The festival logo is made up of several symbols, central to which is a matryoshka (Russian doll) in the colours of the Russian and Serbian national flags. The festival is traditionally held in the folk village of Drvengrad, Serbia, under the direction of world-renowned film director Emir Kusturica and supported by Gazprom Neft. The festival this year takes place on 15 — 17 July. Over the course of three days 100 musicians, aged from 13 to 25, from Russian and Serbian music schools and academies, will compete in performing classical works by Russian and Serbian composers. At the end of the festival an international jury will select the best performers in two age groups to receive the main prize of a Golden Matryoshka. The jury for this year’s fourth festival will be headed by famous Russian pianist, People’s Artist of Russia, and Moscow State Philharmonic soloist, Yuri Rozum. Alexander Dybal, Gazprom Neft Deputy CEO for Corporate Communications, commented: “We are extremely glad that the Bolshoi Festival has become a major event in the musical life of the Balkans. This year we have created a new visual concept for the festival: its traditional symbols — comprising a matryoshka, together with musical notes — are now shown in the colours of our national flags, underlining the key idea of the festival, of strengthening cultural ties between Russia and Serbia. The red colour symbolises energy and change, the blue symbolises constancy in cultural values, and the white suggests peace and perfectionism. The festival is developing, and this new visual identity reflects not just the common ground between our cultures, but also conveys the passionate emotions for which our two peoples are known.” Film director Emir Kusturica commented: “Music gives us the ability to surpass our limitations and feel genuine freedom. Mokra Gora is becoming imbued with this independence of spirit for what is, already, the fourth year. The festival’s key symbol — of a musical matryoshka — reflects the very essence of pan-Slavonic unity, the embodiment of which can be seen in the freedom of musical expression.” Additional information: The Bolshoi Festival of Classical Music, under the leadership of film director Emir Kusturica, has taken place in the village of Drvengrad (Serbia) since 2013. Gazprom Neft is the general sponsor of the festival. The key idea behind the festival is to support talented young people from music schools and academies throughout Serbia, as well as talented young people from various regions throughout Russia. The Bolshoi Festival attracts approximately 5,000 attendees every year. Artists performing at the festival in Drvengrad include the famous Russian and Serbian musicians Yuri Rozum, Nemanja Radulovich, and Alena Baeva. Drvengrad stands some 1,600 metres above sea level in the hills of Zlatibor (in the Mokra Gora national park), Serbia, and represents a unique architectural initiative on the part of Emir Kusturica, having been built near the narrow-gauge railway that once united Belgrade with Dubrovnik for scenes in his film “Life is a Miracle”. The town is centred around Nikola Tesla square, whose main building is the church of St Sava; the town having only around 50 houses, in total. All streets and buildings have been given special names celebrating famous people: Novak Djokovic Street, Maradona Street, the Stanley Kurbrick cinema building, Nikita Mikhalkov Square, the House of Dostoevsky, and so on.
