On February 9, 2024, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall hosted the ceremony of awarding the Dmitry Shostakovich Prize to the outstanding opera singer Ildar Abdrazakov. The award ceremony was held as part of the final gala concert of the VI Winter International Festival of Arts by Yuri Bashmet in Moscow.
The Yuri Bashmet International Charity Fund once again recognized outstanding achievements in the field of culture. The Dmitry Shostakovich Prize, which has existed since 1994, recognizes the highest achievements in world art. Ildar Abdrazakov joins a number of illustrious laureates, including conductor Valery Gergiev, pianist Denis Matsuev, the tandem of composer Eduard Artemyev and director Nikita Mikhalkov, violinist Viktor Tretyakov, composer Alexander Tchaikovsky, Chinese composer Tan Dun, violinist and conductor Gidon Kremer, cellist Natalia Gutman, violinist Maxim Vengerov, pianist Yefim Bronfman, former president of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts Ilya Bronfman, and former president of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. Irina Antonova, former President of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, and others.
«I am honored to receive the Dmitri Shostakovich Prize. In the year of the prize’s thirtieth anniversary, this recognition is doubly significant. It inspires me and imposes a special responsibility to be worthy of the great name of Shostakovich and to continue the tradition of high service to art. I am deeply grateful to the Yuri Bashmet International Charity Fund and personally to Maestro Bashmet for the high appreciation of my work. It is symbolic that the awarding took place within the framework of the Festival of Arts, where music unites generations and serves as a bridge between the classical heritage and modernity,» the opera singer noted.
Ildar Abdrazakov is one of the most sought-after opera basses of our time, Artistic Director of the Sevastopol Opera and Ballet Theater, and winner of the State Prize of the Russian Federation. His outstanding services are marked by numerous honorary titles: Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, People’s Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan, People’s Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan. For his significant contribution to the development of culture he was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples (Bashkortostan) and the Order of Salavat Yulaev – «National Hero of the Republic of Bashkortostan».
On this solemn evening at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Ildar Abdrazakov gave a solo concert accompanied by the All-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of People’s Artist of the USSR Yuri Bashmet, which was a bright conclusion of the VI Winter International Festival of Arts by Yuri Bashmet in Moscow.
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