Virtuosos of the planet

The 3rd Virtuosos of the Planet Festival, initiated by the International Charitable Fund of the Vladimir Horowitz Competition, has just ended in Kyiv. This annual festival is supported by the Kyiv City State Administration and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine.

The festival consisted of a series of three concerts featuring prize-winning musicians from different countries. In 2004 the International Vladimir Horowitz Competition became a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions whose raison d’etre is to facilitate the careers of talented young musicians.

Ukraine’s two largest orchestras – the Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine (artistic director and conductor: Mykola Diadiura) and the National Academic Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine conducted by Volodymyr Sirenko — accompanied the performances of the participating soloists. Below, Yuri Zilberman, the president of the International Charitable Fund of the Vladimir Horowitz Competition, talks about the special features of the Virtuosos of the Planet-2008 Festival.

The idea of the project is to introduce the world’s finest young musicians, first-prize-winners of top international competitions, to the Ukrainian public. What is unique is that these virtuosos are performing within the framework of a single festival. Some countries are planning to borrow this idea from Ukraine.

Our festival is also unique because of the variety of featured instruments. This year Kyiv welcomed trombonist Fabrice Millischer from France and trumpeter Francisco Flores from Venezuela. Unlike pianists and violinists, trombonists and trumpeters rarely perform solo. We also welcomed organist Petr Cech from the Czech Republic, viola player Junichiro Murakami from Japan, cellist Sergei Antonov from Russia, and pianist Jue Wang from China.

“Unfortunately, the French violinist Fanny Clamagirand could not perform because of health problems. French harpist Emmanuel Ceysson also had to decline for health reasons. His substitute was the Russian harpist Sofia Kiprskaya from St. Petersburg, who performed the Concerto for Harp and Orchestra by the German composer Albert Zabel. Amazingly, this work had its premiere in Kyiv more than a hundred years ago! Since that time this work has never been performed in our country. Kiprskaya’s performance at the Virtuosos of the Planet Festival in Kyiv can thus be considered a historic one.

Among the other works that were performed at the festival were Edward Elgar’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ and Orchestra, the seldom performed Concerto no. 2 for Piano and Orchestra by Prokofiev, Paul Hindemith’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, and two concertos by Henri Tomasi, one for trombone and one for trumpet and orchestra, the notes to which two were sent to us by the composer’s son.

What difficulties did you face while organizing the festival?

We exchanged letters with organizing committees of the most famous music competitions for 300 days. Thanks to their collaboration, we were able to invite top musicians. If we had invited them through concert agencies, every performance would have cost between 5,000 and 7,000 Euros, which exceeds our means. In my opinion, the performances by young international stars were a great success and a notable event for Kyiv, since our audiences are not spoiled by plenty of top-level academic concerts.

You should have seen the audience crammed into the hall of the National Philharmonic. The spectators were on their feet applauding, and the musicians eagerly played encores.

All the participating musicians are excellent performers, multiple prize winners, and they have a lot of concert and touring experience. The word “virtuosos” in the title of the festival refers not only to the highest class of professional performance but also to the profound understanding of the composers’ unsurpassed craftsmanship, which does not exist in the world of arts without the highest artistic level and creative activity. Let me paraphrase Rubinstein: “Virtuosity is not just the movement of a finger but the movement of the soul.”

The great success of this music event has proved that, thanks to the Virtuosos of the Planet Festival, Kyiv can lay claim to its growing status as a cultural center for young musicians of the world. For many of the soloists this was their first visit to Ukraine, and they are now interested in our country and its cultural traditions. Let’s hope that as a result of their success with the Kyiv audience and the organizers’ dedicated enthusiasm, the members of the world’s musical elite will continue to perform in Ukraine.