Darcey Bussell & Igor Zelensky
28 November - 2 December 2006, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London
Darcey Bussell, the queen of the British ballet scene, and Igor Zelensky, one of Russia’s hottest male ballet stars, started their powerful stage relationship back in the early Nineties, when Zelensky was a Guest Principal at the Royal Ballet. The pair finally realised their longstanding wish to together perform the masterpiece ‘Le Jeune homme et la mort’ by Roland Petit, who worked personally with the dancers for these performances at London's première dance venue. The piece was performed with the original set designed by Georges Wackhevitch specially brought from La Scala theatre. The programme also included a world première of ‘Kiss’ by Britain's choreographic hope Alastair Marriott performed by Darcey Bussell and William Trevitt and a London première of ‘Concerto Grosso’ by Russia's leading choreographer Alla Sigalova performed as a solo by Igor Zelenksy. Soloists of the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, where Igor Zelensky is artistic director, also performed ‘Whispers in the Dark’, a piece choreographed by Edwaard Liang.

Supported by SPI Group and The Russian Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography.

   
 
 
Songs and Poetry of Spain, Pilar Jurado, soprano, Julian Gallant, piano
14 November 2006, St. John’s Smith Square, London
A programme of Spanish vocal classical repertoire and the UK première of a work by the leading composer from Guatemala Roderigo Asturias. Asturias’ teachers were the composers and conductors Messiaen and Dutilleux. On the one hand his work wields a near-Teutonic craft of composition whilst on the other he makes no attempt to deny his Guatemalan roots and strong feelings of the Latin world.

Spanish star soprano Pilar Jurado has worked with major conductors around the world and has recorded with Yamaha, RNE, RTVE, Canal+, Versus, Radio France and Channel Classics y Auvidis.

Programme: Seven Popular Spanish Songs by Manuel de Falla, the UK premiere of The Banquet of Clouds by Rodrigo Asturias and Poem in The Form of Songs by Joaquin Turina.

   
 
 
Anastasia Volochkova
30 October 2006, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London
Celebrated prima ballerina and Russian social figure Anastasia Volochkova performed at Sadler's Wells with a host of other ballet stars to raise money for St. Petersburg’s very special School No. 458 where she has created a ballet studio.

In this rare London appearance, Anastasia danced in popular classics and works by leading choreographers created especially for her - including one of her favourite pieces 'Eternal Love'. This is a romantic story of a young lady whose fate takes her from one 'encounter' to another, and from happiness to loneliness and bitterness - until she finally finds peace. Volochkova was joined by the dancers Mark Peretokin (Bolshoi Theatre), Yevgeny Ivanchenko (Kirov), Rinat Arifulin (Bolshoi Theatre) and Yuliana Malkhasyants (Bolshoi Theatre). They were accompanied by the Russian Orchestra of London conducted by Alexander Walker.

Born in St Petersburg in 1976, Volochkova trained at the Vaganova Ballet Academy with renowned teacher Natalia Dudinskaya, and began her career with the Kirov Ballet. In 1996 she won the Serge Lifar Competition in Kiev, and two years later joined the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. In 2000 she won Austria's Golden Lion award and was pronounced the ‘most talented ballerina in Europe’.

Volochkova has worked with many distinguished choreographers, including Derek Dean of the English National Ballet, who recreated the role of the fairy Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty especially for her. She dances regularly for Yuri Grigorovich's company in Krasnodar, and appears all over the world with leading companies in classical and contemporary roles.

Sponsored by Burren Energy

   
 
 
Dmitry Shostakovich Centenary
Cinemaphonia DSCH
4 October 2006, Royal Albert Hall, London
Original art genre in which the music was accompanied by socially created film based on the life and times of the composer, and directly inspired by two of his greatest works. The performance was given by the Philharmonia Orchestra and was conducted by the composer’s son Maxim Shostakovich.

Conductor: Maxim Shostakovich
Project director: Yaroslav Golko
Author-constructor: Sergei Davitaya
Synthesis director: Oksana Dvornichenko
Programme: Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony Op.110a and Symphony No.15 in A Op.141.

This performance was part of the Russian Act Festival 2006

   
 
 
Symphony Orchestra of The Kurmangazy National Conservatory of Kazakhstan
26 September 2006, Barbican Centre, London
The first visit to London by a young and vibrant orchestra from Central Asia’s oldest conservatory which the star pianist and conservatory’s Principal Jania Aubakirova, a winner of many national and international prizes.

Conductor: Christophe Mangou
Soloist: Jania Aubakirova (piano)
Programme: Kazhgaliev’s The Steppe Legend, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1

   
 
 
L'Arte de Suonare: Virtuoso works from Early to High Baroque Clea Galhano, recorder, Jacques Ogg, harpsichord
11 September 2006, Wigmore Hall, London
A recorder recital by Brazil’s leading Baroque musician with masterpieces by German, Italian and French Baroque composers.

Programme: Works by Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli (1660-1669), Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (1620-1680), Francois Couperin (1668-1733), Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713), Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Jacques Hotteterre (1674-1763) and Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1757).

Supported by the Schubert Club, FLAME and the Brazilian Embassy in London.

   
 
 
World Premiere of Tlep
17 April 2006, Royal Albert Hall, London
The concert was a special event featuring British composer Karl Jenkins’ famous Adiemus as well as a world première of Tlep commissioned by Kazakh philanthropist and patron Sapar Iskakov to celebrate the work of his ancestor, the composer Tlep Aspantaiuly. Tlep is composed for a full complement of symphony orchestra, percussion and choir. Performed by the West Kazakhstan Philharmonic Orchestra with the star violinist Marat Bisengaliev and the much acclaimed Adiemus Singers conducted by Karl Jenkins.

Supported by Shell, BP, Air Astana, ITE, BG Kazakhstan, Kazakhmys, The British Kazakh Society and IBC.

   
 
 
Linda Bustani
5 March 2006, Wigmore Hall, London
Prizewinning Brazilian pianist, Linda Bustani gave a recital to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Robert Schumann’s death. Over the course of her career Bustani has come to closely identify with the great composer’s music.

Soloist: Linda Bustani
Programme: Robert Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze opus 6, Phantasiestücke opus 12 and Waldszenen opus 82

   
 
 
Maya Plisetskaya 80th Birthday Tribute
12 February 2006, Royal Opera House, London
Maya Plisetskaya is without question one of the greatest ballet figures of our time. This Gala was a fitting tribute to her life’s work and performed by today’s greatest dancers in her presence at London’s coveted Royal Opera House. The audience was joyously reminded of ballet's living traditions by such dancers as Gary Avis, Leanne Benjamin, Federico Bonelli, Darcey Bussell, Alina Cojacaru, Mara Galeazzi, Ilya Kuznetsov, Sarah Lamb, Ilze Liepa, Ulyana Lopatkina, Roberta Marquez, Jose Martinez, Steven McRae, Andrei Merkuriev, Irma Nioradze, Marianela Nunez, Ivan Putrov, Tamara Rojo, Farukh Ruzimatov, Viacheslav Samodurov, Thiago Soares, Galina Stepanenko, Andrey Uvarov, Edward Watson, Miyako Yoshida, Svetlana Zakharova and Igor Zelensky. Maya Plisetskaya delighted the audience by making a special appearance in Maurice Béjart’s Ave Maya.

Maya Plisetskaya is a Prima Ballerina Assoluta, People's Artist of Russia and a holder of the Lenin Prize, however no mere title can describe the place she has carved for herself in the lore of ballet. Plisetskaya came to symbolise the Bolshoi Theatre in its glory years even despite being forbidden to travel outside the Soviet Union until 1959.

Born into a great dancing family, Maya Plisetskaya joined the Bolshoi Ballet in 1943. She was to make her name in the role of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and the title role of Raymonda. In Britain, she became perhaps best known for her Dying Swan, a tiny but utterly compelling part of her vast repertoire. But her legend owes just as much to a rejection of ballet convention and to her extraordinary energy. She inspired new and cutting-edge roles by such figures as Roland Petit and Maurice Béjart.

Plisetskaya's career has stretched over sixty years and, from 1961, all over the world; she danced as recently as 1996. That says nothing of her work as a choreographer, a parallel life she began in 1974 with a ballet based on Tolstoy's Anna Karenina using music composed by her husband Rodion Shschedrin. Plisetskaya was also director of the Theatro Lirico National de España and was awarded the Gold Medal of Fine Arts by King Juan Carlos in 1991.

The performance was followed by a dinner in the presence of the evening’s star as well as the other performers and cultural dignitaries.

Supported by TNK-BP, Access Industries, Kremlyovskaya, SPI Group and Alfa Bank.

   
 
 
The Second Russian Winter Festival
14 January 2006, Trafalgar Square, London
Artists: Ergyron, Malenkiy Jigit, Fashion Show – Russian Silhouette, Natisk, Yarmarka, Zolotoye Koltso & Nadezhda Kadysheva, The Kremlin Guard, DJ Yastreb, DDT, Brothers Grim and Ivan Kupala.

Ensemble Productions provided artistic management support to the organiser of the Russian Winter Festival.