III INTERNATIONAL SERGEY RACHMANINOFF
WHITE LILAC FESTIVAL
July 6-13
The White Lilac International Festival is dedicated to Sergey Raсhmaninoff. The composer visited Kazan two times (in 1910 and 1916), when inspecting musical institutions. He was in friendly terms with Shalyapin. There is a version that the Rachmaninoffs have some Tatar roots. Thus, there are three reasons for this Festival to be founded in Kazan.
Owing to D. Matsuev’s recommendation, the White Lilac Festival was visited by Alexander Rachmaninoff Conus (1933-2012), the President of the Rachmaninoff Foundation and Rachmaninoff’s grandson, who was very much delighted to be the Honoured President of the Festival and take part in the repertoire policy of the Orchestra. Beside the concerts, they managed to restore the memorial desk at the City Hall (the former Nobility Assembly), where in the Pillard Hall Rachmaninoff gave two concerts, and to establish the Walk of the White Lilac at the Liberty Square.
In May 2011, at the First Festival the Orchestra played Rakhmaninov’s First andSecond Piano concertos (with Ramzi Yassa and Boris Berezovsky), his First andSecond symphonies, Spring Cantata, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (with Denis Matsuev), and the Rite of Spring of I. Stravinsky. And a year later, the Second Festival was marked by all four piano concertos of Rakhmaninoff (with Dmitry Maiboroda, Polina Osetinskaya, Nikolay Lugansky, Sean Botkin), the Isle of the Dead, Symphonic Dances, etc.
|
