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To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian
composer Dmitri Shostakovich, this year’s festival will be devoted
to his music and that of his contemporaries.
The festival takes place in St. Petersburg, Russia, on St. Petersburg’s
famed Arts Square. 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.
Born on September 25, 1906 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Shostakovich
is one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, if not the
greatest. His prodigious work has endured. It served to define a
new era of Russian music, influenced many generations of musicians
and continues to excite audiences throughout the world.
Maxim Shostakovich, the son of Dmitri Shostakovich, will open the
festival conducting the great St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra,
in the Grand Hall of the Philharmonia. In this very hall, Shostakovich
stood on the stage, rehearsed, conducted and premiered some of his
most famous works. The festival is star-studded with some of the
greatest performers in the world. Maestro Yuri Temirkanov will conduct
and Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Vadim Repin, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Barbara
Hendricks, Vladimir Spivakov and his Moscow Virtuosi and Sayaka
Shoji are among the performers. The festival will also include an
evening of ballet.
The festival offers several events amid the 10 days of musical
presentations, including an exhibition and gala reception at the
State Russian Museum created exclusively for the festival, lavish
receptions for the opening and closing of the festival, which provide
opportunities for festival guests to mingle and to meet the guest
artists.
One of the social highlights of the festival is Maestro Temirkanov’s
New Year’s Eve Ball at the opulent Yusupov Palace. The evening lasts
from dusk until dawn, and includes an intimate concert in the private
Yusupov theatre, roaming through the palaces luxurious rooms, a
full seven course gourmet sit-down candlelight dinner, entertainment
throughout the night, dancing and a spectacular fireworks show in
the courtyard of the palace. It is a New Year’s Eve celebration
not to be missed.
Our partner and host hotel, the Grand Hotel Europe will provide
luxurious accommodations and gracious service. Located directly
across the street from the Grand Hall of the Philharmonia, it is
ideally situated on Arts Square for the artists and guests of the
festival.
So, welcome to Peter the Great’s magnificent “Window on the West”
and to the Seventh International Winter Festival Arts Square.
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