1 October / Emperor Paul 1’s birthday at his residence at Gatchina

1 October, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm – musical-literary marathon to mark Emperor Paul 1’s birthday at his residence at Gatchina. 

Paul I’s Birthday at Gatchina.

Literary-musical marathon to celebrate Emperor Paul I’s birthday – three online transmissions from Gatchina Palace.

1pm – ‘Fencing with Bows’. Part I.

This concert-contest between two baroque violinists – Andrey Reshetin, Artistic Director of the EARLYMUSIC Festival, and the well-known soloist Maria Krestinskaya, founder of the ‘Barocco Concertato’ ensemble, will feature very intriguing material – 18th century virtuoso music for solo violin from Italy, Germany and Russia. The match will consist of two halves. The first half will also be the start of a concert marathon in honour of Emperor Paul I, who was a great connoisseur of music.
The transmission will include ‘The Devil’s Trill’, Giuseppe Tartini’s most famous sonata, and the Sonata for Solo Violin Op. 3, No.1 by the first Russian virtuoso violinist Ivan Khandoshkin, who regarded Tartini as his mentor. 

3pm – Venus and Anacreon Venus Pavilion in Gatchina Park

Poems by Antioch Kantemir and Mikhail Lomonosov and 18th century translations of the love lyrics of Anacreon will be performed by the ‘Soloists of Catherine the Great’, along with excerpts from the music by the Swedish Kapellmeister Johan Helmich Roman commissioned by Count Nikolay Golovin for the coronation of Peter II, now known as the ‘Golovinmusiken’ Suite.                                                    

5pm – Theatre of Feasting: the art of cookery and table setting with three interludes Marble Dining Room in Gatchina Palace

The director and presenter of this ‘show’, Danila Vedernikov, is not only a well-known baroque actor but also a great expert on 18th century Russian cuisine and a practising chef. Recipes from imperial feasts will be revealed in three courses with divertissements of music and dance performed by the ‘Soloists of Catherine the Great’ and the ‘St. Petersburg Angiolini Ballet’.