Bach festival starts in Moscow

By Sirotin Sergei

MOSCOW — A performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s grandiose
oratory “St. John Passion” will start the international festival of
Bach’s music in Moscow on March 4. The festival will host musicians
from Russia, Germany, France, the US, Switzerland, the UK, the
Netherlands and Brazil, and will last till March 25.

The program includes Bach’s music of practically all genres –
from liturgies to secular concerts, from organ to clavier pieces.
There will also be pieces which are performed very seldom – like
Bach’s choral pieces or music which the maestro composed together
with his wife Anna Magdalena.

One of the festival’s participants, German organist and
conductor Helmuth Rilling, confesses that he is amazed by the
magnitude of the festival’s program – and the variety of guests.
Maestro Rilling’s praise is worth a great deal, for he is a
renowned expert in Bach and a well-known performer of his music.
Under Mr. Rilling’s giudance, Bach’s complete works in 172 CDs have
been released.

“It’s nice to realize that Bach’s music is popular not only in
Germany, but all over the world,” Maestro Rilling says. “Bach
really belongs to the whole world. The language of music helps
peoples to understand each other – and this festival is more
evidence of that. I’m happy to be back in Moscow – I have very warm
reminiscences connected with this beautiful city. I used to teach
music at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory – and I remember how
eagerly the students studied Bach’s music and performed
it.”