Hermitage

A visit in the famous Hermitage is a must for every St. Petersburg visitor. In april four different exhibitions will be shown: Rubens: two versions of a painting. "The Statue of Ceres" from the Hermitage and from the Hermann Beyeler Collection (Switzerland); The Aroma of Antiquity; Garofalo - the Ferrara Raphael; Modernism in Jewelry. From the Art Museum of Montreal (Canada). But of course the building itself is worth a visit!

when - throughout April
where - Hermitage, 34 Dvortsovaya Emb., St. Petersburg
more info - click here

Le Jazz: Third Festival of French Jazz

Contemporary and cosmopolitian, nothing carries the feelings and emotions away like jazz. Combining ethnic grooves with classical jazz, this festival is imbued with the inimical gypsy flavour. The Bojan Z Trio (Bojan pictured) starts proceedings while the Romane Trio, paying homage the father of gypsy jazz, Django Reinhardt, will conclude the first evening. The second night of the festival features Richard Bonner, a bass player from Cameroon. Playing a mix of mainstream lyrical blues compositions, he also throws some fusion into the mix. The shows start at 19:00 and tickets are available from 150RB.

when - 1st, 15th April
where - Music Hall, Aleksandrovsky park 4, St. Petersburg
more info - click here

Golden Ice Stradivarius

Russian figure skating superstars perform to live accompaniment from one of the last eight remaining Stradivarius violins in the world? Evgeny Plyushchenko and his friend and violin master Edwin Marton had this extraordinary idea. As Plyushchenko and his friends Tatyana Totmyanina and Maksiim Marinin do the iceskating part, Martin will serenade the crowd by his virtous playing. To crown the evening there will be ice acrobats and fire jugglers and hula hoop action. The show starts at 19:00.

when - 6th April
where - Ice Palace (Ledovy Dvorets) (IP), Pr. Pyatiletok 1
more info - click here

13th International Festival: Jazz Spring in St. Petersburg

The rich sounds of jazz, klezmer and a cavalcade of intriguing performers will delight the city. Highlights are Jana Radion, a spritely local jazz vocalist who sings in many different languages like English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, and the Norwegian klezmer group, Urban Tunells. For those who don't know yet, the most important thing about klezmer is the clarinet. Wonderful music in a wonderful city!

when - 12th to 22nd April
where - JFC Jazz Club, Ul. Shpalernaya 33 and Tavrichesky Gardens, ul. Tavricheskaya
more info - click here

New Polish Cinema

Now already in its 16th year, the New Polish Cinema Festival shows all that is bright and innovative from Russia's slavic cousins. The opening night will be attended by the stars of Polish Cinema like actresses Grazhina Shapovlovska and Anna Romantovska or directors Radoslav Pivovarski and Yatsek Bromsky. Films to be screened include: The travels of Nina, Officer of the Court, Lovers of the Year of the Tiger and Chaos.

when - 13th to 18th April
where - Ul. Karavannaya 12
more info - click here

Baltic House Theatre

Already for the 9th year in a row, the fantastic Baltic House collects the best theatrical productions of the CIS countries and the Baltics. The aim is to strengthen bonds between these countries and Russia through the theatrical medium. With 2007 being the year of the Russian language, Russian classics from Chekhov to Gogol are in the focus.

when - 13th to 21st April
where - Baltic House, Aleksandrovsky park 4,
more info - click here

SKIF 11

All that is crazy, experimentalist and fun in music can be experienced at this annual festival. Dedicated to Sergei Kuryokhin, a major figure in the Russian avant garde music scene, SKIF will exhaust all your senses. International bands as Canada’s punk group ‘Nomeansno’, USA’s ‘Heavy Trash’ and Holland’s ‘Solex’, as well as Russian ones, for example ‘Deti Picasso’ will play here. For sure the atmosphere will be mad. Join the chaos in St. Petersburg!

when - 19th to 22nd April
where - Centre of Modern Art, VO, Sredny pr. 93
more info - click here

Pythian Games

Pro Arte Institute offers yet another unique project - for lovers of music, competition and participation. Every year they invite worthy Russian composers to compose a piece especially for this event. Compositions are performed anonymously and the audience and the ensemble who performs all the compositions then vote for their favourite. Only those composers deemed capable of shaping the future of Russian music are selected and include recent graduates of the Petersburg Conservatory and famous musicians. On 28th April, the ensemble Shum i Yarost (Sound and Light) will perform, the next evening, the 29th will feature the ensemble, Pomekhi (Interference).

when - 28th to 29th April
where - A. S. Popov Central Museum of Communications, Main Hall, Saint-Petersburg,
more info - click here