December 31, 2016 | Svetlanov Hall Sylvester Concert Ildar ABDRAZAKOV, bass Conductor – Vladimir SPIVAKOV Ildar Abdrazakov, the guest of Vladimir Spivakov's Sylvester Concert, is a celebrated bass, a soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre, singing at the largest operatic venues around the world, a two-time Grammy Award winner. The annual festive night of the Maestro and the NPR at the Svetlanov Hall of the Moscow Performing Arts Centre has become a truly welcomed tradition both for the musicians and their admirers. This wonderful time is a great source of inspiration, and Vladimir Spivakov's New-Year concerts never miss charming surprises. The Maestro invites top stars, chiefly those who share his artistic predilections and whose performances always provoke bliss and merriment. After all, it is such a pleasure to share joy, especially on the eve of such a popular holiday! The artistic cooperation of Ildar Abdrazakov and Vladimir Spivakov goes back to the late 1990s at the International Music Festival in Colmar (France). "For me Vladimir Spivakov's invitation was flattering and touching, because we were both born in Ufa. To sing with him is a great honour,"- says the singer. In December 2015, the famous bass took part in the closing concert of the VIII Moscow Music Festival "Vladimir Spivakov Invites ...": together with Dmitry Korczak and the "Moscow Virtuosi" Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Spivakov Abdrazakov brilliantly performed Rimsky-Korsakov's "Mozart and Salieri" Dramatic Scenes based on one of A.S. Pushkin's "Little Tragedies" of the same name. Critics hail Abdrazakov a “sensational bass…who has just about everything – imposing sound, beautiful legato, oodles of finesse” (The Independent). He himself defines his voice as basso cantante – a lyric bass that is best suited to perform music by Mozart, Verdi, the bel canto repertoire and Russian classics. After having won the Maria Callas Competition “Nuove voci per Verdi” in Parma, where the singer was awarded the Grand Prix, Abdrazakov was immediately invited to La Scala, and since then he has conquered all the major opera houses in the world. Today he is at the peak of his international career, and his solo concert at the Moscow Performing Arts Centre will be a rare gift to music lovers who will be able to fully assess the validity of the appraisal in "Nezavisimaya Gazeta": "The voice is velvety, sonorous, perfectly clear, with a faint fragrance of vibrato, filling the whole Hall; how would not get crazy hearing it?”