MOSCOW MEETS FRIENDS 2019

For the 4th time young Dutch talents will participate in the yearly festival Moscow Meets Friends organized by the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation. 5 exceptionally talented artists from the Netherlands will perform on the big prestigious podia in Moscow – the Pushkin Museum and MMDM (Московский международный дом музыки), the Moscow International Performing Arts Center. They will also take part in the joint concert with the students of the Moscow Gnessin Special School of Music.

The Project

Moscow Meets Friends is the yearly international festival aimed to give the young talents from all over the world an exceptional opportunity to perform on the best concert stages of Moscow, the Moscow region and other Russian cities. It is organized by the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity foundation, established by one of Russia’s most celebrated conductors Vladimir Spivakov in May 1994. Since 2016, Dutch young talents regularly take part in the festival in Moscow.

This year, for the first time the Dutch participants will perform at the closing concert of the Festival. The cellist Andrej van Brakel will play a beautiful piece by P.I. Tchaikovsky – Nocturne d minor, as a soloist with the Lerman Chamber Orchestra. The dance group from Rotterdam School of Arts will present a Dutch folks “klompendans” dressed in colorful traditional costumes.

Next to these performances, a special concert will be organized in the Organ Hall of the Moscow Gnessin Special School of Music to celebrate their students’ long-standing cooperation with the Netherlands. This initiative takes the artistic collaboration between the Dutch and Russian young musicians one step further, strengthening the ties and reinforcing the musical friendships between them. This kind of concerts offers them another opportunity to work together and to learn from each other on an international level, enhances their individual artistic development and stimulates their international careers in a long-term sustainable way.

The concert at the Gnessin school brings on one stage the Russian and the Dutch Young talents who already performed together in the Netherlands. The program combines chamber ensembles and solo performances of all Gnessin students who took part in different joint project with their Dutch peers within the past year. The concert starts at 18:00 at the Organ Hall of the Gnessin Special School of Music and lasts till 19:30 without a break.

On Monday December 2nd Maria Pedano will perform at the State Museum of A. S. Pushkin. A unique talent with 2 professional specialties: as an oboist, she has various international prizes and awards to her name. And as a singer, she won the Concours de la Chanson Alliance Française, performed in Paris and on Dutch national television. Maria will play the virtuoso Allegro movement from Mozart’s Oboe Concerto in C-dur and sing her beloved “Moscow Nights” (Подмосковные вечера) in Russian.

The spectacular Closing concert of the festival will take place at one of the most prestigious concert halls of Moscow, the International Arts Performing Centre (MMDM, Московский Международный Дом Музыки). Cellist Andrej van Brakel with the Lerman Chamber Orchestra and the dance group from Rotterdam (Milliana Broeva, Milana Abnunazarova and Ekaterina Mavrina) will share the pódium with the winners of the International Nutcracker Contest, one of the most prestigious competitions for classical music in Russia broadcasted live on the RUSSIA-KULTURA Television Channel.

The Participants

Maria Pedano, 16 y.o. (oboe, voice)

Andrej van Brakel, 14 y.o. (cello)

Milliana Broeva, 11 y.o. (dance)

Ekaterina Mavrina, 10 y.o. (dance)

Milana Abnunazarova, 9 y.o. (dance)

Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation

The Foundation was established by one of Russia’s most celebrated conductors Vladimir Spivakov in May 1994. Its multi-faceted activities are dedicated to professional support of young talents in the sphere of the arts, and to providing favorable conditions for their creative growth. During the course of twenty-five years, over 10.000 concerts were organized; more than 1.100 artistic exhibitions held; 16 catalogues of young artists’ works published. Over 2.500 joung people received scholarships by the Foundation who are now taking part in the Foundation’s programs and becoming the prize-winners of international contests and festivals. More than 800 musical instruments have been donated; over 20.000 children received medical help. Funds have been allocated for medical examination of 300 people and assistance has been rendered in the performance of 111 complex surgeries.

Every year, the Foundation organizes master classes in Russia and abroad within the framework of the «Music Class» and «The Young to the Young» programs. One of its important initiatives was the establishment of the Volga Region Youth Symphony Orchestra. The Foundation’s largest and most significant project is the «Moscow Meets Friends» international festival, in which more than 20.000 children have taken part since 2004.