From Jazz to Bashmet: the 52nd Belarusian Musical Autumn Festival will be held in Minsk from October 8 to November 29

The Belarusian Musical Autumn Arts Festival will be held in the Belarusian State Philharmonic for the 52nd time. The traditional autumn forum will begin on October 8 and last until November 29, 2026. 25 concerts will be presented on the big stage, 16 musical projects will be presented in the Small Hall named after Shirma. The festival program this year includes performances of leading Belarusian creative teams and soloists, as well as the participation of musicians from Russia, Italy, the United States, Israel.

The festival will be started on October 8 by the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus under the direction of People’s Artist of Belarus Alexander Anisimov: the Sympho-Gala concert will open the “Belarusian Musical Autumn”. A young but already well-known Russian cellist, the laureate of international competitions Alexander Ramm, will perform with the leading Belarusian orchestra. In two sections of the concert will sound the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The program features the symphonic fantasy Francesca da Rimini, in which the composer tells the sad love story of Francesca and Paolo. The audience will also hear Symphony No. 5 in E minor – an outstanding work with a deep philosophical meaning. In the program and “Variations on the theme of rococo for cello and orchestra” – one of the brightest, life-affirming works of the composer, reflecting his passionate love for poetry and beauty.

Within the framework of the festival, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus will present five more programs, including a concert performance of Sergei Beltyukov’s opera “Ladja Spachy”, based on the work of Vladimir Korotkevich of the same name, on November 26 in the Great Hall of the Belarusian State Philharmonic.

The State Chamber Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus under the direction of the Honored Artist of Russia Evgeny Bushkov prepares four programs in the Small and Great Halls of the Philharmonic, including the October 25 concert “Sad Tales” with the participation of the world-famous Israeli classical guitarist Yoram Zerbib and the young soloist of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus Anastasia Khrapitskaya (soprano).

The National Academic Folk Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus named after I. I. Zhinovich under the direction of Honored Artist of Belarus Alexander Kremko on November 18 invites the outstanding Soviet singer Muslim Magomayev “Born for Music” to a concert-dedication.

Their festival concerts were prepared by the State Academic Choir Chapel named after G. R. Shirma, the State Chamber Choir of the Republic of Belarus, the Symphony Orchestra of the National State Television and Radio Company under the direction of Alexander Vysotsky, the National Academic Concert Orchestra of Belarus named after M. Y. Finberg and other groups.

In the program “Belarusian Musical Autumn” there are also solo projects, one of the landmark ones is the concert of the People’s Artist of Belarus Igor Olovnikov “My Beloved Mother!” in memory of the artist Larisa Ilyukovich, which will be held on October 23.

We are also waiting for foreign guests: at jazz evenings in the Philharmonic, the international quartet Arch of Ovrutsky and trumpeter Vincent Gross (USA), the quintet of Konstantin Khazanovich (St. Petersburg) will perform. Vocalist Riccardo Foresi will arrive from Italy, organists Alexander Shmitov and Vladimir Korolevsky are waiting from Russia. The well-known Belarusians Terem Quartet from St. Petersburg will also perform in Minsk.

November will be marked by the arrival of Russian academic music stars: on November 9, People’s Artist of Russia Yuri Bashmet with the chamber ensemble “Soloists of Moscow” will present the program “Bach Brandenburg Concerts”. On November 10, the maestro will lead the Belarusian-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra, of which he is the artistic director and chief conductor.

On November 14, we are waiting for the State Academic Symphony Chapel of Russia under the leadership of Valery Polyansky, and on November 22, pianist-virtuoso Vazgen Vartanyan invites to the evening of piano music.

This is only a small part of the extensive program "Belarusian Musical Autumn". The festival will end on November 29 with a concert of soloists of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society and collectives of the Republic of Belarus, who will perform 12 violin concerts by Antonio Vivaldi from the La Stravaganza cycle.