Christoph Eschenbach (1940- ), renowned German musician and conductor
“Russian Sounds” is the subtitle of one of the largest European musical festivals this summer; it shall run in the cities of the northern German Länd of Schleswig-Holstein until 21 August. Russian names predominate amongst both the composers and musicians on the posters. Neighbourly relations between Russia and Schleswig-Holstein go back to 1725, when Anna Petrovna, the daughter of Tsar Peter the Great, married Grand Duke Karl-Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp.
The duke presented to is future father-in-law the so-called Gottorp Miracle Globe, an enormous sphere some three metres (@10 feet) in diameter. As he was just as intrigued by science as was the tsar, the duke made a copy of the globe for his court. The prime minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Peter Karstensen, related this shared history and added, “Since then, this masterpiece of the Schleswig craftsmen of that past time symbolises the connection of our peoples, which did not fight one another over influence in Europe, but, shared a common interest in science and culture”.
For some seven weeks, Russian music shall sound in the 50 cities and towns on the itinerary of the festival. The works of Modest Mussorgsky and Igor Stravinsky shall be performed by Cristoph Eschenbach, who started this particular musical festival 23 years ago, and he has been a permanent fixture of the event ever since. The majority of the orchestral programmes shall be played by the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, which recently appeared in St Petersburg at the Stars of the White Nights Festival organised by the famous conductor Valery Gergiev.
Now, Maestro Gergiev is making a reciprocal visit to Schleswig-Holstein, bringing with him the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre. The best operatic soloists and musicians of Russia, the conquerors of stages throughout the world and justly loved by global audiences, shall be prominent figures on the stages of the festival. Amongst them are the pianists Eliso Virsaladze and Denis Matsuev, violoncellists Natalia Gutman and Boris Andrianov, guitarist Dmitri Illarionov, and others as well. Besides academic ensembles and soloists, other Russian musical groups to appear shall be folk-music choirs, church choirs, and folk-instrument orchestras, including the popular folk quartet Terem.
15 July 2008
Voice of Russia World Service
http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=77176&cid=24&p=15.07.2008 (in Russian)
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