XII International Northern Flower Festival - 2011
Dear friends,
I am happy to greet you at the concerts of our twelfth festival. I am sure that The Northern Flowers, as in the previous years, will give a true pleasure to the audience, and will provide new nourishments to their heart and intellect.
This year, we are crossing Russia’s borders for the first time. The Northern Flowers’ programs will be presented in Estonian Narva so cheerful and close to us, and in Finnish Imatra loved by many generations of St. Petersburgers. Under the vaults of the ancient Narva castle and in one of Finland’s coziest halls, the wooden Imatran Konserttihovi, we will present the music of the famous Petersburger Valery Gavrilin, his famous Russian Notebook, which is a creation of genius.
The Northern Flowers continue their close and efficient cooperation with the Norwegian province of Finnmark. The magnificent No Border Orchestra from the shores of the Barents Sea will appear in St. Petersburg and Veliky Novgorod. It is usual to say that music has no borders. The international team from the North of Norway confirms this statement with its bright virtuoso musicianship easily shifting national, language, and stylistic borders.
The festival will feature two very interesting St. Petersburg premieres of works of today’s composers. David’s Song by Lithuanian Anatoly Shenderovas is dedicated to the 60th anniversary of David Geringas, an outstanding musician of our days. Remarkably, the opus will be performed in the Glinka Hall by the cellist himself, with musicians of the legendary Vilnius String Quartet, long-time friends of The Northern Flowers, as his partners.
The Partisan Requiem by Henning Sommerro based on the tragic events of the World War II in the north of Europe is a quite unexpected project for our festival. This striking and masterful opus will be performed in the new hall of the Estonian St. John’s church located in Dekabristov Street. The venue excellently reconditioned and provided with the most advanced light and sound equipment will enable us to combine the musical action and an attractive video sequence on a large screen. The concert’s audience will be able to deeper understand the history of those hard years, and to enjoy the amazing views of the Nordic nature, severe and beautiful at the same time.
The Northern Flowers are developing, while remaining unchanged in their best manifestations; the festival is interesting and laden with diverse musical events; we invited excellent performers from many countries, and the concert programs will unite classical masterpieces and excellent works by today’s authors – aren’t these all lovely motives to meet again!
Bon voyage, Northern Flowers 2011!
Yuri Serov
Artistic Director of the Festival
