By Yevgeny Dovlatov
According to the Symphony Orchestra’s artistic leader and chief conductor, Alexander Anisimov, several other jubilee dates are also being celebrated: the 200th anniversary of the births of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner and the 100th anniversary of the births of Benjamin Britten and Witold Lutoslawski, as well as the 125th anniversary of the birth of Heitor Villa-Lobos.
“Throughout the season, our orchestra will be performing Beethoven. All Symphonies and Instrumental Concerts, which always arouse interest among classical music lovers. Moreover, we plan to invite guest conductors and talented soloists to perform with us,” notes Mr. Anisimov. A successful foreign tour to Japan earlier this year (for the first time) has led to other interesting proposals, leading to a tough tour schedule for the coming season. The Orchestra will be travelling to Lithuania, Italy, the UK and Russia, as well as touring Belarus. The season is to open at the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society on September 20th, with a premiere of a work by the Belarusian composer, alongside a classical piece. As is traditional, a soloist will be involved in the concert.
The first section is dedicated to Andrey Mdivani, whose 75th anniversary is being celebrated with a performance of his La Peau de Chagrin ballet (with libretto by Belarusian playwright Alexey Dudarev). Yanka Kupala Theatre actors will be taking part. A leader and soloist of the Orchestra, Honoured Artiste of Belarus Yulia Stefanovich (violin), will perform Charles-Camille Saint-Saens’ Havanese and the programme will end with Piotr Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini symphonic poem, amply allowing the Orchestra to show its skill. Afterwards, the same programme will be performed in Lithuania.
