International Music Festival in Colmar

The first 10 years since the founding of the Colmar Festival was led by the conductor from Germany, Karl Münchinger ^[2] , in other sources his name is listed as Karl Münchinger. He was the leader of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra ^[4] .

He came to France after the Second World War . After some time ^[2] , in the mid-1970s, Karl Münchinger proposed to the mayor of the city to hold an annual festival in the city. So the international festival was founded in Colmar, at that time small and chamber, it consisted of 6 concerts ^[2] . Karl Münchinger held 10 festivals in Colmar. The main idea of ​​the festivals was based on the Franco-German reconciliation ^[5] .

When Vladimir Spivakov arrived in Colmar in 1988, he met with the mayor of the city, Edmond Gerer, who invited him to become the artistic director of the Colmar Festival. The venue of the festival, he chose the church of St. Matthew, which needed a good repair. After a while, a press conference dedicated to the festival was held in one of the museums in Paris . In 1995, when Edmond Gerer died, the new mayor was Gilbert Meer, who left the festival in its original format ^[4] .

Since that time, Vladimir Spivakov became the permanent leader of the Colmar Music Festival and its participant ^[6] . He has the idea to dedicate each festival to one of the famous musicians. In 1989, the festival was dedicated to Glenn Gould , in 1990 to David Oistrakh , in 1992 to Vladimir Horowitz , in 1995 the festival was dedicated to Yehudi Menuhin , and in 1998 to Fedor Chaliapin ^[2] .

In 2007, the Colmar Festival was dedicated to the conductor and violinist Charles Munch . The festival sounded the works of Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Stravinsky. The festival program consisted of 50 works of world classics ^[7] .

In 2012, the festival was held from July 3 to 14 in the St. Matthew's Romanesque church (French: Eglise Protestante St-Matthieu ), built at the end of the 12th century. Within the framework of the program, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra performed works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Hyndn. The festival was held in honor of the German conductor Karl Munchinger. The cost of admission was from 10 to 60 euros ^[8] .

In 2013, the festival concert was held from July 2 to 14 and it was dedicated to the memory of the pianist Brigitte Angerer . The organizer of the festival is maestro Vladimir Spivakov. Cyprian Katzaris and Helene Mercier gave a recital in memory of the pianist. In the concert program there was a replacement - instead of a performance by Eugene Kisin , a pianist Alexander Romanovsky performed a performance ^[1] . The festival takes place with the maximum presence of participating stars, with the performance of classic hits. Concerts are held in the city synagogue, in the chapel of St. Peter, in the church of St. Matthew. The concert ends on Bastille Day ^[3] .

In 2018, the thirtieth Colmar Music Festival was held, which was dedicated to the work of pianist and composer Eugene Kisin. At this festival, several performances of Yevgeny Kisin himself were also announced. The artist’s solo concert and the opening of the festival were to take place on July 4, and another performance on July 9, when it was announced that Yevgeny Kisin would play in an ensemble with members of the Kopelman Quartet and Vladimir Spivakov. July 13, he was supposed to give a concert together with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, under the direction of Vladimir Spivakov. On July 11, a poetic evening of Yevgeny Kisin was planned ^[6] . In 2018, the International Music Festival in Colmar lasted from July 4 to July 14, it was attended by Marta Argerich , Denis Matsuev , Cho Song Ji, Vasily Ladyuk, Misha May , George Lee, Alexei Neklyudov ^[6] .

• Solomon Volkov. Dialogues with Vladimir Spivakov. - Revision of Elena Shubina, 2014 .-- ISBN 978-5-17-087069-1 .
• Kommersant-Vlast. - July 14, 1998.