The XII International winter festival "Arts Square"14 December 2011 - 25 December 2011 SCHEDULE 14 December 2011 - 25 December 2011
The festival takes place in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the famed Arts Square in
the heart of the city. This magnificent square designed by Italian architect
Carlo Rossi is home to the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, the State Russian
Museum, the Mussorgsky Theatre, the Ethnographic Museum and the Grand Hotel
Europe. Presiding over it all is the imposing monument of Alexandre Pushkin,
Russia’s most famous bard.
The XII International Winter Festival "Arts
Square", will be held from December 14 – 25, 2011. The atmosphere of one of
the most European of Russian cities complements this year’s program which
represents the European classics.
Traditionally, the festival participants are the star performers of the
musical world linked with Maestro Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg Philharmonia
by longtime creative and friendly ties. However, the festival also presents new
names: this year’s "Arts Square" will once again see the return of John Lill and
Yefim Bronfman, Natalia Gutman and Elisso Virsaladze. On the other hand, for the
first time, St. Petersburg will hear Leo Nucci and Roberto Aronika, Giuseppe
Albanese and Aimi Kobayashi. December 14, 2011 – December 25, 2011 St. Petersburg, Russia
Maestro Yuri Temirkanov, Artistic Director
This
is the twelfth year of “Art’s Square”, our International Winter Festival. I can
say with pride that over this entire period the Festival has maintained the
highest standards. Our programme, as in previous years, is once again centered
on concerts given by outstanding Russian and foreign musicians, in both the
Great Hall and the Small Hall of the St.Petersburg Philharmonia. We have also
been careful to preserve the Festival’s special St.Petersburg
atmosphere. Each of our artistic partners – the Russian Museum, the
Mikhailovsky Theater, the Grand Hotel Europa and the Theater of Musical Comedy –
will bring their own inimitable colours to the Festival programme. This
year the festival is not devoted to any single theme, even though its most
extensive project is assossiated with the year of Italy in Russia – namely, the
visit of the Teatro Regio di Parma. As usual, both world-renowned musicians and
new talents will be gracing the Festival with their presence. I’m grateful to
all our performers, partner organizations, sponsors and audiences. It is thanks
to each and every one of you that the Festival has become an important cultural
event in St.Petersburg
With all best wishes, Yuri
Temirkanov
The XII International Winter Festival "Arts Square", will be held
from December 14 – 25, 2011.
The atmosphere of one of the most European of Russian cities complements this
year’s program which represents the European classics.
The Year of Italy in Russia will be greatly enhanced by the tour of the Royal
Theatre of Parma, which will bring an exclusively Italian quintet of main
protagonists, headed by the unsurpassed Leo Nucci from Giuseppe Verdi’s homeland
to perform “Rigoletto”, with the exciting young Italian Andrea Battistoni
conducting.
The second program presented by the Royal Theatre of Parma is Verdi's
“Requiem” - a landmark work, a culmination of the composer’s operatic creative
genius – will be performed by international soloists, with Yuri Temirkanov
conducting.
The representation of Italian musicians will continue in a recital by a
baroque ensemble, the "I Solisti Veneti", with soloist Olga Balashova and the
debut in the Small Hall of the philharmonia of one of the most promising young
pianists - Giuseppe Albanese.
The main events of the festival take place at the St. Petersburg
Philharmonia, and the resident orchestra that carries the greatest load during
the festival is the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. The oldest symphony
orchestra of Russia will perform at the festival twice under the baton of its
Chief Conductor, Yuri Temirkanov, with programs devoted to Brahms and Beethoven.
In the third program, the orchestra celebrates the Year of Spain in Russia,
under the well-known Spanish conductor J. Lopez-Cobos, who for many years has
headed the Teatro Real, Madrid.
Guests of the festival will be the oldest orchestra in Switzerland - Lucerne
Symphony - under its Chief Conductor James Gaffigan, the Mariinsky Theatre
Orchestra under Valery Gergiev and the renowned chamber orchestra "Soloists of
Venice." The parade of orchestras will be complemented by the St. Petersburg
Academic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Dmitriev.
Traditionally, the festival participants are the star performers of the
musical world linked with Maestro Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg Philharmonia
by longtime creative and friendly ties. However, the festival also presents new
names: this year’s "Arts Square" will once again see the return of John Lill and
Yefim Bronfman, Natalia Gutman and Elisso Virsaladze. On the other hand, for the
first time, St. Petersburg will hear Leo Nucci and Roberto Aronika, Giuseppe
Albanese and Aimi Kobayashi.
Partners of "Arts Square" will enhance the festival with their own respective
projects: the Mikhailovsky Theatre is preparing the premiere of the classical
"Sleeping Beauty" staged by one of the most interesting choreographers, Nacho
Duato; the Russian Museum will open with the new exhibition halls of "Russian
art of the 10’s – 40’s", and the Grand-Hotel Europe will extend its traditional
hospitality to the guests and participants of the festival.
The International Winter Festival - "Arts Square" - emerged at the
turn of the millennium, on the initiative of Maestro Temirkanov, artistic
director of the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic, named after D.D.
Shostakovich, and Chief Conductor of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
The first festival was held in 1999 and since then, every year in December, the
Arts Square lights up with “Arts Square", uniting the Philharmonic, Mikhailovsky
Theatre, the Operetta Theatre, the Russian Museum and the Grand Hotel Europe in
a unique cultural project.
As conceived by Maestro Temirkanov,
Festival "Arts Square" hearkens back and revives the societal traditions of the
winter season in St. Petersburg of the XIX century. In the summer it was
customary to leave St. Petersburg, and all cultural and social life in this city
occurred precisely in the winter, around the holidays of New Year and Christmas.
Society receptions, balls, theaters and concerts, opened their doors to the
public who gathered at this time in the city.
The XII International Winter
Festival "Arts Square", which by now has become a tradition, will be held from
December 14 – 25, 2011. It will open with a concert
of works by Ludwig van Beethoven, performed by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic
Orchestra under Yuri Temirkanov. The soloist will be the well-known British
pianist, John Lill.
This time, the festival will be
linked thematically to the Year of Italy in Russia. For Y. Temirkanov, artistic
director of the festival and Chief Conductor of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic
Orchestra, the theme of the festival, associated with Italian art, is marked
above all by an opportunity to bring the orchestra and chorus of the Opera
Theatre of Parma, where Maestro is the musical director from 2008 - 2013, to St.
Petersburg. During the festival, the musicians of this theater will perform
Verdi's opera “Rigoletto” in concert form. The main role of Rigoletto will be
performed by an surpassed Leo Nucci – the best performer of this role today.
Another major project of the festival will be Verdi's “Requiem” with the
orchestra and chorus of Opera Theatre of Parma and an international array of
soloists. In this form, “Requiem” will be performed in October, during the
autumn festival of Verdi’s music in Parma.
The Year of Spain in Russia will be
marked by the arrival of renowned Spanish conductor, J. Lopez-Cobos, who for
many years headed the Teatro Real Madrid and has performed with many renowned
orchestras. Under his baton, on 21 December, the Honored Russian Symphony
Orchestra will perform a program of Spanish music. Also the Concerto for Cello
by Dvorak, with soloist Natalia Gutman will be performed. The next day, the
famous cellist will perform chamber music programs in the ensemble to Eliso
Virsaladze. In honor of the 65th anniversary of the
resumption of diplomatic relations between Russia and Switzerland, the oldest
orchestra in Switzerland – the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra - will arrive in St.
Petersburg. Under the direction of its Chief Conductor James Gaffigan, the
orchestra will present a program of works by Rihm, Brahms and Liszt. The soloist
will be one of the brightest contemporary pianists - Nicholas Angelich.
The
concert will include the Russian premiere of a new work by a contemporary
musical classic - Wolfgang Rihm. The Hall will host a conference devoted to the
work of the composer and the developmental paths of modern music, which will be
attended by a well-known musicologist, Mark Sattler, as well as young St.
Petersburg musicologists and composers.
A unique musical and artistic
project will be presented in the Great Hall by Michael Rudy: a pianist who
created an original video-score, based on the watercolors by Kandinsky, on
"Pictures at an Exhibition" by Mussorgsky. The project has already been
presented in Paris (where the artist’s original watercolors, dedicated to a
cycle by Mussorgsky, are stored in the Centre Pompidou) and now it is the turn
of the St. Petersburg premiere. The second Philharmonic orchestra –
the Academic Symphony Orchestra under the Chief Conductor Alexander Dmitriev,
will present a Russian-Italian program of works by Respighi, Rachmaninoff and
Mendelssohn. The soloist is a young, but already widely acclaimed pianist in the
world, currently living in Germany - Igor Tchetuev. The
Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra will perform at the festival under the baton of its
artistic director, Valery Gergiev, closing the year with a Mahler program.
The festival will culminate, on 25
December, with a concert of works by Brahms. With Yuri Temirkanov conducting,
the program will consist of the Second Piano Concerto and the Second Symphony.
Soloist - Yefim
Bronfman.
The
D.D.Shostakovich St.Petersburg Academic Philharmonia The Maestro Temirkanov
International Foundation for Cultural Initiatives Grand Hotel Europe The
Russian Museum The Mikhailovsky theatre The Saint-Petersburg theatre of
Musical comedy The Russian Museum of Ethnography
The Festival is
supported by The Ministry of Culture of The Russian Federation The
Committee for Culture of St. Petersburg
SCHEDULE 14 December 2011 - 25 December 2011
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