Now famous for hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics, the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi is also making a name for itself as the host of the annual International Arts Festival.
For its eighth edition, organisers decided to bring together different musical genres from around the world.
The festival’s artistic director is Russian conductor, violinist and violist Yuri Bashmet, one of Russia’s most outstanding musicians.
The 62-year old maestro himself was at hand for workshops throughout the festival – Violin student Pavel is in his first year of violin classes. For Yuri Bashmet, it’s important to encourage the young generation to chose classical music as a career.
“The idea is not to scare away young musicians but to reassure them that they have made the right choice,” he said.
Guests this year included Roby Lakatos and his and Andrey Konstantinov of the Terem Quartet.
Dubbed the “devil’s fiddler”, Roby Lakatos comes from a prestigious family of violin players in the Hungari
