Saint Petersburg (Russia) - Event

Under the auspices of Russian maestro Yuri Temirkanov, the International Winter Festival Arts Square in St Petersburg has become an annual new year feature since first held in December 1998.

Over the beginning of 2008, the eighth festival celebrated both the 125th anniversary of the founding of the fabled St Petersburg Philharmonic (of which Temirkanov is principal conductor) and the 75th birthday of the St Petersburg Academic Symphony. The ninth festival at the end of the year again features both orchestras, as well as Valery Gergiev with his Mariinsky Orchestra; the Russian National Orchestra with its founder and conductor Mikhail Pletnev; and violist Yuri Bashmet with his Moscow Soloists. There are also ballet performances, including Romeo and Juliet and a gala as well as a performance of Kalman's operetta Gräfin Mariza.

This year there is a complete Brahms symphony and concerto cycle throughout the festival (always a Temirkanov speciality), with Evgeny Kissin and Yefim Bronfman, respecitively, opening and closing the festival with the piano concertos. Sayaka Shoji is the soloist in the Violin Concerto while violinist Dmitry Berlinsky and cellist Alexander Kniazev join Pletnev for the Double Concerto.

In addition to the music programme there are exhibitions in the Russian Museum.