International Winter Festival Arts Square. International winter festival “Arts Square. Fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King"

.

The largest music festival in St. Petersburg has already become a tradition; it is being held in our city for the 18th time. From December 14 to 24, the winners of the ECHO KLASSIK award, which is considered the European equivalent of the Grammy, and world-famous stars, including the outstanding pianist Evgeny Kissin, will perform in concert and theater halls. Concerts dedicated to the anniversaries of Igor Stravinsky and Rodion Shchedrin will be held. In addition, during the festival there will be an exhibition dedicated to the 135th anniversary of the Honored Ensemble of Russia Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic.
Founded by Yuri Temirkanov in 1999, the Arts Square festival unites not only various types of arts, but also includes theaters and museums located near the Arts Square. These are the Russian Museum, the Mikhailovsky Theater, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Savior on Spilled Blood), and the Musical Comedy Theater. The main part of the program is conducted in its halls by the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic named after D. D. Shostakovich.

“The Arts Square will once again gather in St. Petersburg the musicians whom I love and appreciate. Every time it becomes a big and joyful event for me, it enhances the feeling of a holiday in which, I think, many of us spend this first month of winter,” says Yuri Temirkanov, artistic director of the festival.

The cross-cutting theme of this year’s Arts Square will be the anniversaries of outstanding composers. The festival will open on December 14 with a program of works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Igor Stravinsky, whose 135th birthday is being celebrated by the entire musical world. At the conductor's stand of the Honored Ensemble of Russia, the Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra, which is also celebrating its 135th anniversary this year, is maestro Yuri Temirkanov, and the soloist is the outstanding pianist of our time, Evgeniy Kissin.

December 15in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Savior on Spilled Blood), the Concert Choir of St. Petersburg, under the direction of the artistic director and conductor of the group, Vladimir Begletsov, will perform works a cappella by Stravinsky and Shchedrin.

The festival program includes a performance by the laureate ECHO KLASSIK, the brass ensemble GERMAN BRASS. Performed by them in the Great HallDecember 16works by J. S. Bach and Christmas songs of the peoples of the world will be performed.

Daria Kotyukh - director of sand animation

An exciting afternoon performance will be a highlight for the whole family. December 17, in which the art of sand animation and the sound of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic under the direction of Alexey Nyaga will merge together.

December 18 Evgeny Kissin will present his interpretation of Beethoven's Sonata No. 29, as well as Rachmaninov's Prelude.Every performance by Evgeny Kissin becomes a great artistic event. Performing all over the world, he attracts full houses in the largest halls, invariably attracting audiences with the philosophical depth of his interpretations and the perfection of his piano technique. St. Petersburg did not hear him for eight long years, and the pianist did not perform a solo program in our city for even longer: the last time was in 2002. During the festival, 15 years of waiting will be rewarded.

One of the central events of the Arts Square will be Maestro Temirkanov’s performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem. A concert with the participation of a brilliant quartet of soloists: soprano Dinara Aliyeva, mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova, bass Dmitry Beloselsky and Italian tenor Francesco Meli, as well as the Honored Ensemble of Russia, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic and the Bolshoi Theater Choir will take place December 19th in the Great Philharmonic Hall

Also as part of the festival in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic 20th of December There will be a performance by the famous Israeli violinist Pinchas Zuckerman and his trio with a chamber program: music by Chopin, Franck and Schubert will be performed.

Another notable event in line with the cross-cutting festival theme will be the concert 21 December, in which, along with Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony and the Russian premiere of Jörg Widmann’s “Ad absurdum,” the music of one of the greatest contemporary US composers, John Adams, who celebrated his 70th birthday this year, will be performed. The program will be performed by the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic, the conductor is a young debutant of the festival, laureate of the prestigious German ECHO KLASSIK award (2016) Maxim Emelyanichev, the soloist is the world-famous trumpeter Sergei Nakaryakov.

Trumpeter Sergei Nakaryakov

The young Italian tenor Francesco Meli is at the top of his career - for example, last summer he acted as Anna Netrebko's partner in the production of Aida at the Salzburg Festival.December 22, within the framework of the new tradition of the “Art Square” - a vocal evening in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic - Francesco Meli will perform works by Liszt, Wagner, Respighi, Puccini, Tosti. Piano part – Giulio Zappa (Italy).

A December 23in the Small Philharmonic Hall will take place an evening of chamber music in which Sergei Nakariakov will play the trumpet and flugelhorn. The music of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov will be performed, and the piano part will be performed by Maria Meerovich.

Farukh Ruzematov

In the context of reviving the tradition of ballet evenings in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic, festival guests will be offered a special project by People's Artist of Russia Farukh Ruzimatov, whoDecember 23will act as a soloist and choreographer of the fantasy “Pavane Moor” based on the plot of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello”.

The end of the festival will be marked by honoring our outstanding contemporary, composer Rodion Shchedrin, who will celebrate his 85th birthday a few days before the concert date. December 24 a program from his compositions from different years will also be performed by the Honored Ensemble of Russia under the direction of maestro Yuri Temirkanov and Nikolai Alekseev. Soloists are Alexander Buzlov (cello) and Olesya Petrova (mezzo-soprano).

Exhibitions in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic, formed from the funds of the Music Library, will also be dedicated to the anniversary dates. During the festival, materials dedicated to Igor Stravinsky and Rodion Shchedrin will be presented in the Shostakovich foyer; An exhibition about the history of the Honored Ensemble of Russia, which celebrates its 135th anniversary this year, will open in the Tchaikovsky foyer.

In addition, as part of the Arts Square, the Mikhailovsky Theater will host the premiere screening of Rossini's comic opera The Barber of Seville, and the Russian Museum will present the most interesting exhibitions planned during the festival.

Tickets for the festival concerts are available at the box office and on the Philharmonic website

The XVIII International Winter Festival "Arts Square" will last from December 14 to 24 and will gather ECHO KLASSIK award winners in St. Petersburg, will include a performance by the outstanding pianist Evgeny Kissin, will present concerts dedicated to the anniversaries of Rodion Shchedrin, Igor Stravinsky and John Adams, and will give the public a meeting with stars of world music.

During the festival there will be an exhibition dedicated to the 135th anniversary of the Honored Academic Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia.

The Arts Square festival not only unites various types of arts, but also traditionally involves the cultural institutions of St. Petersburg, located around the square that gave its name to the festival. Among the participants: Russian Museum, Mikhailovsky Theater, Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Savior on Spilled Blood), Musical Comedy Theater. The main part of the program is conducted in its halls by the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic named after D. D. Shostakovich.

The cross-cutting theme of this year’s Arts Square will be the anniversaries of outstanding composers. The festival will open on December 14 with a program of works by Sergei Rachmaninov and Igor Stravinsky, whose 135th birthday is being celebrated by the entire musical world. The conductor of the honored ensemble of Russia, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic, which is also celebrating its 135th anniversary this year, is maestro Yuri Temirkanov, and the soloist is pianist Evgeniy Kissin.

The end of the festival will be marked by honoring composer Rodion Shchedrin, who will celebrate his 85th birthday a few days before the concert date. On December 24, a program from his compositions from different years will also be performed by the honored ensemble of Russia under the direction of maestro Yuri Temirkanov and Nikolai Alekseev, soloists Alexander Buzlov (cello) and Olesya Petrova (mezzo-soprano).

A reflection of the anniversary evenings in the Great Hall will be a program at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Savior on Spilled Blood) on December 15, where the St. Petersburg Concert Choir, under the direction of the artistic director and conductor of the group, Vladimir Begletsov, will perform works a cappella by Stravinsky and Shchedrin.

Another notable event in line with the cross-cutting festival theme will be the concert on December 21, in which, along with Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony and the Russian premiere of Jörg Widmann’s “Ad absurdum,” the music of one of the greatest contemporary US composers, John Adams, who celebrated his 70th birthday this year, will be performed. . The program will be performed by the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic, the conductor is a young debutant of the festival, laureate of the prestigious German ECHO KLASSIK award (2016) Maxim Emelyanichev, the soloist is the world-famous trumpeter Sergei Nakaryakov.

Exhibitions in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic, formed from the funds of the Music Library, will be dedicated to the anniversary dates. During the festival, materials dedicated to Igor Stravinsky and Rodion Shchedrin will be presented in the Shostakovich foyer; In the foyer of Tchaikovsky, an exhibition about the history of the honored ensemble of Russia, which celebrates its 135th anniversary this year, will open. Listeners of the festival programs will see thematically selected photographs, posters and concert programs, including those dating back to the pre-revolutionary period.

On December 18, pianist Evgeny Kissin will perform a solo program, which will include Beethoven’s 29th Hammerklavier Sonata and Rachmaninov’s Preludes.

On December 23, in the Small Hall of the Philharmonic, Sergei Nakaryakov will play the trumpet and flugelhorn. The music of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov will be performed, and the piano part will be performed by Maria Meerovich.

One of the central events of the Arts Square will be Maestro Temirkanov’s performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem. The concert with the participation of a brilliant quartet of soloists: soprano Dinara Aliyeva, mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova, bass Dmitry Beloselsky and Italian tenor Francesco Meli, as well as the Honored Ensemble of Russia, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic and the Bolshoi Theater Choir will take place on December 19 in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic.

On December 22, as part of the new tradition of the Place des Arts - a vocal evening in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic - Francesco Meli will perform works by Liszt, Wagner, Respighi, Puccini, Tosti. Piano part – Giulio Zappa (Italy).

Also as part of the festival, in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic on December 20, the famous Israeli violinist Pinchas Zuckerman and his trio will perform a chamber program: music by Chopin, Franck and Schubert will be performed.

The festival program includes a performance by another laureate of ECHO KLASSIK (2016). The GERMAN BRASS brass ensemble will appear at the Arts Square. They will perform in the Great Hall on December 16 the works of J. S. Bach and Christmas songs of the peoples of the world.

In the context of reviving the tradition of ballet evenings in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic, festival guests will be offered a special project by People’s Artist of Russia Farukh Ruzimatov, who on December 23 will perform as a soloist and choreographer of the fantasy “Pavane Moor” based on the plot of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello”.

A highlight for the whole family will be the exciting afternoon performance on December 17, which will combine the art of sand animation and the sound of the Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexei Nyaga.

As part of the Arts Square, the Mikhailovsky Theater will host the premiere screening of Rossini's comic opera The Barber of Seville, and the Russian Museum will present the most interesting exhibitions planned during the festival.

The international winter festival "Arts Square" will be dedicated to the anniversary of maestro Yuri Temirkanov

The XIX International Winter Festival “Arts Square” will be dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Yuri Temirkanov: the maestro celebrates his anniversary on December 10. From December 14 to 26, the St. Petersburg public will meet with the largest performers of our time, including Yuri Temirkanov himself, Maris Jansons, Rudolf Buchbinder, Gidon Kremer, Leif Ove Andsnes, Yuri Bashmet, Denis Matsuev, Nikolai Lugansky, Vadim Repin, Matthias Goerne , Chamber Orchestra “Concerto Köln”, Honored Ensemble of Russia Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic and other famous musicians and groups.

Founded by Yuri Temirkanov in 1999, the festival unites not only various types of arts, but also traditionally involves the cultural institutions of St. Petersburg, located around the square that gives the festival its name. Among the participants: Russian Museum, Mikhailovsky Theater, Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Savior on Spilled Blood), Musical Comedy Theater. The main part of the program is conducted in its halls by the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic named after D. D. Shostakovich.

“The Arts Square festival will once again bring together in St. Petersburg the musicians whom I love and appreciate. Every time it becomes a big and joyful event for me, it enhances the feeling of a holiday in which, I think, many of us spend this first month of winter,” says Yuri Temirkanov, artistic director of the festival. – Now I understand that 19 years ago, when we were just starting, we could not even think that the project would have such a long and happy fate. It’s nice to know that our colossal efforts were not wasted, and the festival has become a tradition. Today “Arts Square” is an integral part of the St. Petersburg cultural landscape and an event that attracts tourists to the city.”

The culmination of the festival will be Gala concert for the anniversary of maestro Yuri Temirkanov, That will take place December 15. This evening, conductor Maris Jansons, pianists Nikolai Lugansky and Denis Matsuev, violinists Yulian Rakhlin and Vadim Repin, violist Yuri Bashmet, vocalists Dinara Alieva, Karen Slack, Matthias Goerne, Paata Burchuladze will appear on the stage of the Great Hall of the Philharmonic. Along with Honored Team of Russia, whose fate has been inextricably linked with the name of Yuri Temirkanov for 30 years, the Concert Choir of St. Petersburg, the St. Petersburg Chamber Choir and the Mikhailovsky Theater Choir will take part in the concert.

The hero of the day himself will stand at the controls of his orchestra December 26: at the closing of the festival works will be performed that were created a hundred years apart, but equally represent the great Austro-German musical culture: Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Mahler's Fourth Symphony. The soloists are the world famous Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder, famous for his interpretations of Beethoven's works, as well as soprano Nadezhda Kucher - winner of the BBC International Opera Singing Competition in Cardiff (Great Britain, 2015) and winner of the Golden Mask Award (2013, 2015).

December 18 The honored ensemble of Russia will present another program of works by composers belonging to the Austro-German musical tradition: under the baton of People's Artist of Russia Nikolai Alekseev, the symphonic poem by Richard Strauss, symbolic of the anniversary festival, will be performed, as well as songs for voice and orchestra and an intermission to Act 3 from the music to the drama “Rosamund” by Schubert. The soloist is the famous German baritone Matthias Goerne.

A special place in the festival program is occupied by the concert of the Honored Ensemble of Russia under the direction of Ignat Solzhenitsyn, the son of an outstanding writer. December 22 The musicians will perform Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony and Alfred Schnittke’s Violin Concerto No. 4. The soloist is the legendary violinist Gidon Kremer: the score is dedicated to him, the world premiere of which he performed in 1984, his name is also immortalized by the author in the very musical fabric of the concert.

Academic Symphony Orchestra Philharmonic December 17 will perform masterpieces of Russian and foreign classical music as part of the festival program: Beethoven's Coriolanus Overture, Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony and Mozart's Symphony Concertante for violin and viola and orchestra. The soloists are the young Canadian violist Sarah McElravey and one of the most outstanding violinists of our time, Julian Rakhlin, who will also perform as a conductor.

One of the notable events of the festival will certainly be the program "Bach in Italy", which will be presented to the St. Petersburg public by the German chamber orchestra “Concerto Köln”. The group, awarded with such prestigious awards as Grammy and ECHO Klassik, has a reputation as one of the best interpreters of Baroque music. 21 December The orchestra will perform opuses by Italian violin concerto masters Corelli and Vivaldi, as well as scores by Johann Sebastian Bach. The great composer, who never traveled outside Germany, adopted the Italian style by studying the scores of his outstanding contemporaries, and a skillfully composed program will allow us to trace this influence.

An integral and important part of the “Arts Square” are traditionally solo and chamber concerts. This year exactly An evening of chamber music will open the festival program on December 14: in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic, Vadim Repin and Nikolai Lugansky will perform works by French composers created in the late 19th - first third of the 20th century, and Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, a six-time winner of the British magazine Gramophone award and an eight-time Grammy nominee, named by the New York Times “the most the perfect pianist of the new generation", December 19th will present the program Piano evening, which combined the works of Schubert and Schumann with the sound of the lesser-known piano cycle “On Overgrown Paths” by Czech composer Leoš Janáček.

In the Small Philharmonic Hall December 18 percussion instrument guru Mark Pekarsky will offer listeners the program “Unthinkable Dishes from Mark Pekarsky’s Menu”, and December 23 Yulia Lezhneva's Vocal Evening will take place here: the music of Vivaldi, Handel, Porpora, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Bellini and Schubert will be performed.

"Non-academic" line This year's festival program will include a performance by the brilliant Dutch jazz pianist Peter Beets and his Trio. December 16 The musicians will perform compositions, recordings of which several years ago earned them two nominations for the Edison Award - the Dutch equivalent of a Grammy: jazz arrangements of works by Chopin and compositions by Oscar Peterson will be performed.

Another program at the intersection of genres is the interpretation of works of popular classics by the Austrian “Janoshka Ensemble”, uniting musicians with virtuoso technique and bright charisma. December 25 The audience will be greeted with the immortal melodies of Strauss, Massenet, Piazzolla, Kreisler and Bizet, transformed by the influence of Janoshka style, combining features of classical, jazz, Latin and even pop music.

A highlight of the festival program, traditionally addressed to the whole family, there will be a concert December 23: on New Year's Eve, Hoffmann's fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" and the music of Tchaikovsky's ballet of the same name will be performed by actress Anna Mikhalkova and the Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pavel Bubelnikov.

An equally beautiful tradition of the festival is the annual presentation of new names of young musicians. This year they will be the laureates of the Yuri Temirkanov Prize, which the Maestro himself will present to them at the concert of scholarship holders of the Maestro Temirkanov Foundation for Cultural Initiatives in the Small Hall of the Philharmonic on December 21, as well as the laureate of the 2017 Prize, a student of the ten-year school of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, saxophonist Arseny Alekseev, honored to perform at the Gala concert for the Maestro’s anniversary on December 15 in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic.

As part of the Arts Square, the Mikhailovsky Theater will host a performance of Sergei Prokofiev's ballet Cinderella, choreographed by Rostislav Zakharov (restoration by Mikhail Messerer), the premiere of the performance took place in the fall of 2017. The St. Petersburg State Theater of Musical Comedy will offer the public the premiere of the new season - Cole Porter's musical "Cancan", the Concert Choir of St. Petersburg will perform a program of works by Shchedrin and Shostakovich in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Savior on Spilled Blood), and the Russian Museum will present the exhibition "The Unexpected Malevich" " and "Scarves and shawls in Russia in the 18th - 21st centuries."

Program of the festival "Arts Square" on the website

Photos provided by the Press Service of the Arts Square festival

From December 14 to 24, the XVIII International Winter Festival "Arts Square" will be held in St. Petersburg.

Founded by Yuri Temirkanov in 1999, the festival unites not only various types of art, but also the cultural institutions of St. Petersburg, located around the square that gave its name to the festival, are traditionally involved in its orbit. Among the participants: Russian Museum, Mikhailovsky Theater, Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Savior on Spilled Blood), Musical Comedy Theater. The main part of the program is conducted in its halls by the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic named after D. D. Shostakovich.

The cross-cutting theme of the Arts Square this year will again be the anniversaries of outstanding composers. The festival will open on December 14 with a program of works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Igor Stravinsky, whose 135th birthday is being celebrated by the entire musical world. At the conductor's stand of the Honored Ensemble of Russia, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic, which is also celebrating its 135th anniversary this year, is maestro Yuri Temirkanov, and the soloist is the outstanding pianist of our time, Evgeniy Kissin.

The end of the festival will be marked by honoring our outstanding contemporary, composer Rodion Shchedrin, who will celebrate his 85th birthday a few days before the concert date. On December 24, a program from his compositions from different years will also be performed by the Honored Ensemble of Russia under the direction of maestro Yuri Temirkanov and Nikolai Alekseev, soloists Alexander Buzlov (cello) and Olesya Petrova (mezzo-soprano).

A reflection of the anniversary evenings in the Great Hall will be a program at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Savior on Spilled Blood) on December 15, where the St. Petersburg Concert Choir, under the direction of the artistic director and conductor of the group, Vladimir Begletsov, will perform works a cappella by Stravinsky and Shchedrin.

Another notable event in line with the cross-cutting festival theme will be the concert on December 21, in which, along with Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony and the Russian premiere of Jörg Widmann’s “Ad absurdum,” the music of one of the greatest contemporary US composers, John Adams, who celebrated his 70th birthday this year, will be performed. . The program will be performed by the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic, the conductor is a young debutant of the festival, laureate of the prestigious German ECHO KLASSIK award (2016) Maxim Emelyanichev, the soloist is the world-famous trumpeter Sergei Nakaryakov.

A rhyme to Evgeny Kissin’s performance in the symphony program of the opening concert will be the pianist’s solo program on December 18. Will be performed: Beethoven's majestic 29th Hammerklavier Sonata and Rachmaninov's Preludes.

A similar response to the performance in the symphony concert of Sergei Nakaryakov will be an evening of chamber music in the Small Philharmonic Hall on December 23, in which the musician will play the trumpet and flugelhorn. The music of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov will be performed, and the piano part will be performed by Maria Meerovich.

One of the central events of the Arts Square will be Maestro Temirkanov’s performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem. The concert with the participation of a brilliant quartet of soloists: soprano Dinara Aliyeva, mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova, bass Dmitry Beloselsky and Italian tenor Francesco Meli, as well as the Honored Ensemble of Russia, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic and the Bolshoi Theater Choir will take place on December 19 in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic.

The young Italian tenor Francesco Meli is at the top of his career - for example, last summer he acted as Anna Netrebko's partner in the production of Aida at the Salzburg Festival. On December 22, as part of the new tradition of the Place des Arts - a vocal evening in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic - Francesco Meli will perform works by Liszt, Wagner, Respighi, Puccini, Tosti. Piano part - Giulio Zappa (Italy).

Also as part of the festival, in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic on December 20, the famous Israeli violinist Pinchas Zuckerman and his trio will perform a chamber program: music by Chopin, Franck and Schubert will be performed.

The festival program includes a performance by another laureate of ECHO KLASSIK (2016). The GERMAN BRASS brass ensemble will appear at the Arts Square. They will perform in the Great Hall on December 16 the works of J. S. Bach and Christmas songs of the peoples of the world.

In the context of reviving the tradition of ballet evenings in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic, festival guests will be offered a special project by People's Artist of Russia Farukh Ruzimatov, who on December 23 will perform as a soloist in the fantasy “Pavane Moor” based on the plot of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello”.

A highlight for the whole family will be the exciting afternoon performance on December 17, which will combine the art of sand animation and the sound of the Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexei Nyaga.

As part of the Arts Square, the Mikhailovsky Theater will host the premiere screening of Rossini's comic opera The Barber of Seville, and the Russian Museum will present the most interesting exhibitions planned during the festival.

The largest music festival in the region will last from December 14 to 24 and will bring together in St. Petersburg the laureates of the ECHO KLASSIK award, which is considered the European equivalent of the Grammy, will include a performance by the outstanding pianist Evgeny Kissin, will present concerts dedicated to the anniversaries of Rodion Shchedrin and John Adams, and will give the public a meeting with the stars world music.

Founded by Yuri Temirkanov in 1999, the Arts Square festival unites not only various types of arts - its orbit traditionally includes the cultural institutions of St. Petersburg, located around the square that gave its name to the festival. Among the participants: Russian Museum, Mikhailovsky Theater, Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Savior on Spilled Blood), Musical Comedy Theater. The main part of the program is conducted in its halls by the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic named after D. D. Shostakovich.
“The Arts Square will once again gather
in St. Petersburg, musicians whom I love and appreciate. Every time it becomes a big and joyful event for me, it enhances that feeling of celebration,
in which, I think, many of us spend this first month of winter,” says Yuri Temirkanov, artistic director of the festival. - Now I understand that 18 years ago, when we were just starting, we could not even think that the project would have such a long and happy fate. It's nice to know that our colossal efforts were not wasted, and the festival has become a tradition. Today “Arts Square” is an integral part of the St. Petersburg cultural landscape and an event that attracts tourists to the city.”
The cross-cutting theme of this year’s Arts Square will be the anniversaries of outstanding composers. The festival will open on December 14 with a program of works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Igor Stravinsky, whose 135th birthday is being celebrated by the entire musical world. At the conductor's stand of the Honored Ensemble of Russia, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic, which is also celebrating its 135th anniversary this year, is maestro Yuri Temirkanov, the soloist is the outstanding pianist of our time, Evgeny Kisin.
The end of the festival will be marked by the honoring of our contemporary, composer Rodion Shchedrin, who will celebrate his 85th birthday
a few days before the concert date.
On December 24, a program from his compositions from different years will also be performed by the Honored Ensemble of Russia under the direction of maestro Yuri Temirkanov and Nikolai Alekseev, soloists Alexander Buzlov (cello) and Olesya Petrova (mezzo-soprano).
Reflection of anniversary evenings
in the Great Hall there will be a program at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Savior on Spilled Blood) on December 15, where the Concert Choir of St. Petersburg, under the direction of the artistic director and conductor of the group Vladimir Begletsov, will perform works a cappella by Stravinsky and Shchedrin.