All-Russian classical music marathon "Cantata. Russia" to launch across the country on 12 June

The All-Russian classical music marathon "Cantata. Russia" will launch across the country on 12 June, Russia Day. Concerts will be held throughout the day in 15 regions of the country, from Kaliningrad to the Far East, bringing together thousands of viewers, musicians and creative groups. The marathon is being held as part of the VI Cantata International Classical Music Festival and is one of the largest events in the field of academic art in Russia. The National Centre RUSSIA will be the central venue of the event.

Concerts will be held in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaliningrad, Astrakhan, Cherepovets, Kursk, Novorossiysk, Yoshkar-Ola, Ryazan, Rostov Veliky, Rostov-on-Don, Khabarovsk, Cheboksary and the Republic of Karelia. The project’s total audience will be around 20,000 people.

This year, the geography of the project covers a wide range of spaces across the country, from the National Centre RUSSIA in Moscow and Cathedral Square in Rostov Veliky to the Ryazan and Astrakhan kremlins, Komsomolskaya Square in Khabarovsk and the industrial site of the Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant.

"The marathon is dedicated to the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia. In each region, the marathon acquires its own sound while preserving the shared idea of uniting the country through the language of academic music," said Chief of the Presidential Directorate for Social Projects and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Cantata Festival Sergei Novikov.

The concert at the National Centre RUSSIA will be held under the direction of Yuri Bashmet. The event’s visual accompaniment deserves special attention: masterpieces from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery will be displayed on media screens, with each musical work accompanied by a visual sequence of classic works of Russian art.

In Kaliningrad, at the central venue of the Cantata Festival on Kant Island, a combined orchestra of musicians from the Kaliningrad Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra will perform under the direction of the festival’s Artistic Director Fabio Mastrangelo. The special guest of the programme is pianist Angel Wong.

The organisers note a steady increase in Russians’ interest in academic art and classical music concert formats. This is also confirmed by research data from the VCIOM Analytical Centre. According to the survey, 38% of Russians attended academic art events over the past year, while among representatives of Generation Z this figure reaches 49%, and among young millennials, 51%. In addition, almost two thirds of Russians believe that academic art is a field that requires state support.

"We see that the audience for academic art is changing today and becoming noticeably younger. This is confirmed both by research data and by the practice of festivals and theatres. Young people come for meanings and complex ideas. It is no coincidence that the works of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Shostakovich continue to resonate with new generations. Classical music is art that has stood the test of time. And if today tens of thousands of people across the country are taking part in the 'Cantata. Russia' marathon, it means the need for this kind of conversation remains truly strong," said General Producer of the Cantata Festival and Director General of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre Andrei Borisov.

The concert in Rostov Veliky will be held with the participation of People’s Artist of Russia Lyubov Kazarnovskaya. According to her observations, young people’s interest in classical music is becoming one of the most noticeable trends in the country’s cultural life today.

"Young people have been drawn to classical music, and this is very encouraging. The generation we considered to be the generation of clip thinking and the internet is now being drawn to something real and beginning to search for something deep and eternal. And classical music offers precisely this opportunity. It does not need translation; it goes from heart to heart and helps people touch a great cultural tradition," People’s Artist of Russia Lyubov Kazarnovskaya noted.

The marathon programme features works by Glinka, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Sviridov, composers whose works form the basis of the Russian academic musical tradition.

The "Cantata. Russia" marathon is being held as part of the VI Cantata International Classical Music Festival, which will take place from 12 to 16 June in the Kaliningrad Region. The theme of the 2026 festival is "Ahead of Time". The festival is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Kaliningrad Region.

The "Cantata. Russia" marathon is being held as part of the VI Cantata International Classical Music Festival, which will take place from 12 to 16 June 2026 in the Kaliningrad Region. Cantata has been held since 2021. The festival is aimed at popularising academic art, developing educational programmes and preserving cultural legacy. Funds raised from ticket sales for the festival events are directed towards the restoration of cultural legacy sites in the Kaliningrad Region. The project is implemented with the support of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.

Information partners: TASS News Agency, Kommersant Publishing House, Vedomosti, Izvestia Media Centre, Russian Media Group, Radio Monte Carlo, 1MI, Vzglyad newspaper, Lenta.ru, Gazeta.ru, VFocus Mail, InterMedia, Radio Orpheus, Culture.RF and Belcanto.ru. Official social network: VK. Communications partner: MAER Group. Analytical partner: VCIOM Analytical Centre.