Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 18 February (BelTA) – The International Vladimir Spivakov Invites Festival keeps the Belarusian audience informed of the latest music trends, Culture Minister of Belarus Boris Svetlov told BelTA.

“The festival is a great event as it gathers world-famous stars. For the Belarusian audience the forum has already become a traditional event, so today we cannot imagine the cultural landscape of our country without it,” the Minister said.

Boris Svetlov noted that the festival keeps the audience informed of the latest events in the music world. “The festival helps us understand that Minsk is a European capital of music like all the other cities,” he added.

Today Minsk is hosting the Third Vladimir Spivakov Invites International Festival. The event was opened at the Palace of the Republic with a concert by People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Dmitry Khvorostovsky. He was accompanied by the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia conducted by Vladimir Spivakov. At the beginning of the concert the Culture Minister of Belarus congratulated everyone on the opening of the festival and read a message of greetings from President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus to the participants of the forum.

Ambassador of Russia to Belarus Alexander Surikov greeted the musicians and the audience and emphasized that from year to year the event becomes larger and more spectacular. He noted that the festival is a grand cultural event for the Belarusian admirers of classical music. He expressed hope that such events will be held on a regular basis. At the end of the opening ceremony Vladimir Spivakov and the famous baritone Dmitry Khvorostovsky were honored with the Loyalty and Faith Public Recognition Award instituted by the Family-Unity-Fatherland charity foundation.

The Third Vladimir Spivakov Invites International Festival will be held in Minsk, Gomel, Mogilev, and Vitebsk till 28 February. The project features eight concerts. The Hour of Bach and Hour of Chaplin programs will be presented to the Belarusian audience. The lead dancers of the ballet theaters of the world will perform in the Stars of the World Ballet gala concert.

The solemn closing ceremony will be held at the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society and will feature such opera stars as the soloists of the Bolshoi Theater and the Mariinsky Theater of Russia Anna Aglatova, Vasily Gerello, and Oleg Kulko.

The festival named after the great modern musician has been successfully held in Moscow and the French city of Colmar for ten years already. Belarus has been hosting the event since 2010. The Vladimir Spivakov Invites Festival is organized by OOO Berin Art Management with the support of the Belarusian Culture Ministry. ZAO Alfa-Bank is the general partner of the forum.