk City Hall.