World Art Day celebrated in Baku

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Art has the power to reinterpret the meaning of life through a new lens. It encourages us to search constantly for creative ideas. 

Every year on April 15, the world community celebrates the fine arts and promotes awareness of creativity. 

A proposal to declare World Art Day was put forward at the 17th General Assembly of the International Association of Art with the first celebration held in 2012. 

The day was decided in honor of the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci as a symbol of world peace, freedom of expression, tolerance, brotherhood and multiculturalism as well as art’s importance to other fields.

World Art Day in Azerbaijan

World Art Day has been celebrated in Baku. The event also timed to coincide with the  95th birth anniversary of the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century Mstislav Rostropovich.

Head of the Baku Main Department of Culture Ibrahim Aliyev, heads of cultural institutions attended the event initiated by the Center for organizing Cultural Events and Working with Creative Youth and Mstislav Rostropovich House-Museum.

Laureates of republican and international competitions, students of the Rostropovich Music school presented a concert program as part of the celebration. 

Born in Baku, Mstislav Rostropovich premiered over 100 pieces and formed long-standing artistic partnerships with such prominent composers as Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutoslawski, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Norbert Moret, Andreas Makris and Benjamin Britten.

Rostropovich is also well known for his interpretations of standard repertoire works, including Dvo?ák's Cello Concerto in B minor and Haydn's cello concerti in C and D,[citation needed] Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto and the two cello concerti of Shostakovich.

A Grammy Award winner was considered one of the leading conductors of the West. The musician won over 50 awards during his career. 

Starting from 2007, a festival dedicated to the eminent musician is annually held in Azerbaijan.

In 2019, the 10th International Mstislav Rostropovich Festival was held in Baku.

The festival was attended by prominent public figures, representatives of diplomatic missions, famous cultural and art figures, and numerous fans of classical music.