The VI International Festival of Chamber Music is held in the Tretyakov Gallery April 16 through 24.
      
       The festival initiators are the Academic chamber orchestra Musica Viva, the Fund for support of art projects Musical Collections, the Tretyakov State Gallery and the Tchaikovsky’s House-Museum. The art director of the festival is Alexander Rudin, a People’s Artist of Russia, conductor and celloist.
      
       The unique concept of the festival giving it quite a special flavour is in providing a view of the Russian and European art in the retrospective of the wealth of Russian culture. Hence the symbolic choice of the concert hall – the Vrubel Hall of the Tretyakov Gallery (as it is known, the house of Tretyakov was the heart of Moscow cultural life of late 19th – early 20th century. Hence the special preciosity of the music programs, including both famous masterpieces and almost forgotten compositions. Atmosphere of a cozy art saloon encompassing painting, music and poetry - is what has become a peculiarity about the festival.
      
       The festival program is as usual exquisite and diverse, with such rarities as compositions by Crusel, Maret, Telemann and Golitsyn neighboring on the unquestioned masterpieces of Hydn, Mendelson, and R. Strauss. Old instruments (viola da gamba, theorbo and baroque guitar) interact with classic ones (cello, clarinet and flute).
      The concerts start at 4 p.m.