A Tribute to Galina Vishnevskaya
IV MSTISLAV ROSTROPOVICH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
March 27 – April 2, 2013
The Gala Opening of the IVth International Mstislav Rostropovich Festival will take place in Moscow onMarch 27. The Festival was established three years ago by the Moscow City Government and the M.L. Rostropovich Foundation of Cultural and Humanitarian programmes under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
The Festival that has become an integral part of Russian cultural life in the shortest time specifically avoids the words “in Memory of” or “In the Name of” Rostropovich, a fact that carries great symbolic significance. As the festival’s Artistic Director, Olga Rostropovich has emphasised, Maestro Rostropovich always remains with us in spirit, with his many admirers, family, friends, colleagues and former pupils. During the Festival, one could say that Mstislav Rostropovich’s presence can be tangibly sensed in the hall. This is why, in Olga Rostropovich’s words, “the single most important aspect of the artistic concept behind the festival lies in programming works of the highest quality in the best interpretations.”
The 2013 Mstislav Rostropovich Festival is dedicated to the great Russian singer Galina Vishnevskaya, the Founder and the Artistic Director of the Opera Centre. During half a century of musical partnership, the two great musicians, Vishnevskaya and Rostropovich set an unprecedented standard of committed service to each other, to Art and to People.
The opening date of the International Mstislav Rostropovich Festival is permanently fixed as 27th March, Maestro’s birthday. It will be marked by a performance at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem, a work which occupied a seminal place in Galina Vishnevskaya’sand Maestro Rostropovich’s artistic career. Participating in the opening concert are the outstanding singers Tatiana Serjan (soprano), Veronica Simeoni (mezzo), Achilles Machado (tenor), Riccardo Zanellato (bass) and the choir and orchestra of the TeatroComunale of Bologna under the direction of Michele Mariotti.
Further events in the Festival include performances by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra under Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Maris Jansons, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (London) under Charles Dutoit, the English Chamber Orchestra under Paul Watkins. They will be joined by such world-renowned soloists as the guitarist Pepe Romero (Spain), the pianist Stephen Hough (UK) and the cellist ArtoNoras (Finland).