The International Festival of Ancient and Modern Chamber Music has started in Polotsk

For 28 years, the International Festival of Ancient and Modern Chamber Music has been the creative symbol of spring in Polotsk. This year, it promises once again to be a significant event in the country's cultural life, bringing together outstanding performers from Germany, Poland, Estonia, Belgium, Finland, and Belarus.

– As always, we hope to delight even the most sophisticated listeners, to give the city's residents and guests unforgettable moments of encountering beauty, – noted Elena Martynova, head of the concert department of St. Sophia Cathedral.

She said that the festival is dedicated to the 330th anniversary of the birth of the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach. The music celebration opened at St. Sophia Cathedral on March 22. German organist Christoph Hauser conducted the chamber choir «Notabele» from Munich and the orchestra «Europe-Center» from Polotsk.

Another pleasant surprise awaits us on March 26 – the opening of the I Regional Children's Piano Competition «Bach and the 21st Century». 40 young talents from different cities of Belarus will be able to immerse themselves in the rich cultural traditions of the Polotsk land. The best of them will perform on March 28 on the stage of St. Sophia Cathedral together with Igor Olovnikov, Professor of the Belarusian State Academy of Music and People's Artist of Belarus. And on the day of the competition's opening, its participants and all lovers of piano music will be able to listen to 12 preludes and fugues by J.S. Bach performed by the jury's chairperson – the outstanding pianist, Professor of the Franz Liszt University of Music Weimar, Gerlinde Otto.

On April 2, lovers of classical music will enjoy the sound of a harpsichord, which has been given a new life as a result of recent restoration. The new capabilities of the instrument will be demonstrated by Ksenia Pogorelaya, soloist of the concert hall of St. Sophia Cathedral. She will perform together with the orchestra "Europe-Center" under the direction of Arsen Sadykov.

The evening of ancient romance needs no advertising and is popular with listeners. We can immerse ourselves in its cozy atmosphere on April 8: Honored Artist of Belarus, soloist of the National Academic Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Gromov and pianist Natalia Kotova will perform.

On April 17, the academic choir and symphony orchestra of Belteleradiocompany, under the direction of Estonian conductor Erki Pehk, will delight listeners with masterpieces by G. F. Handel, J. S. Bach, and F. Schubert.

A violin made by the great Italian master Nicolo Amati is promised to be heard in St. Sophia Cathedral on April 23. Tigran Mayseian, a renowned performer and professor at the Lemmens Institute in Belgium, will perform in Polotsk for the first time. He will play Antonio Vivaldi's four concertos "The Four Seasons" together with the chamber orchestra "Europe-Center", as well as original compositions.

On April 26, a concert for lovers of organ and vocal music will be held, performed by organist Julia Tamminen from Finland and soloist of Belgosfilarmoniya Tamara Remez.

The final chord of the festival will be the performance of a uniquely composed ensemble from Poland, "Duetto Matrimoniale". On April 28, professors of the Krakow Music Academy Barbara Łypik-Sobaniec (cello) and Tomasz Sobaniec (marimba, percussion) will perform works by contemporary composers.

Tickets for the festival concerts range from 80 to 160 thousand rubles. A season ticket for all nine musical events can be purchased at half the price.

Larisa Malashenya, "Vitebskiye Vesti"