"Return", which you are waiting for, not having time to say goodbye

MOSCOW. The festival of chamber music and interesting discoveries “Return” has come to the end.

Every year in early January, lovers of classical music go to concerts of the "Return" festival. One of the main interpretations of the name is the traditional gathering of friends who “scattered” from Alma Mater around the world. But they come back, sometimes literally, to make beautiful music. The basic rule, invented by the organizers - Dmitry Bulgakov and Roman Mints, turned out to be the main highlight of the festival: never repeat. For the second year, the organizers were forced to resort to crowdfunding, which allowed them to invite performers from abroad and different cities of Russia, as well as to compensate for the costs of producing a witty and very informative booklet. Fees for performances on the "Return" are not provided.

Within the framework of the 19th festival, which was held on January 6–12, four concerts took place: Variations, Alla zingaresa, Schubert, and Concert by Request. The first day was associated with the relay, in which intricately selected numbers become a continuation of each other. Duport flows into Mozart, Mozart in Paganini and so on. One of the most memorable numbers of the program was Geza Fried’s “Elephant Variations” on the theme of Saint-Saens music with an unforgettable solo of Grigory Krotenko. The theme of the second day made it possible to learn about the beneficial effects of gypsy music on the works of Liszt, Brahms, Dvorak and Haydn.

Schubert’s day, limiting the composer’s presence to only the peppy “Three Military March” in the arrangement of France, showed how the romantic Austrian had an influence on those who came after him. Not forgetting Beethoven, whose work helped shape his own style. The septet in E flat major was listened to with due respect, but no more. The composition of the Pulitzer Prize winner John Harbison “November 19, 1828”, full of allusions and veiled quotes, seemed very curious, especially in the performance of the amazing ensemble: Blaumane, Yakubov, Sorshneva, Gugnina.

The Bitkovy Small Hall of the Conservatory, conquered by a skilfully composed program, a courage of disinterested and very talented musicians, only dreamed that next year the miracle would happen again.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru