TV BRICS International Symphony Orchestra to give its first open-air concert in Russia marking 20th anniversary of BRICS

The TV BRICS International Symphony Orchestra will perform at an open-air venue in Russia for the first time. The concert will take place on 5 June 2026 at Palace Square in St. Petersburg and will be one of the flagship open-air musical events of the cultural programme of the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The performance will be dedicated to the 20th anniversary of BRICS, whose establishment was announced at SPIEF in June 2006.

The orchestra will reunite in an expanded line-up, bringing together musicians from Russia and abroad. The international ensemble will perform works representing different musical cultures and will present the world premiere of the symphonic poem "BRICS – A Commonwealth of Cultures".

The first part of the programme will feature guest soloists from Russia, China and Iran. Olga Pudova, a soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre, will perform Norina’s Cavatina from Donizetti’s opera "Don Pasquale" and Aleksander Alyabyev’s romance "The Nightingale". Guo Jianchao, Principal Tenor of Beijing Opera and Dance Drama Theatre, will perform the Chinese folk song "Motherland", Calaf’s aria "Nessun Dorma" from Giacomo Puccini’s opera "Turandot", and, together with Olga Pudova, a duet from Giuseppe Verdi’s "La Traviata". Amin Ghafari, one of Iran’s leading violinists, will perform the third movement of the Violin Concerto by Iranian composer Farhad Fakhreddini, as well as Sergey Rachmaninoff’s "Vocalise".

The centrepiece of the concert will be the world premiere of the symphonic poem "BRICS – A Commonwealth of Cultures", written especially for the occasion by Russian composer and pianist Murat Kabardokov.

In the second part of the programme, the TV BRICS International Symphony Orchestra will perform alongside Italian singer Alessandro Safina.

“The uniqueness of this performance lies not only in its international cast of participants, but also in the programme itself. Musical traditions, performance schools and cultures from different countries will come together in a single concert, while the premiere of the symphonic poem 'BRICS – A Commonwealth of Cultures', specially composed by Murat Kabardokov, will serve as a musical embodiment of this dialogue. Today, it is particularly important to remind ourselves that culture always builds bridges rather than destroys them,” said Mikhail Golikov, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the TV BRICS International Symphony Orchestra.

The concert "In the Rhythm of Summer" on 5 June 2026 (starting at 8:00 p.m. Moscow time) will be the culmination of the SPIEF cultural festival Petersburg Seasons.

The 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will take place from 3 to 6 June 2026 with information support from the TV BRICS International Media Network. A TV BRICS television studio will operate within the Roscongress International business networking area, hosting interviews with business leaders and government officials.

The TV BRICS International Symphony Orchestra was established in 2023 under the auspices of the TV BRICS International Media Network to promote the cultural, musical and classical music achievements of BRICS countries in the global media space. In its activities, the orchestra draws on the experience of major national broadcasting organisations that maintain their own symphony orchestras, including the BBC (United Kingdom), ZDF, WDR and NDR (Germany), NHK (Japan), the USSR State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting (Soviet Union), and its present-day successor, Radio Orpheus (Russia).

The orchestra’s principal area of activity is participation in international projects and the performance of classical and folk instrumental music for radio recordings and television broadcasts. Its repertoire features national music traditions and works by contemporary composers from BRICS member states and partner countries.