Closing Vlog, Dedicated to "Stars on Baikal" Festival

Pure Happiness! I’ve been to Irkutsk for full 18 days! It’s not happened since 1992. My feelings are too deep for words. Despite festival hectic time: a lot of concerts, events, physical and emotional strain – I accumulated a lot of energy for a year ahead.

It is impossible to tell everything that happened during the festival in one blog entry. So I urge you to re-watch those wonderful videos, created by DailyCulture team (head of the team – Ekaterina Goltsman). To my mind we worked out a new format of broadcasting for classical music festivals – series of live mini-reports. Before that Internet users had no chance to see rehearsals, behind the scenes activities, visits to Baikal or to hear audience’s and musicians’ opinions. So it is a great format we plan to use during other festivals in Russia and abroad. Thank you, DailyCulture!

Irkutsk is still under the impression of the festival. It happened so, that I’ve managed to reschedule several of my concerts and spent three more days at home, in Irkutsk. And they were full of spectacular events and meetings. There are many friends and people I wanted to see not during the festival.

The main outcome of the festival for me is that we can speak about emerging of original festival audience. Irkutsk audience always inspired respect by its wonderful musical flair and delicate taste, but now I am sure it becomes an equal participant of concerts like musicians. “Intelligent” silence reigned during all concerts: extraordinary energy contact between a musician and an audience was established every time. All festival’s guests noticed this. So we can bring here any programme we want to: classical, modern, we can experiment with genres and arts. For example, this year we brought a phenomenal play “La Musica” with G. Depardieu and F. Ardant. And during the play there was silence almost amenable to the touch. Bolshoi Theatre ballet artists brought classical and modern turns, including modern ballet “Cinque” (music – A. Vivaldi). And it is great, that we have a possibility to watch these mini-reports and feel inspiration again and again. That means a lot. 

Please, watch a new closing video is being edited. We try to put sense of happiness, emotions, atmosphere of concerts and energy of the festival in it. This includes visit of V. Gergiev and Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Y.Bashmet and “Soloists of Moscow”, a lot of young and talented musicians, laureates of Tchaikovsky Competition, charity concerts for “New Names” foundation, auction “Note C”, master-classes, the tour to Bratsk and so on. I can reveal several secrets about future festival. Y. Temirkanov and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra will come to Irkutsk next September and Medici.TV will broadcast concerts of the festival live.

And, of course, I’d like to share news about a new concert hall in Irkutsk with you. We’ve found place and financing for it. Oleg Deripaska is ready to finance this project. It will be situated on a bank of Angara river, not far away from my home, where I spent my childhood. It was an accidental coincidence, but I believe that nothing is accidental in our lives.

Once again I’d like to congratulate everybody on “Stars on Baikal” festival and to thank our audience that made this triumph of music possible. This whirl of energy, exchange of ideas, emotions, sentiments is the essence of HAPPINESS.