St. Petersburg International Economic Forum
St. Petersburg International Economic Forum
04/18/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/18/2024 03:27
The Russian orchestra performed in Rome
The Russian orchestra performed in Rome
Musicians of the St. Petersburg Governor's Symphony Orchestra performed in Rome as part of a joint Russian-European orchestra at an opera and symphony gala concert. The concert was organized by the Roscongress Foundation together with the Art Bridge Fund.
"We were very pleased to support a gala concert in the Italian capital that featured magnificent Russian musicians. Music has no borders. It is capable of touching the hearts of listeners from the most diverse corners of the world. The participation of musicians from the Governor's Orchestra embellished and strengthened the united group of musicians, and the concert programme allowed the audience to "visit" a variety of musical coordinates. The Roscongress Foundation will continue its international activities in support of cultural projects. "Building bridges", preserving and developing humanitarian ties is especially necessary today, and SPIEF 2024 will continue with this mission at the St. Petersburg Seasons festival," said Alexander Stuglev, Chairman and CEO of the Roscongress Foundation.
The performance took place on 13 April at the St. Teresa's Catholic Church and was recorded by Italian television network EWTN.
The orchestra included performers from Russia, Italy, Germany, France, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and Austria. The musicians performed famous classical compositions: Western composers of the past were represented by fragments from the operas of Handel, Verdi, Mascagni and Bizet, while the Russian tradition was heard in the works of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov.
Soloists from Germany, USA, Israel, Palestine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and African countries performed with the orchestra. Russia was represented by a celebrated saxophonist Igor Butman, People's Artist of the Russian Federation.
A special highlight of the evening was the joint performance of Sergei Prokofiev's oratorio "On Guard for Peace" together with the mixed St. Nicholas Cathedral choir from Vienna. The music of two national composers from Armenia and Azerbaijan was no less spectacular: following Aram Khachaturian's prayerful "Invention", the orchestra together with soprano Mara Guseynova performed a mournful vocalization from Fikret Amirov's ballet "One Thousand and One Nights". At the end of the concert, famous compositions were played: Porgy's song from Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" and the romantic duet from Bernstein's "West Side Story".
The St. Petersburg Governor's Symphony Orchestra became the first Russian orchestra to perform in Europe in recent years.
"I am very proud that we could manage to hold such a concert in this time in Rom. It's shows that music unites and bring many artists from different countries peacefully together", - said by author and artistic director of the project Hans - Joachim Frey - Funder of the Art Bridge Fundand artistic director of the Sirius Foundation "Talent and success".