IV International Spanish Evenings" Festival Opens In St. Petersburg

On Tuesday, St. Petersburg launches into the IV International Festival of Spanish Music, "Spanish Evenings." According to the founder and artistic director of the festival, Alexis Soriano, the highlight of the festival programme will be a concert staged amongst Spanish paintings of the 15th-17th centuries in the State Hermitage, one of the world's biggest art and historical museums. Admirers of Spanish music will also get a chance to hear the Summer Concert by Joaquin Rodrigo. Spain is going to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth this year. Festivals of Spanish music have been held in St. Petersburg since 1984. According to festival organisers, the purpose of these events is to introduce audiences to modern Spanish music, which is little known in Russia. According to Soriano, the music is performed mostly by Russian musicians "united by their love for St. Petersburg, Spain and music."