The Vrubel cycle opens with a story about the artist's wife and muse, the wonderful singer Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel. For  Rachmaninoff wrote inspirational romances for her, specially created roles in Rimsky-Korsakov's operas.  She was one of the best performers of the part of Tamara in Rubinstein's opera The Demon based on Lermontov's poem, which played a crucial role in Vrubel's life.  Pianist Alexander Ghindin will perform miniatures by Sergei Rachmaninov, a friend of the Vrubel family. The composer's three piano masterpieces will become the key to the musical perception of Vrubel's pictorial masterpiece “After the Concert. Portrait  N.I. Zabely-Vrubel at the fireplace ”(1905). Watch the first part of the concert and read more about M. Vrubel's painting and S. Rachmaninov's music.  

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The combination of expression and melancholy, so characteristic of Vrubel's work, was clearly manifested in his canvas Lilac, to which the second part of the concerto is dedicated. The riot of colors and rhythm, conveyed by the artist's enchanted gaze, find their continuation in the music, which will be performed by violinist Nikita Borisoglebsky, violist Andrey Usov and cellist Boris Andrianov. The masterpieces of Franz Schubert will be performed - a serene one-part trio in the spirit of Mozart, and Jean Sibelius - an expressive  at the beginning and melancholy at the end, the trio will lead the listener through labyrinths of unpredictable emotional shades. The history of the creation of these musical trios and the canvas "Lilac", as well as the second part of the concert here .

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In the third part of the concert, we again return to the muse of the artist Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel.  One of the most famous works of Vrubel is the canvas "The Swan Princess". It was created by the master  in 1900 during his work on the artistic design of the opera by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov based on the Tale of Tsar Saltan by A.S. Pushkin. The part of the Swan Princess was written by the composer especially for Vrubel's wife. Works from the repertoire of Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel against the backdrop of a picturesque masterpiece will be performed by soloist of the Mariinsky Theater Albina Shagimuratova, a singer with a unique dramatic coloratura, an inimitable timbre of her voice and the highest skill. One of the most refined Moscow pianists Yakov Katsnelson was invited to accompany the singer.  Listen to the third part of the project and read more about the painting "The Swan Princess" by M. Vrubel and the work of his wife N. Zabela-Vrubel.

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The fourth part of the project is devoted to the theme of the demon - one of the central ones in Vrubel's work, which played a big role in his fate. A peculiar result of reflections on it is the painting "Demon Downtrodden". The story of the painting precedes the performance of the masterpiece of the 20th century French composer Darius Milhaud - Suite from the music to the play Passenger Without Baggage by Jean Anouilh, written in Paris in 1936 and absorbing a variety of musical influences, from baroque and classicism to Latin American rhythms and jazz . The suite will be performed by virtuoso violinist Graf Murzha, one of the world's few concert solo clarinetists Igor Fedorov and a paradoxical pianist with a real gift for improvisation Andrey Gugnin.  Watch the fourth part and read the story about the picture and music.

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Every year the festival ends with a program that expands the boundaries of chamber music. Vivarte Online remains true to this tradition. Jazz trumpeter Vadim Eilenkrig and double bassist Armen Mkrtychyan offer a fresh look at one of the most famous hits in the world - Joaquin Rodrigo's Aranjuez Concerto, a kind of musical symbol of Spain. The Adagio from the concert will appear in a new sound against the backdrop of Vrubel's painting "Spain" - an amazing canvas inspired by a country in which the artist has never been, but whose originality was imbued with the opera "Carmen" by G. Bizet that delighted him.  Watch the fifth part and read the story about the picture and music.

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This year, Yamaha Music, a permanent partner of the festival, provided a large concert grand piano Bösendorfer 280 Vienna Concert.

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Artistic director:  Boris Andrianov 

Festival President:  Iveta Manasherova

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