The second Bolshoi Classical Music Festival was held from July 10 to 12 in Drvengrad, at Mokra Gora. Once again Gazprom Neft was the general sponsor of the Festival while the competition part of the Festival included the performing of classical and modern Russian compositions.

The idea of Festival founder Emir Kusturica is to promote as many as possible young and talented musicians, students of music academies and secondary schools in Serbia and the Republic of Srpska as well as for the Festival to become one of the most important European and international classical music festivals.

As many as 95 talented students competed this year for the gold, silver and bronze matryoshka, and the decision on the winners was made by a panel of judges comprising academician Isidora Žebeljan (chairperson), pianist Aleksandar Madžar and the dean and professor of the Novi Sad Academy of Arts, Mr. Zoran Krajišnik.

Renowned international classical music stars also held concerts at the three-day outdoor stage event – pianist Denis Matsuev and violinist Alena Baeva.

The Czech National Symphony Orchestra was also a guest of the festival and it performed, together with the No Smoking Orchestra, the opera from the film Time of the Gypsies. Three Russian cinematography classics were shown – Andrei Tarkovsky’s The Mirror, Roman Kachanov’s Cheburashka and Mikhail Kalatozov’s I Am Cuba.

A diverse musical program was reserved for the evening hours, from Wonder Strings Quartet performances to jazz concerts. In this elite ambiance the Wonder String Quarter members had an opportunity and the pleasure to perform their own music and well-know remakes on their repertoire. This time around the Quartet was joined by their collage, percussionist Aleksandar Sale Radulovic, on the cajon.