MUSIC OF THE MAESTRO

Baku turned into the musical capital of the world for seven days. From 4 to 10 December, the 6th International Mstislav Rostropovich Festival was held on the best scenes of the capital. During these days, Baku brought together musicians from Italy, Russia, Great Britain, Lithuania and Azerbaijan. Baku residents and visitors were delighted with the magnificent performances of the Italian cellist Enrico Dindo, violinists Maksim Vengerov from Russia and Stephanie Gonley from Britain, and Russian trumpeter Michael Gayduk. The audience also heard the performances of the renowned English Chamber Orchestra, and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Sergey Krylov.

During the festival, listeners familiarized themselves with the art of three famous tenors - Italians Marco Berti and Piero Giuliacci and Bolshoi Theatre soloist Badri Maysuradze. The festival was held by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation for Cultural and Humanitarian Programmes

The opening of the event, which was attended by Azerbaijani Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Qarayev and the artistic director of the festival and president of the Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation, Olga Rostropovich, was held at the Heydar Aliyev Palace. The main purpose of the festival is to organize performances of world famous musicians in the homeland of Mstislav Rostropovich. Held annually in December on the initiative of the First Lady, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO Mehriban Aliyeva, the international festival is organized in our capital as a real music festival. According to the president of the Rostropovich Foundation, Olga Rostropovich, the holding of the International Music Festival in Baku was her father's dream. Having organized here in 2006 a festival dedicated to the centenary of the great Dmitriy Shostakovich, he laid the foundation of this good tradition. The International Rostropovich Festival, which has been held in the best concert halls and theatres of Baku since 2007, brings together outstanding performers from different countries. One of the traditions of the festival is also a performance by young talented musicians - successors to the Maestro.

The next day of the festival was marked by a wonderful performance by Italian cellist Enrico Dindo, of whom the Maestro said - "this is a great cellist, a real artist, with great sound flowing like beautiful Italian vocals". The programme of the Baku concert included works of Schumann, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich.

The conductor and violinist Sergey Krylov performed at the concert of the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, which was held at the Muslim Magomayev Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall on 6 December. He was born into a family of musicians in Moscow. At five, he began learning to play the violin, and at ten, he made his debut with a symphony orchestra performing in Russia, China, Finland and Germany. In his youth, the musician won the first prize in the Rodolfo Lipizer Prize Violin Competition. Sergey Krylov is cooperating with the most renowned orchestras, including the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of Mariinsky Theatre, the Dresden State Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, the Hessian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Frankfurt) and many others. Since 2009, Sergey Krylov has been the principal conductor of the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. His career was greatly influenced by Mstislav Rostropovich, with whom the violinist was closely acquainted and had repeatedly performed.

The festival included a performance by the Uzeyir Hacibayov Azerbaijan State Symphonic Orchestra at the Philharmonic Hall. The conductor was Fuad Ibrahimov and the soloist - Enrico

Dindo (cello, Italy). The programme included works of Shostakovich, Schumann and Tchaikovsky.

Enrico Dindo was born into a family of musicians in Italy. At six, he began studying the cello and then enrolled at Turin's Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory. In 1997, Dindo was awarded the first prize of the Mstislav Rostropovich Competition in Paris. After winning the competition, Enrico Dindo started actively giving concerts. He performed with such orchestras as the BBC Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the French National Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, with the conductors Mstislav Rostropovich, Riccardo Chailly, Aldo Ceccato and others.

Dindo participated in a number of festivals, including the Spring Festival in Budapest and Music Week in Stresa. In May 2002, the Italian Association of Music Critics awarded Enrico Dindo the Abbiati Prize as the best soloist of the season 1998-1999. In August 2004, he became the absolute winner of the sixth International Virtual Concert Hall Competition.

One of the highlights of the festival was the concert of three outstanding tenors - Italians Marco Berti, Piero Giuliacci and Bolshoi Theatre soloist Badri Maysuradze with a programme of the most famous pieces of world opera classics.

By tradition, the performing arts of Azerbaijan were also represented vividly. The festival opened with a performance by one of the best Azerbaijani pianist Murad Adigozalzada and the Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra. One of the most important traditions of the festival in Baku is the participation of young talented artists: this year it involved scholarship holders of the Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation, Aleksandr Malofeyev (piano) and Lizi Ramishvili (cello), and the Azerbaijan State Youth Symphony Orchestra, the idea of creating which belonged precisely to Mstislav Rostropovich in the past.

The finale of the festival was a concert by one of the world's best orchestras Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under direction of the Indian conductor Zubin Mehta. The programme of two nights included works of Beethoven, Verdi, Schubert, Dvorak, Rimsky-Korsakov and Hindemith. Zubin Mehta has already participated in the festival - in 2010, he was visiting with the Israel Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, which he heads. "It is hard to convey in words how exciting it is to perform at a festival in honour of my friend Slava. Even during his lifetime, he told me that I should definitely perform in Baku and visit the Atasgah temple of fire worshipers, which is still visited by pilgrims from my home country - India. Two years ago, I fulfilled his desire," Zubin Mehta confessed to R+.