In the beginning of 2019, the European Foundation for Support of Culture, with media support of the “Valletta 2018” Foundation and the Malta Tourism Authority, launched a project entitled “Malta – the new centre of tourism and classical music attraction”, which was held in the format of a presentation concert at European conservatories and to which all interested students were invited.
As part of the project in Moscow, a presentation concert was held on 5 April at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, Russia. The students had a unique opportunity to get to know Malta, learn about the activities of the European Foundation for Support of Culture and its educational projects, as well as international piano, violin and wind competitions for young talents.
The Academy, along with the Moscow Conservatory, is one of the two main higher educational institutions of the Russian educational and methodical association for education in the field of musical art. It is one of the leading higher music education institutions in the country and the world. The Academy is the only higher educational institution that represents all the specialties and specialisations in various musical fields studied in Russia.
Among its outstanding graduates are such famous musical figures as Alexander Rudin, Russian cellist, pianist, conductor and artistic director of the Musica Viva Academic Chamber Orchestra, professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People’s Performer of Russia; Evgeny Svetlanov, Soviet and Russian conductor, composer, pianist, publicist, People’s Performer of the USSR; Alexander Trushkov, Russian oboist and music teacher, soloist with the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra and the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Merited Performer of the Russian Federation; Valery Vorona, rector of the State Musical Pedagogical Institute named after M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov; People’s Performer of the USSR conductor Nikolai Nekrasov, and many others.
The presentation concluded with a performance by violinist Karen Shakhgaldyan, laureate of Pablo Sarasate International Violin Competition, and young pianist Ruben Kozin, laureate of the Eurasian Music Games, who together played popular works by Maltese composers.