The festival celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2006 and offers, once again, an impressive lineup of international music talent, including Russian great pianist Mikhail Pletnev, renowned Beaux Arts Trio from the United States, eminent Austrian violinist Thomas Zehetmair and Dutch bas-baritone Robert Hall.

Festival will be hosted by the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. This year it has 17 concerts and two art exhibitions: photographic retrospective of the festival’s 25 years and “Violin d’Ingres”-French idiom for a second calling outside of the primary vocation. The exhibition features the artworks of 30 significant 20th-century artistic figures, including Jean Cocteau, Henry Miller and the festival founder, the legendary pianist Svyatoslav Richter, who had a talent for painting.

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 often provides financial support to Russian classic musicians, ballet dancers, and opera soloists — both world-known and local young talents — to perform in Russian regions and on the best stages in Europe, including London, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. The Bank is a corporate Trustee of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and recently supported a festival, celebrating the 80th birthday of balerina assoluta, divinity and star Maya Plisetskaya.