On 23 April, the day that Prokofiev was born, the celebratory programme opens with a matinee performance by the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow (11:30). There will be performances of the First and Second Symphonies, Piano Concerto No 1 (soloist – Denis Kozhukhin), Violin Concerto No 1 (soloist – Leonidas Kavakos), the cantata Seven, They Are Seven and Scythian Suite (Ala and Lolly). The concert will feature the State Academic Moscow Kozhevnikov Regional Chorus.
Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre will then depart for St Petersburg, while in Moscow at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall there will be a Prokofiev Marathon (15:00).
Prokofiev’s works will be performed by Daniil Trifonov (Sonata No 1, Sonata No 3 and a Gavotte of three pieces for piano from the ballet Cinderella), Katia Skanavi (Sonata No 2), Ilya Rashkovsky (Sonata No 4 and pieces for piano from the ballet Romeo and Juliet) and Denis Kozhukhin (Sonata No 5). At the end of the Moscow part of the marathon there will be a performance of the Sonata forTwo Violins, the names of the soloists to be announced.