The mayor of Kharkiv Gennady Kernes and the people deputy of Ukraine Valery Pisarenko were present at the celebration.
«A year ago we started working at getting the national status for our conservatory. We have managed to do it all together. During its approval we had found a support of a great many of people – officials and deputies of Verkhovna Rada. It was done for the benefit of culture, of eternal values. And also for benefit of those people who play for others and call for exciting emotions. As Shostakovich said “people are not born fond of classical music, but they become the ones when listening to it” – the mayor of Kharkiv admitted.
The people deputy Valery Pisarenko came to greet the participants of “Kharkiv assemblies” together with Gennady Kernes.
«I am sure we will become good friends with your festival and we will definitely do a lot of good things, may be more than it had been done before. They did not pay much attention to development of culture and arts in Ukraine, and the things existing in Kharkiv today and distinguish the city not as intellectual only but as a cultural capital of Ukraine”, - Valery Pisarenko admitted. And I am sure that when we meet next year you will be able to tell from this stage: they could do more than we wanted”.
Within the opening there was a concert of symphonic and opera creations by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart made by the stars of English vocal school Joan Rogers and Darren Geoffrey. The symphonic orchestra was directed by Timothy Rainish.
The theme of the festival this year is “Mozart again and forever – to the 20th anniversary of the festival foundation”. Since the 30th of September to the 16th of October 29 concerts will come on the main concert stages of the city. In particular they will pass in a big and new chamber hall of Kharkiv national university named by I.P. Kotlyarevsky and on the stage of Kharkiv regional Philharmonic Hall.
Within the festival there will be scientific and practical conference, master classes of the guests, presentations as it is in the traditions of the festival. The piano duet “DUO PETROF”, the violinist Victor Abramyan, pianist Graham Scott, director Rachel Young, a member of Italian Rotary-club “Cortona Valdichiana” Franchesco Attesty will participate the assemblies. The following directors: the honored arts worker of Russia Dmitry Liss and the main director and the art director of Athens state orchestra Viron Fidetsis are going to perform with the Youth academic symphonic orchestra “Slobozhansky”. Within the festival there will be a common projects of the performers of Germany, Switzerland and Ukraine, Spanish musicians Yury Nasushkin and Lidia Stratulat, the people artist of Russia Valery Aliev (baritone) are going to perform.

Information. The festival “Kharkiv assemblies” was founded in 1991. It is the 18th festival, which of them had its own theme. There were world famous performers at the stages of Kharkiv within the festival such as: the people artist of Russia Naum Shtarkman, Mikhail Pletnev, Tatiana Grindenko and “Ensemble of Ancient music” 9Moskva), ensemble “Red Priest”, Jacob Haringam, Karen Radcliff, Michael Bell (Great Britain), Peter Lang, Manfred Mayerhofer (Austria), Charlotte Hoffman, Beata Westercamp and many others.