Contact info
Address
The Nizhny Novgorad State Academic Philharmony
603005 Nizhny Novgorod
Russian Federation
http://www.sakharov.innov.ru/eng
Info
Tel: +7 8314 391623
Fax: +7 8314 391608
otomina@philharmony.nnov.ru
http://www.sakharov.innov.ru/eng
Kremlin, build. 2
RU-603005 Nizhny Novgorod
A. Sakharov International Art Festival
This festival has been an EFA member since 1999.
Festival Programme
Each EFA member manages its own Calendar. In case there is no programme availabable for this year, please visit the festival's own website.
History
Andrey Sakharov International Art Festival “Russian Art and the World” is held by Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic Society since 1992. It is no mere chance that the idea of holding such a Festival appeared in Nizhny Novgorod. The Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Philharmonic Society is well-known as the initiator of Festival movement in Russia.
The first Festival “Modern Music” was held in 1962 and since that time up to 1989 there has been 10 Festivals “Modern Music” including the colossal (the only in Shostakovich’s life) festival of Shostakovich’s compositions (1964) and the first in the world festival dedicated to Alfred G. Shnitke (1989).
This important historical tradition now has gained its worthy continuation. Since 1992 International Sakharov Art Festivals with the motto “Russian Art and the World” have been held in Nizhny Novgorod. They present the principally new concept which is harmonious to the democratic changes in Russia within the last years. (The authors and artistic directors of the Festival are artistic and administrative director of the Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Philharmonic Society Olga N. Tomina and the artistic director of the Borodin Quartette Vladimir A. Berlinsky).
The moral guide of the concept are the ideas and moral position of one of the most distinguished humanist A.D. Sakharov who had warned that dissociation of the mankind could lead to the global catastrophe and that the world needs unity, mutual understanding and free information exchange. That is why the motto of the International Sakharov Art Festival is the idea of indissoluble integrity of domestic and the world culture. The idea was approved by Mrs Elena Bonner and by many well-known artists of Russia and the whole world Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Rikhter, Alfred Shnitke, Vladimir Ashkenasi, etc. Greeting to the Festival were received from B.Eltsin, V.Chernomyrdin, the Russian Minister for Culture E.Sidorov, I.Stern, E.Menukhin, V.Spivakov and many other outstanding people.
The bright humanist conception of Andrey Sakharov International Art Festival attracts many famous musicians, artists and writers. The five last festivals (held in 1992-1998) united such outstanding artists as Mstislav Rostropovich, Galina Vishnevskaya, Yuri Bashmet, Guennady Rozhdestvensky, Antonio de Almeida (France), Eliso Virsaladze, Natalia Gutman, Dmitry Bashkirov, Victor Tretiakov, Misha Maisky (Israel), Dora Schwarzberg (Austria), Daniel Pollack (USA), Yelisaveta Leonskaya (Austria), Vladimir Viardo (USA), Victoria Postnikova, Valery Afanasiev (France), Jean-Efflame Bavouse (France), Ilya Grubert (Holland), Vagram Saradjan (USA), James Curby (Great Britain), Walter Delahunt (Canada), Borodin quartette, Fine arts quartette (USA), Danelle quartette (France), Churlenis quartette (Lithuania), Chamber orchestra headed by Saulus Sondetskis (Lithuania), Chamber chorus headed by Vladimir Minin (Moscow, Russia), "Moscow trio", Serguei Yursky, Natalia Teniakova, Tatiana Lavrova, Aleksey Batalov, Mikhail Kozakov, Valentin Nikulin (Israel), Carina and Ruzanna Lisitsian, singers: Nani Bregvadze (Georgia) and Nikita Storozhev (Mexico), poets: Andrei Voznesensky, Yevgueny Rein, Henry Sapgir and many others. Bright moments of the Festival history are also connected with the leading artists and groups from Nizhny Novgorod: Academic Symphony Orchestra (artistic director and head conductor- Vladimir Ziva, conductor - Aleksandr Skulsky), choirs headed by Lev Sivukhin, A.Poznansky, Chamber Orchestra “Sophia”, etc.
The conception of the Festival contains the combination of various kinds of creative work: music, poetry, painting and the theatre art. Each Festival programme also contains different exhibitions and theatre premieres.
The brilliant humanist ideas of the Festival, the high level of performing art, the riches of the content and the variety of the Festival programmes were highly valued by the specialists and mass media. That was no wonder that the third Andrey Sakharov Festival was recognised as the "Best Festival of the Year 1995". In 1999 Andrey Sakharov International Art Festival became the member of the European Association of Festivals.
