AND BACK TO BAKU

The  only international music festival bear the name of the distinguished cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich was held in Baku from 12 to 19 December. The idea of organizing this musical forum  national leader Heydar Aliyev, who was a friend of the musician and loved his work. Our capital has since 2007 and this time the festival was one of the most colourful events of the year, with many distinguished performers and was a meeting place for young talented musicians. The fourth Rostropovich International Music Festival was organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

This year's festival attracted a wealth of star names as its guests. Our country was also honourably represented, as epitomised by the very first concert - the grand opening of the festival, which was timed to coincide with 12 December - Heydar Aliyev Memorial Day. Olga Rostropovich, the maestro's daughter and head of the Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation, said that in this way the organizers had decided to honour the memory of two distinguished individuals at the same time. The Azerbaijani State Children's and Youth Symphony Orchestra also played in the concert. Olga Rostropovich said it was her father's wish to set up this orchestra and, for their part, the young musicians proved they were worthy of the honour.

The festival gave the people of Baku and visitors to the capital the opportunity to see in the flesh one of the legends of  world cinema, the leading French actor Gerard Depardieu. Before the performance of "Carmen" at the Azerbaijani State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet he read extracts from  Prosper Merimee's "Carmen". Georges Bizet's "Carmen" - a full-scale production directed by Ivan Popovski - was performed by soloists of the Galina Vishnevskaya Operatic Theatre. The main roles were performed by leading international prize-winning vocalists Alina Shakirova (Carmen), Oleg Dolgov (Don Jose), Anastasia Privoznova (Micaela) and our compatriot and soloist of the Russian State Academic Bolshoi Theatre, Elcin Azizov (Escamillo). The performance was led by the celebrated Russian conductor, Yaroslav Tkalenko.

Here there were no turbulent, seething passions, unconventional heroes or the heat and colour of Spain. It was all very restrained and cultured; the drama was conveyed by the cast not so much with the supernatural, but rather as a statement about the unpredictability of life itself. Incidentally, the festival programme included a meeting between Gerard Depardieu and the Minister of Youth and Sport, Abdulfaz Garayev, at which they discussed the prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijani and French cinema. The minister suggested that the distinguished actor should play one of the main roles in a film about the great French writer, Alexander Dumas; filming starts next year in Azerbaijan.

Rostopovich's connection with Baku was symbolized by the participation of Azerbaijani musicians in the festival, in particular the younger element. One can imagine how much they learned from the vibrant playing of Yuriy Bashmet and Natalya Gutman, not to mention the master-class given by Maksim Vengerov, a pupil of Rostropovich. The performance by children in the second part of the philharmonic concert on 17 December was a real highlight of the festival, a symbol of the link between generations. Vengerov's wonderful idea to distribute the parts of Edouard Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole for violin and orchestra between five children made it a real parade of young talent. Incidentally, all of them showed true artistry and great ability.

The third day of the festival saw a performance by Yuriy Bashmet, the Art Director of the Moscow Soloists chamber orchestra, who takes part in this festival of music every year. In the first part we heard the symphony for violin and viola with orchestra composed by Mozart in Salzburg in 1779. All three parts of the symphony were typically rousing, prepared down to the last detail and uniformly organic. Franz Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata for viola and string orchestra, arranged by R.Balashov, was heard for the first time in Baku. The work, written by Schubert in 1824, was a tribute to the fascination with the arpeggione which was a fashionable instrument in the 1820s after being developed by the Viennese maestro Johann Georg Staufer. Schubert wrote the sonata for arpeggione and piano - probably the only well-known work written for this "strange" (as he once described it) instrument. The sonata is now performed for cello or viola and piano. The second part of the concert began with Schubert's "Death and the Maiden", arranged by G.Mahler. The history of this composition is proof that the art of music, in all its historical development, is a unique, single process, beyond time and ethnic origin. The four parts of the work are linked by a single line of development whose peculiarities originate in the primary source - the poem "Death and the Maiden" by Matthias Claudius, written in the form of a dialogue. Man and destiny - that is how one might define the idea behind this work. The concept of optimism is emphasized by setting it in a major key, the victory of the human spirit over death. The rousing ovation from the delighted audience kept the orchestra on stage for a long time. Taking a bow for the umpteenth time, Yuriy Bashmet said: "We shall now endeavour to show you how these celebrated composers 'react' to one and the same theme". Then the orchestra played the popular song "Happy Birthday" in strict choral harmony, close to the sound of Bach.

The fourth Rostropovich International Festival closed with a concert by the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) under the baton of conductor Zubin Mehta, and a performance by the celebrated pianist Rudolf Buchbinder. The closing ceremony, which was attended by Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Qarayev, the pianist Murad Adigozelzada, film director Eldar Guliyev and many other celebrated personalities, was held on 19 December at the Heydar Aliyev Palace.

In his opening address the maestro noted that "he had learnt a great deal from the great Slava Rostropovich", whom he had known as a friend for many years. Brahms' violin concerto with both Pinchas Zukerman and Zubin Mehta was an example of that unity between soloist and orchestra when one no longer thinks about the interpretation, but one simply listens to the music and is enwrapped from first note to last. Accompanied by Buchbinder, the orchestra played the overture from Ludwig van Beethoven's "Egmont" and concerto No 5 for piano and orchestra. Buchbinder works with the celebrated Berlin and Vienna Philharmoni orchestras, the National Orchestra of France, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and many others. He attaches particular importance to a thorough study of musical sources. The pianist's performance received prolonged applause and even the conductor himself was heard to cry "Bravo!" from time to time. In the second part of the concert the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra played music from Igor Stravinskiy's ballet "The Rite of Spring".