Voices from the East (May 1) Lighthouse Poole Celebrations begin on Wednesday May 1 when Kirill is joined by Artist in Residence Alexander Malofeev and viola player Valeriy Sokolov at Lighthouse, Poole for an exciting programme featuring an array of music from the countries of Eastern Europe. Kancheli’s Styx is a predominantly meditative piece with the viola acting as an intermediary between the lands of the living and the dead. Meanwhile Balakirev’s virtuosic Islamey is a rich oriental fantasy inspired by melodies from the Caucasus Mountains. Artist-in-Residence Alexander Malofeev stars in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1, a piece which remains refreshingly original with its exciting and altogether exceptional opening, not to be missed! Tickets from £10

Malofeev plays with the BSO at Lighthouse, Poole (C) Mark Allan

Iolanta (May 8) Lighthouse Poole The second concert of Kirill’s departing triptych as our Chief Conductor presents Tchaikovsky’s last opera; Iolanta. Close to Kirill’s heart and a piece that he has long wished to conduct with the Orchestra, Iolanta is tender, magical and poignant and extolls the healing power of love through the story of the blind princess, Iolanta. Deeply religious at its core, this is also a piece best known for its love duet, featuring some of Tchaikovsky’s most uplifting melodies. Star soprano Olga Kulchynska takes the title role alongside a dazzling cast list of some of the most celebrated singers on the opera scene today. Tickets from £16

Olga Kulchynska (C) Alena Nayda

Shostakovich 5 (May 15) Lighthouse Poole In this special celebratory concert, and closing the BSO’s season in Poole, Kirill explores a selection of works from the countries of eastern Europe, including Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin, a parable about lust, power relations and the fear of the strange. Later, he’s joined by pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk who’ll take on Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3, a work brimming with lyricism and unbridled energy. The night closes with Shostakovich’s mighty Symphony No. 5, a piece originally written to appease the authorities of the brutal Stalinist state, but the man in the street saw the truth through the façade. Tickets from £10

Kirill Karabits conducts the BSO (C) Mark Allan

Voices from the East Festival (May 19) Southbank Centre Just a couple of days later sees a full day of celebrations focussing upon Kirill’s Voices from the East series with the Orchestra at London’s Southbank Centre. Three concerts at the Royal Festival Hall will be interspersed with talks and free performances across public spaces in the venue. Journeying along an orchestral version of the Silk Road, this series reveals the magical flavours of music from across Kirill’s native land and its neighbouring countries.

Kirill Karabits and Composer-in-Residence Anna Korsun at Lighthouse Poole

The first concert of the day focuses on music from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, with works by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Chary Nurymov and Kara Karayev. The second takes the audience to a soundworld from Georgia and Armenia, with Giya Kancheli’s Styx and Avet Terterian’s Symphony No. 3, while the final concert of the day celebrates music from Ukraine, with works by Thomas de Hartmann and Boris Lyatoshynsky alongside BSO Composer-in-Residence Anna Korsun’s Terricone, which received its world premiere by Karabits and the BSO in January 2023.

Timetable of the day’s events:
1pm  Voices from the East: Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan
4pm  Voices from the East: Georgia and Armenia
7.30pm  Voices from the East: Ukraine

Tickets from £15

New Worlds (June 7) Bristol Beacon Kirill travels west to Bristol for a concert of music from ‘New Worlds’. Korngold’s Violin Concerto reimagines themes from several of his film scores and is both lush and romantic. For this piece Kirill will be joined by Liya Petrova, a Bulgarian-born violinist praised for her “effortless virtuosity” by The Strad. This stirring work is nestled between Karayev’s Seven Beauties Suite and Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 “From the New World”. Karayev’s Seven Beauties Suite was recorded in 2017 by Kirill and the Orchestra and Kirill has described his music as “unique mixtures of the traditions of Mahler and Shostakovich, drawing as well on a colourful palette of Azerbaijani folk tunes”. Meanwhile, Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 “From the New World” describes the composer’s spiritual and emotional longing for his beloved bohemia to the thrill of his journey to the “New World” and the people he meets along the way…Tickets from £10

Liya Petrova (C) Simon Fowler

We can’t wait to see you at one (or hopefully all!) of these special concerts as we celebrate the culmination of a magnificent musical partnership. For tickets and more information see our whats on for details