On May, 24 XVIII International Musical Olympus Festival participants Nicolas Moutier (trombone, France) and Igor Yeliseev (double bass, Russia) gave workshops in St Petersburg State Conservatory n.a. N. А. Rimsky-Korsakov. Before the upcoming exams conservatory students demonstrated to musicians their mastery and received some practical advice from them.

On May, 23 charity concert was given at the investigative detention center №1 “Kresty” within the framework of the XVIII International Musical Olympus Festival. Young musicians from St Petersburg and prize winners of prestigious music contests performed for the convicts. Unique double bass quartet “Quattrobass” opened the concert with the works by Russian composer А. Mirzoev. Then, to the quartet accompaniment, Elena Korzhenevskaya (soprano) sang “Ave Maria” by G. Caccini and Adele couplets from J. Schtrauss’ “Fledermouse”. The concert ended with the performance of button accordion player Dmitry Bezdenezhnykh, 1 prize winner of the International Accordion Prize “Città di Lanciano” in Italy, who performed pieces by V. Zubitsky, C. Dulfer, C. Velázquez Torres, and А. Piazzolla.

The second concert of the XVIII International Musical Olympus Festival took place at the Hermitage Theater on May, 22. It featured musicians from Russia and the Netherlands. Olga Volkova (violin, Russia), Ivan Sendetsky (violin, Russia), and Gulnara Shafigullina (soprano, Russia-Netherlands) presented to classical music lovers musical pieces by Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, and Verdi to the accompaniment of the Tavricheskaya chapel international symphony orchestra (conductor Mikhail Golikov, Russia).

The opening ceremony of the XVIII International Musical Olympus Festival took place on May, 21 at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. On that evening about 1000 residents and guests of St Petersburg came to listen to masterpieces of world classical music performed by prize winners of the most prestigious international musical contests. The audience was impressed by the performance of young musicians from Greece, Italy, and Russia and gave them standing ovation.

Dimitris Botinis (conductor, Greece-Russia), Alexey Zhilin (cello, Russia), Andrey Baranov (violin, Russia), and Federico Colli (piano, Italy) took part at the concert. To the accompaniment of the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, the musicians performed pieces by Schuman, Brahms, Verdi, Boito, and Massenet. The evening closed with the overture by the Russian composer Andrey Petrov “Vivat, Olymous!” written specially for the Festival.

Roberto Fonseca, one of the most distinctive representatives of Afro-Cuban jazz and modern jazz as such, presented his new album “YO” in St Petersburg and Moscow. Released in 2012, the album hit the Western critics’ list of top jazz albums of the year. The third visit of Roberto Fonseca to Russia, organized by the Musical Olympus Foundation, demonstrated the musician’s limitless mastery as performer and composer, as well as fruitful development of his multifaceted artistic talent.

In spring 2013, International Musical Olympus Festival will gather in St Petersburg prize winners of the most famous and prestigious musical contests. From May, 21 to June, 2 prominent young musicians from 13 countries will visit the Northern capital of Russia and perform the masterpieces of the world classical music for the St Petersburg audience.