The Gergiev Festival in Mikkeli 2009

Alexei Volodin for the first time at the Gergiev Festival in Mikkeli

The 18th Mikkeli Music Festival, the 17th run by famous conductor VALERY GERGIEV, will start on the 29th of June. Last year's festival was the most successful after it was taken over by Maestro Gergiev in 1993. Before the start of the ticket sales 75 % of them were already pre-booked, and when the festival began, all concerts have been sold out.

This year's festival has a wide variety of works, reaching from "Popular Classics" like Tchaikovsky's Pathétique and Mussorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition to Olivier Messiaen's L'Ascension. In memory of Finland's great bass singer Martti Talvela, who died 20 years ago, there will be a Memorial Concert with music by Wagner, Hindemith, Bartók and Sibelius. World-famous viola virtuoso Yuri Bashmet will be the soloist in this concert. Other soloists will be the pianists Alexander Toradze (Stravinsky, Shostakovich), the violinist Sergey Khachatryan (Brahms) and the duo Miroslav Kultyshev (piano) / Sergey Roldugin (cello).

For the first time young Russian pianist Alexei Volodin will appear at the Gergiev Festival who this season performed together with Maestro Gergiev in more than 30 concerts all-over the world. With Beethoven's Emperor Concerto he will play one of the most popular concertos of the piano literature.

Also for the first time we welcome the Finnish tenor Tuomas Katajala, one of the most uprising Finnish singers. After a long absence back - guitar player Petri Kumela. 15 years old pianist (and composer) Johannes Piirto will be the soloist in a concerto, which was written by Ferrucio Busoni, when he was 12 years old. In this concert the Mikkeli String Orchestra is led by American conductor Gavriel Heine.

With one exception all concerts take place in Mikkeli. In the Hirvensalmi Church Yuri Bashmet and his Moscow Soloists play music by Schubert and Shostakovich.

Ticket sales start on 1st March 2009.

Peter Schünemann
Artistic Advisor Gergiev Festival Mikkeli

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