Russia to host music festival to honor eminent cellist

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilov

Russia's Voronezh Philharmonic Society will host the Voronezh Camerata Chamber Music Festival on October 3-9, Azernews reports via the festival's website.

The music festival will mark the 95th anniversary of the prominent cellist, People's Artist of the USSR Mstislav Rostropovich.

The festival's opening ceremony will feature a special poster exhibition "Mstislav Rostropovich. Dialogue with the master: about music, events, era".

All exhibits including letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings will be shown as part of the exhibition

A tour to memorable places linked with the Rostropovich family, a film screening as well a meeting with researchers who study the history of the Rostropovich dynasty will be organized as part of the festival.

Born in Baku, Mstislav Rostropovich premiered over 100 pieces and formed long-standing artistic partnerships with such prominent composers as Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiyev, Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutoslawski, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Norbert Moret, Andreas Makris, and Benjamin Britten.

Rostropovich is also well-known for his interpretations of standard repertoire works, including Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor, Haydn's Cello Concerto as well as Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto.

A Grammy Award winner was considered one of the leading conductors in the West. The musician won over 50 awards during his career.

Starting from 2007, a festival dedicated to the eminent musician is annually held in Azerbaijan.

The International Mstislav Rostropovich Festival in Baku gathers prominent public figures, representatives of diplomatic missions, famous cultural and art figures, and numerous fans of classical music.

The list of festival participants includes the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne (Switzerland), the St. Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theater of Boris Eifman (Russia), MunchenKlang Orchestra (Germany), Boris Berezovsky (piano), Sergey Krylov (violin), Efim Bronfman (piano), conductor Joshua Wallerstein and others.