In the first days of March, Belarus hosted the VI International Festival «Vladimir Spivakov invites…». The traditional concert was held in Gomel. Residents of the city were looking forward to the festival of the highest musical classics: the hall was full, many listeners were holding flowers for the maestro.

Vladimir Spivakov, UNESCO Artist of the World, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the State Chamber Orchestra «Moscow Virtuosi», likes to surprise the audience with works of unusual formats and genres. He includes them in his festival programmes. On March 5, Ekaterina Kornishina, a young, talented and already popular flutist, performed on the stage of the Gomel Social and Cultural Centre together with «Moscow Virtuosi».

It is known that the support of young talents and purposeful beginner musicians is a vital and professional rule of the famous conductor. And this «Virtuosos» concert was no exception: the entire back space of the stage was given to students of Gomel music schools. They were placed there not only to hear, but also to get a closer look at the performance of the famous orchestra.

The evening opened with Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra. The standing room welcomed musicians and the conductor. The parts of the solo violins were performed by the maestro himself and the first violin of the orchestra, Alexei Lundin. In the light of the bow and the striking beauty of the melody, the hall filled a huge space. The amazing ensemble coherence of the string instruments gave the sounds of incredible beauty, purity and completeness. And the duo of two violins could be called the perfect understanding at the highest point of mastery. Conducting, Maestro Spivakov addressed the orchestra only occasionally, with subtle bow movements.

Bach’s suite for flute with the orchestra and Ekaterina Kornishina’s performance continued the concert. The purest and lightest sounds of the magical instrument (by the way, the flute was a gift from Vladimir Spivakov to Ekaterina Kornishina) were as if imbued with endless and reverent love. Spectators were listening, holding their breath, and the musicians enjoyed the unique emotions broadcast in the hall. The end of the suite was so magnificent that the hall did not let the artists go with applause for a long time. To everyone’s delight, the musical moment was played on an encore, but at an accelerated pace. The conductor’s wand took off high, and an elegant point was set in the perfection of the sounds.

The question of how to paint a sheet music palette so brightly and picturesquely with just one string instrument may have been asked by many of the people sitting in the hall. The figurative answer was that the musicians performed an excerpt from Gluck’s ballet Don Giovanni … without bows. The artists were joking; they were having fun with the hall. Full of humor, the short scene from the work was performed so vividly and colorfully that the hall exploded with rapturous applause and shouts of «bravo».

The surprise in a series of high classics was «Tango of Love» by Astor Piazzolla. «This is what will remain with you, in your memory», said Vladimir Spivakov, saying goodbye to the audience.