Motto 2010

»Russlandia« might be the title of a musical work, telling of the vast Russian forests, the depths of the Russian soul or a story by Dostoyevsky or Tolstoy. Under this title, we have put together a unique array of works, a snapshot of living Russian music in all its facets. Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Shostakovich – they all combined the voice of their homeland with Western influence and reached the entire world with their music. Today, the signals Russian musicians, orchestras and conductors send throughout the world are exceptionally strong again. Guided by its inventive maestro Valery Gergiev, the Mariinsky Theatre from Dresden’s twin city St. Petersburg has developed into a cultural center in the East during recent years, and our »Orchestra in Residence«, the Russian National Orchestra, has reorganized the Moscow orchestral scene.

But even in the »New World«, there are many impulses from the East. Thus, the excellent Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, shaped by Fritz Reiner during World War II into a world class ensemble, has strong Eastern European influences, having been formed mainly by Jewish immigrants. And thus, »Russlandia« does not end with Klezmer music by accident – rather, this completes the array of musical diversity from Eastern Europe. With »Schumann at 200«, we also pay tribute to Robert Schumann’s 200th birthday, whose longest, furthest and most exotic concert tour – in 1844 – took him to Russia, by the way.