Dear friends,
Welcome to the Sixth Edition of the Northern Flowers.
We’re happy that you are with us again. We’re happy that we can invite you to a breathtaking musical journey again. And we're happy that you like the kind of music we know and love.
The VI Northern Flowers International Chamber Music Festival has a Norwegian accent. And there are several reasons for this.
First of all, Norway is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its independence in 2005. But what’s the most important, music in that country is not just an integral part of the national culture, but also an essential component of national, governmental policy. The country enjoys a very abundant and diversified musical life, and many excellent musicians. We have invited a few bright stars of Norway's musical constellation to Petersburg, and the festival program contains many works by Edvard Grieg and other remarkable Norwegian composers.
Havard Gimse, despite his young age, has already proved to be one of Scandinavia’s leading performers. The pianist has become Norway's cultural plenipotentiary abroad. On his tour schedule are appearances at the world's best venues. In Petersburg, the musician will perform masterpieces of piano culture of several epochs and styles, and in particular, works by Norwegian authors that can seldom be heard in this country.
The Trio in a Fjord performs primarily Norwegian music. The musicians will present to music lovers of Petersburg an amazingly fresh and unexpected look at the national classics, folklore, and traditions of that part of Europe inimitable in its austere beauty. The trio will perform at the festival twice, in the mirror splendor of the White Room of Sheremetiev Palace and on the Philharmonic stage.
Young Petersburg singer Lyudmila Shkirtil will appear at the Festival in a recital. She has already won serious recognition by audiences and reviewers of many European countries. We are sure that her refined program of opuses of Grieg and Tchaikovsky will satisfy the most demanding music lovers. Her concert will be in the Raphael Gallery of Mikhailovsky Castle.
The Vilnius String Quartet, one of the most famous European quartets, is coming to our festival for the second time. This is an ensemble of greatest performing abilities. The creative efforts of the Vilnius String Quartet for several decades has opened a new era in Lithuania's cultural life, and we are happy to honor the guests from Vilnius with the stage of the M.I. Glinka Hall of the Philharmonic.
The LEGE ARTIS Chamber Choir led by Boris Abalian has become a regular feature of concerts produced by the Northern Flowers Musical Alliance, be it as part of the traditional autumn festival or at any other time of the year. The renowned Petersburg's choral ensemble is known for its striving for perfection and quest, and for its interesting programs. This is congenial to us, this surely meets the artistic criteria of the Northern Flowers, and we are satisfied with our long-time productive friendship.
The Festival’s Gala Concert — just as in previous years — will treat us to an ample palette of musical attitudes and styles. It is one of the core traditions of the Northern Flowers; it is the concert around which the festival is built. There are no indifferent people in the house at the last night's event, its program features many interesting numbers, and musicians from different countries get a unique chance to communicate and play together onstage.
We’ll be waiting for you at the festival concerts. See you soon!