The annual “December Nights” Festival at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, perhaps Russia’s most prestigious musical event and crown jewel of the Moscow winter art season, marks its 25th anniversary this year. The Festival, founded in 1981 by brilliant Russian pianist and an accomplished painter Sviatoslav Richter and the Pushkin Museum’s Director Irina Antonova, offers, once again, an impressive lineup of international music talent, including pianists Nikolai Luganskiy, Aleksei Lubimov and Andreas Staier, baroque virtuosos Red Priest from the UK and Grammy Award 2001 winner Il Giardino Armonico from Italy.

This year a month-long Festival of 15 concerts will be accompanied by an art exhibition “Masks: From myth to carnival”.

Alfa-Bank has sponsored the Festival since the year 2000 when Yury Bashmet, renowned Russian musician and conductor, became an artistic director of the Festival.

Alfa-Bank has a long history of supporting charities, Russian culture, and creating programs for young talent. Alfa-Bank often provides financial support to Russian classic musicians, ballet dancers and opera soloists both world-known and young talents to perform in Russian regions and on best stages in Moscow, London, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt.