Musical Olympus Festival in New York Features Young World Musicians, 3/3

At its seventh gala concert in New York the Musical Olympus Foundation will introduce to the audience the winners of prestigious international musical competitions and the participants of the Musical Olympus Festival.

One of the best concert venues of the world is going to see young musicians from four countries demonstrate their talent: Yi-Ping Yang (Taiwan - France, percussion), Daniel Kharitonov (Russia, piano), The Signum Saxophone Quartet (Germany), and Elena Tokar (Ukraine, soprano). The musicians will perform the works by ?. Schwitters, F. Liszt, G. Gershwin, S. Barber, G. Puccini, Ch. Gounod, P. Tchaikovsky, S. Rachmaninoff and V. Kosenko.

K. Schwitter's Ursonate in the original adaptation of Yi-Ping Yang will open the gala concert. The percussionist won numerous international contests and gained a reputation of being the leader of "creative percussion". The talented pianist - only fourteen years old - Daniel Kharitonov will follow with Hungarian Rhapsody No.12 and Transcendental Etude No.10 (F. Liszt), Meditation, op.72, No. 5 (P.Tchaikovsky) and Prelude, op. 3, No.2 (S. Rachmaninoff).

In the second part of the concert the German Signum Quartet will present to the audience famous works by great American composers G. Gershwin and S. Barber. The evening will conclude with the performance of the young Ukrainian opera singer Elena Tokar, who conquered the audience with her admirable soprano at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. She will perform several classical arias and Russian romances, as well as V. Kosenko's romance "Govori, govori" (Speak, speak) in her native language.

"Music is a universal language that enables the dialogue of people from different nations and cultures. The Musical Olympus Festival appeared in Russia, but it supports young musicians of all specialties from all parts of the world. For our concert in New York we chose the best artists, the most outstanding and creative, with non conventional programs. They want to convey their message to the audience", says Irina Nikitina, President of the Musical Olympus Foundation.

The Annual Musical Olympus Festival representing young musical elite is the most prominent example of globalization in music. Having appeared in 1996 in Russia, the Festival has long stepped over the borders of its home country and turned into a significant international project, acclaimed by the audience and critics worldwide.

The Festival's main goal is to support young musicians at the beginning of their career regardless of their nationality and musical specialty, the main selection criteria being expertise and talent. It invites for participation the winners of the largest international competitions. Over 17 years the Festival introduced to the audience more than 400 young artists from more than 40 countries. Many of them already enjoy solid international career, for instance Nikolaj Znaider, Ilya Gringolts, Sayaka Shoji, Eldar Nebolsin, Martin Fröst, Marina Poplavskaya, Darrell Ang and many others.

The Foundation provides the best participants of the Festival in St Petersburg with a unique opportunity to perform at concerts and presentations of the Festival abroad at the most prestigious music venues of the world. The concerts take place in Berlin, Zurich, Singapore, Rennes, and Baku. NewYork (CarnegieHall) is on the list since 2006.

The New York concert is traditionally supported by the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations".