The best 11 Turkmen musicians will take part in the Tsinandali Festival International Academic Music Festival as part of the world-famous Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra. The performances of the contestants from Turkmenistan will be evaluated by Claudio Vandelli, one of the most promising Italian conductors of the new generation and co-author of the Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra, who specially arrived in Ashgabat for the qualifying audition.

Young musicians aged 18 to 28 will be invited to the project. To assemble the composition, a specially created commission - conductors, composers, world-famous musicians carry out auditions and selection among the strongest young performers of the participating countries of the Tsinandali Festival - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Great Britain, Germany, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Turkey. By decision of the directorate of the Tsinandali Festival, Turkmenistan has become a permanent member of the Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra since 2023.

The battle for tickets to Tsinandali will be held on February 23 within the walls of the capital's Cultural Center (in the 1st park). Artists of the State Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Rasul Klychev will take part in the competition. The winners will have an excellent opportunity to work shoulder to shoulder on the Georgian site with world-class musicians and improve their skills.

Recall that the debut participation of Turkmen musicians in the Tsinandali Festival took place in the fall of 2022. Turkmenistan was represented by five talented young instrumentalists playing in the state orchestra. They passed a difficult competitive selection and became participants in the Georgian festival as part of the Pan-Caucasian Orchestra.

Eleven musicians, to be selected by Claudio Vandelli, will travel to Georgia in August, where other audition winners from the countries participating in the Tsinandali festival will gather. The period of training in the orchestra will be six weeks - there will be master classes and rehearsals, and in September the youth orchestra will traditionally give several concerts at the festival venues.

By the way, on his first visit to Turkmenistan, Claudio Vandelli will perform a concert program. He will conduct the State Symphony Orchestra. Various classical works will be performed, including Carnival in Rome by Hektar Berlioz, Anton Dvorak's Ninth Symphony from the New World, Rhapsody Premiere by Claude Debussy - Yusup Ovezov will be the clarinet soloist in this composition.

Claudio Vandelli began conducting at the age of 19.

He led the student orchestra of the Milan Academy of Music, collaborated for several years with the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra in France, being responsible for the selection of musicians. He has taken part in the most prestigious music festivals and performed in major concert halls of the world - the Berlin Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Festival Palace in Cannes, the Doelen Hall in Rotterdam, the Prince Ranieri Palace in Monte Carlo and others. As a guest conductor, Vandelli collaborates with orchestras in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Switzerland, Turkey, USA, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

The only concert with the participation of the Italian maestro will take place in Ashgabat on February 25 at the Magtymguly Music and Drama Theater. Starting at 15:00, admission is free.

Gulya Geldyeva