• "The Magic of Mozart" will fill the historic colonial city during the Cartagena International Music Festival.
• Twenty-four concerts, six lectures and two exhibitions will take place during the Festival week.
• New artists and the inclusion of repertoire for voices are some of the highlights of the2010 Festival.

Bogotá, Colombia – Under the direction of Stephen Prutsman, Artistic Director of the Cartagena International Music Festival, “The Magic of Mozart” will fill the squares, streets and balconies of Cartagena de Indias, from January 9 - 16 January 2010. The Festival will feature 24 concerts in historic venues, and over 80 artists including 3 prominent Colombian groups. Programs will once again be broadcast nationwide on radio and television, bringing the Festival to wider audiences throughout country.

"We are very excited about the theme of this year’s festival, “The Magic of Mozart,” which Stephen Prutsman has created for his debut season as the Festival’s Artistic Director,” says Julia Salvi, President of Salvi Foundation Columbia. "Stephen’s remarkable ability to create innovative musical programs and attract artists of the highest caliber will, I am confident, take the Festival to even greater heights this year. The addition of renowned Colombian guitarist, Ricardo Cobo and Colombian singers, Cesar Augusto Gutiérrez and Valeriano Lanchas, will provide an opportunity to introduce these talented artists to festival audiences. They will share the stage with our invited international artists such as the Shanghai String Quartet; cellist, Alisa Weilerstein and the City of London Sinfonia, among others." Prutsman took over as Artistic Director of the Cartagena Festival after Maestro Charles Wadsworth -founder Artistic Director- announced his retirement in January 2009.

The 2010 program includes works of Mozart, Beethoven, Grieg, Hayden, Mendhelsson and Ravel, among others In addition, a special piece by Colombian composer, Francisco Zumaqué has been commissioned by Salvi Foundation to be performed for the first time during the festival.

"Francisco Zumaqué, represents a long tradition of gifted and talented Colombian composers who have created beautiful and memorable music through the years. This commission honors his work and the beauty of this country’s music,” says Prutsman.

This year, for the first time, two additional venues have been added to the Festival’s performance spaces: The CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY, a small colonial church built in 1643, and the PLAZA DE LA TRINIDAD. Both are located within Plaza de la Trinidad in the Gethsemane neighborhood.

“It is only through the generosity of our sponsors that we are able to present the wide range of programs offered during the Cartagena Music Festival, including several free concerts in the public squares and outreach concerts in some of the neighborhoods in Cartagena,” says Sandra Meluk, Salvi Foundation Director. “We are grateful to our many private and corporate sponsors for their support of the Festival and their belief in our mission to further cultural opportunities for the people of Colombia.”

During the Festival week there will be six lectures focusing on the celebration of the Colombian Bicentennial of Independence and the life of the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In addition, the Museum of Modern Art in Cartagena will host an exhibition of Colombian artist, José Antonio Suárez Londoño’s work. Suárez Londoño was selected to create the official poster for the 2010 Cartagena International Music Festival. The exhibition will be open from January 8 until February 15, 2010. Other exhibitions are scheduled to take place at the institution Arts and Sciences University of Bolivar (former Escuela de Bellas Artes), where objects from Deimos Art Gallery and the Santo Domingo School of Arts and Crafts will be on display.

 

Roster of 2010 Festival Artists

Stephen Prutsman	Artistic Director	U.S.A.
Robert McDuffie	Violin	U.S.A.
Bella Hristova	Violin	Bulgaria
Hsin-Yun Huang	Viola	Taiwan
Alisa Weilerstein	Cello	U.S.A.
Suren Bagratuni	Cello	Armenia
Gwyneth Wentink	Harp	Netherlands
Ricardo Cobo	Guitar	Colombia
Anna Polonsky	Piano	Russia
Max Levinson	Piano	U.S.A.
Jorge Mario Uribe	Clarinet	Colombia
Stefano Eulogi	Clarinet	Italy
City of London Sinfonia Stuart Stratford	Conductor	United Kingdom
Shanghai	String Quartet	China
Puerto Candelaria	Folk Group	Colombia
Hugo Candelario y Trio Bahía	Folk Group	Colombia
Trio Colombita	Folk Group	Colombia
Jessica Rivera	Soprano	Puerto Rico
Katarzyna Sadej	Mezzo-Soprano	Poland/Canada
César Augusto Gutiérrez	Tenor	Colombia
Valeriano Lanchas	Bass	Colombia
Coral Santa Cecilia Alejandro Zuleta	Conductor	Colombia
Francisco Zumaqué	Composer	Colombia

 

For more information about the 2010 Cartagena Music Festival please visit www.cartagenamusicfestival.com.

Editors Note: Photographs of the artists, Festival venues, and scenes of Cartagena are available upon request.

To download a copy of this press release in PDF format, click here.