The international cultural project 'Russian Seasons' continues to bring together the public and the art world as part of the digital project Stay Home with Russian Seasons. In the lead-up to Christmas and New Year, a special festive program has been prepared - performances, concerts of symphony music, ballet productions, video tours to museums of Russia in English. There are many new and interesting things afoot to treat our audiences with! Concerts of the Moscow Concert Hall Zaryadye open our seasonal program.
On Tuesday, December 1, the audience will see a concert dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of Mieczyslaw Weinberg whose oeuvre is undergoing a veritable revival in the 21st century. In musical circles, he is often mentioned in the same breath with such classical Soviet composers as Prokofiev, Khachaturian and Shostakovich. By the way, Weinberg was on long-standing friendly terms with the last one, he hailed Dmitri Shostakovich as his teacher and showed him all his compositions. Mieczyslaw Weinberg is the author of more than 150 instrumental works, 7 operas, 22 sonatas, he composed music for films and cartoons, including 'Tamer of Tigers', 'Cranes Fly', 'Afonya', for the iconic 'Winnie-the-Pooh' and 'Boniface's Vacation'. In Russia and beyond, Weinberg's operas such as 'Passenger', 'Portrait' and 'Idiot' are widely staged, his symphonies and chamber compositions are regularly performed, academic conferences and festivals named after Weinberg are carried out, and world-renowned labels release CDs with his music.
The world's leading soloists, orchestras and conductors often include Weinberg's music in their repertory. This time his well-known compositions will be performed by a constellation of star soloists: Alexander Gindin - piano, Irina Sopova - viola, Boris Andrianov - cello, Ilya Norstein - violin, Nikita Borisoglebsky - violin. Prominent Russian violinist Nikita Boriso-Glebsky is known as one of the brightest young virtuosos, mesmerizing the audience with his inimitable performance style performed on the world's best stages. In 2019, as part of the 'Russian Seasons', he performed in Bonn at the closing of the Beethovenfest festival, one of the world's largest academic music festivals. Nikita Boriso-Glebsky shares the stage with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Krzysztof Penderecki, Yuri Simonov, Sakari Oramo, David Avham. He plays a Matteo Goffriller's violin made in the 1720s.
Three works will be performed in Zaryadye Concert Hall: the Quintet by Mieczyslaw Weinberg, the famous Piano Trio in memory of Sollertinsky by Dmitri Shostakovich and the composition by our contemporary, neo-romantic possessing the gift of melody-maker which is quite rare today, Igor Reikhelson.
On Thursday, December 3, the visitors of 'Stay Home with Russian Seasons' will enjoy the performance of the soloists of the Academy of the Teatro la Scala and the Youth Program of the Bolshoi Theatre. The young singers who have taken to the stage of Zaryadye Concert Hall this time are the future of the world opera boldly asserting themselves today. The youth program of the Bolshoi Theatre is to be presented by Igor Korostylev (bass), Vadim Babichuk (tenor), Maria Barakova (mezzo-soprano) who has become the first prize winner of the latest Tchaikovsky International Competition, and Maria Motolygina (soprano) who has scored third place at the same competition. Caterina Piva (mezzo-soprano), Ettore Li (baritone) and Francesca Manzo (soprano) will perform from the Academy of Theatre la Scala. The project continues the series of collaborative performances given by young operatic artists, participants of the youth programs of the Milan's La Scala Theatre and the Bolshoi Theatre. Every year in Moscow either Milan, young singers are engaged in this program under the guidance of the best masters, learn the intricacies of operatic art, participate in premieres, repertory productions, and concert programs. Each their meeting presents a great opportunity to share their experiences, inspirations, and verve.
Young soloists will perform alongside the Tchaikovsky Grand Symphony Orchestra with the Italian conductor Alvise Casellati on the podium who is known not only for his successful performances and projects in Genoa, Venice, Padua, New York, Shanghai but also for his fascinating work with young operatic artists. Accompanied by the maestro, pieces from Verdi, Rimsky-Korsakov, Puccini and Bizet will be played.
'We are pleased to continue our cooperation with Zaryadye Concert Hall that has already become emblematic of cultural life not only of the capital itself but of the entire country. This year it turned three years old, and up to this point it was visited by more than 30 million people. Now millions of viewers of our 'Stay Home with Russian Seasons' online service will be added to this impressive figure,' said Alexey Lebedev, CEO of 'Russian Seasons' INPO.