"Our Tribute to the Maestro"

On August 24, the Honored Collective of Russia, the Dmitri Shostakovich Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, under the baton of the Philharmonic's principal conductor, People's Artist of Russia Nikolai Alexeev, concluded the Grand Summer Music Festival "Sirius". The program of the final concert was called "Our Tribute to the Maestro" and was dedicated to Yuri Temirkanov – an outstanding conductor who led the Honored Collective of Russia, one of the world's best orchestras, for 35 years. Conductors Alexander Sladkovsky and Alexei Nyaga took part in the festival's three other concerts, with tenor Vittorio Grigolo and violinist Pavel Milyukov performing as soloists.

The Sirius Educational Center and the Sirius Park of Science and Art were established by the Talent and Success Foundation on the basis of the Olympic infrastructure at the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. Hans-Joachim Frey, Artistic Director of the Talent and Success Foundation, emphasized that "the projects of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Honored Collective of Russia have a special status and are due to the personality of the outstanding conductor Yuri Temirkanov, who was at the origins of our Foundation." The Grand Summer Music Festival "Sirius" is the largest cultural event on the federal territory (from July 15 to August 24). This year it was held for the fourth time and once again became one of the country's largest events in terms of scale and lineup of participants.

This summer, Sirius hosted performances by Valery Gergiev with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra under Ivan Rudin, the Symphony Orchestra and soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre under Pavel Sorokin, the Symphony Orchestra "Philharmonia of the Nations" under Justus Franz, and the State Symphony Orchestra "Novaya Rossiya" under Yuri Bashmet. They featured brilliant pianist Denis Matsuev, cellist Sergei Roldugin, wonderful sopranos Elena Stikhina, Olga Peretyatko, Dinara Aliyeva, Albina Shagimuratova, and other musicians. Some performers presented new concert programs, promising to present them later in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The idea of uniting renowned musicians and young talented artists on the federal territory was put forward by virtuoso pianist Denis Matsuev, who traditionally presented his author's project "Crescendo" at Sirius. "I have been a happy witness to the emergence of all festivals on the territory of Sirius, I have seen how they develop, find 'their voice', and win their audience. Among them is the Grand Summer Festival. A huge audience comes to concerts in Sirius from all over the country and the world. The audience is attracted both by the significance of the place and the constellation of performers that the Sirius team manages to gather each time. Now, with the opening of the Main Stage and the Chamber Concert Hall, a new stage in the festival's development will begin. Our country will have two new concert venues of the highest level with stunning acoustics that allow for almost any program. The territory is also becoming a world cultural center with incredible opportunities. The format of open-air concerts, of course, must also be preserved so that the opportunity to experience classical music remains for the widest audience. There is nothing more beautiful than listening to great classical works performed by stars of classical art in the summer with a view of Medal Square, the Olympic Flame Stele, and the Fisht Stadium, where I performed Rachmaninoff's concerto at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in 2014," Denis Matsuev noted.

After completing a series of performances at the Grand Summer Music Festival "Sirius", the Honored Collective of Russia and the principal conductor of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Nikolai Alexeev, went to the city of Nalchik. Here, on August 27 and 28, the orchestra performed at the "Temirkanov Evenings". This is a traditional musical event of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic dedicated to the memory of its native, the world-famous conductor Yuri Temirkanov.