12. rahvusvaheline muusikafestival ''Klassika Kütkes''
Th 13.08.2026 - Tu 18.08.2026
The 12th International Music Festival "Classical Hugs" promotes the development of cultural and musical ties between Estonia, Western Europe, Asia and America.
The festival program includes concerts and master classes by world-class soloists:
pianists Olga Kern, Michael Bulychev-Okser, Daniil Pollack, Dmitri Bashkirov, Pavel Nersessian, Dmitri Alexeev, Piotr Paleczny, Grigori Gruzman and John O'Conor; violinists Shlomo Mintz, Pierre Amoyal, Pavel Vernikov, Boris Garlitsky, Felix Andrievsky, Michael Vaiman, Cho-Liang Lin, Boris Vayner and Miriam Davis; viola players Hartmut Rohde, Wilfried Strehle, Paul Neubauer, Alexander Zemtsov and Isabel Villanueva; and cellists Colin Carr, Raphael Wallfisch and Maria Kliegel.
The 2026 festival artists represent more than 50 countries around the world, including Estonia, the USA, Latvia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Austria, England, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Finland, Portugal, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Serbia, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, China, New Zealand, Indonesia and Australia.
Festival Orchestra
The International Orchestra “Klassika Kütkes” was created in 2022. The orchestra consists of musicians from various Estonian ensembles – including the Vanemuine Theatre Orchestra (Tartu) and the Narva City Symphony Orchestra – and orchestras from Latvia and Finland, in addition to virtuosos from all over the world; this diverse composition ensures an ensemble of high artistic level. The orchestra’s conductors for the 2025 season are Lillian Kaiv (Estonia), Rui Marques (Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Norway) and Sherin Kim (USA).
The orchestra’s principal conductor for the 2026 season is Honorary Citizen of the City of Narva Anatoli Štšura (Estonia).
Repertoire
The international orchestra “Classics in the Air 2026” will feature 12 soloists from 10 different countries, performing classical concertos by Bach, Mozart, Ravel, Mendelssohn and Saint-Saëns (the latter arranged for saxophone). In addition, true masterpieces of the romantic and contemporary music repertoire will be performed: Eugène Ysaÿe’s “Fantaisie”, American composer Erich Korngold’s Violin Concerto, Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto and Maurice Ravel’s “Tzigane”. Two gala concerts will take place on August 17 and 18 at the House of Blackheads.
The 2026 festival concerts will take place in two Estonian cities – Tallinn and Kohtla-Järve – and in Riga, Latvia.
Festival soloists
Michael Bulychev-Okser is a world-famous American pianist, composer and producer who performs in the world’s most prestigious concert venues. He is also the founder and artistic director of the international music festival “Classical Hugs”. Estonian audiences also know him as the “New Liszt” thanks to his virtuoso interpretations of Liszt’s works, which are performed in solo performances in various Estonian cities.
It is no coincidence that at the opening concert of the festival, Michael Bulychev-Okser will give a solo concert, performing his new program “The Magic of Romance”. The opening concert will also feature a mysterious guest who will perform Schubert’s “Erlkönig” (“The Fairy King”).
Alexander Markov (USA) – “The New Paganini” – is a world-class virtuoso violinist. For the third season in a row, Alexander Markov is presenting exceptional programs in Estonia. The 2026 season marks a new chapter in the acclaimed artistic duel between the “New Paganini” and the “New Liszt”. In the concert titled “Reboot”, these world-famous musicians will present a new experimental program to the audience: “From Bach to Pärt”.
Andres Mustonen (Estonia) - World-famous conductor, violinist, researcher and expert in early music.
Founder, conductor and artistic director of the early music ensemble Hortus Musicus.
Peeter Paemurru - renowned Estonian cellist and pedagogue. Professor and head of the string department of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Concertmaster of the cello group of the Estonia Orchestra from 1973 to 1979 and member of the orchestra from 1985 to 2004.
Opera diva Dominika Zamara (Italy/Poland) will perform with renowned Estonian opera singer Maria Veretenina. Together they will delight the audience with beloved opera arias from the works of Verdi, Bellini, Rossini and other composers.
Aleksei Bljahhin – Estonian baritone, known for his numerous performances of romances and Estonian patriotic songs.
Miriam Davis – British violinist, characterized by dazzling beauty and bold musical interpretations. Juri Žislin – English violinist and violist; professor at the Royal College of Music, London; founder and artistic director of the Tchaikovsky Camerata Orchestra in London.
Misato Hanawa – virtuoso saxophonist from Japan.
Mateus Belloni – virtuoso Brazilian violinist and concertmaster of numerous orchestras around the world, including Brazil, Italy and China. In the 2026 season, Mateus will be the concertmaster of the Klassika Kütkes Orchestra.
Barnabás Kelemen and Katalin Kokas are virtuoso violinists from Hungary and professors of violin at the Liszt Academy in Budapest.
Indrek Vau - one of Estonia's most respected brass instrument players. ERSO (Estonian National Symphony Orchestra)
Rein Roos – Estonian timpani player from the Estonian National Opera Orchestra.
Tatiana Gashimova – cellist from the Narva Symphony Orchestra; cellist from the “Klassika Kütkes” orchestra.
Festival mission:
A hug is a simple expression of human warmth. “Classical Hugs” is an expression of affection, which is conveyed through music. The festival's mission is to show how music can bring love and peace to the whole world.
The festival program includes concerts and master classes by world-class soloists:
pianists Olga Kern, Michael Bulychev-Okser, Daniil Pollack, Dmitri Bashkirov, Pavel Nersessian, Dmitri Alexeev, Piotr Paleczny, Grigori Gruzman and John O'Conor; violinists Shlomo Mintz, Pierre Amoyal, Pavel Vernikov, Boris Garlitsky, Felix Andrievsky, Michael Vaiman, Cho-Liang Lin, Boris Vayner and Miriam Davis; viola players Hartmut Rohde, Wilfried Strehle, Paul Neubauer, Alexander Zemtsov and Isabel Villanueva; and cellists Colin Carr, Raphael Wallfisch and Maria Kliegel.
The 2026 festival artists represent more than 50 countries around the world, including Estonia, the USA, Latvia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Austria, England, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Finland, Portugal, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Serbia, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, China, New Zealand, Indonesia and Australia.
Festival Orchestra
The International Orchestra “Klassika Kütkes” was created in 2022. The orchestra consists of musicians from various Estonian ensembles – including the Vanemuine Theatre Orchestra (Tartu) and the Narva City Symphony Orchestra – and orchestras from Latvia and Finland, in addition to virtuosos from all over the world; this diverse composition ensures an ensemble of high artistic level. The orchestra’s conductors for the 2025 season are Lillian Kaiv (Estonia), Rui Marques (Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Norway) and Sherin Kim (USA).
The orchestra’s principal conductor for the 2026 season is Honorary Citizen of the City of Narva Anatoli Štšura (Estonia).
Repertoire
The international orchestra “Classics in the Air 2026” will feature 12 soloists from 10 different countries, performing classical concertos by Bach, Mozart, Ravel, Mendelssohn and Saint-Saëns (the latter arranged for saxophone). In addition, true masterpieces of the romantic and contemporary music repertoire will be performed: Eugène Ysaÿe’s “Fantaisie”, American composer Erich Korngold’s Violin Concerto, Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto and Maurice Ravel’s “Tzigane”. Two gala concerts will take place on August 17 and 18 at the House of Blackheads.
The 2026 festival concerts will take place in two Estonian cities – Tallinn and Kohtla-Järve – and in Riga, Latvia.
Festival soloists
Michael Bulychev-Okser is a world-famous American pianist, composer and producer who performs in the world’s most prestigious concert venues. He is also the founder and artistic director of the international music festival “Classical Hugs”. Estonian audiences also know him as the “New Liszt” thanks to his virtuoso interpretations of Liszt’s works, which are performed in solo performances in various Estonian cities.
It is no coincidence that at the opening concert of the festival, Michael Bulychev-Okser will give a solo concert, performing his new program “The Magic of Romance”. The opening concert will also feature a mysterious guest who will perform Schubert’s “Erlkönig” (“The Fairy King”).
Alexander Markov (USA) – “The New Paganini” – is a world-class virtuoso violinist. For the third season in a row, Alexander Markov is presenting exceptional programs in Estonia. The 2026 season marks a new chapter in the acclaimed artistic duel between the “New Paganini” and the “New Liszt”. In the concert titled “Reboot”, these world-famous musicians will present a new experimental program to the audience: “From Bach to Pärt”.
Andres Mustonen (Estonia) - World-famous conductor, violinist, researcher and expert in early music.
Founder, conductor and artistic director of the early music ensemble Hortus Musicus.
Peeter Paemurru - renowned Estonian cellist and pedagogue. Professor and head of the string department of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Concertmaster of the cello group of the Estonia Orchestra from 1973 to 1979 and member of the orchestra from 1985 to 2004.
Opera diva Dominika Zamara (Italy/Poland) will perform with renowned Estonian opera singer Maria Veretenina. Together they will delight the audience with beloved opera arias from the works of Verdi, Bellini, Rossini and other composers.
Aleksei Bljahhin – Estonian baritone, known for his numerous performances of romances and Estonian patriotic songs.
Miriam Davis – British violinist, characterized by dazzling beauty and bold musical interpretations. Juri Žislin – English violinist and violist; professor at the Royal College of Music, London; founder and artistic director of the Tchaikovsky Camerata Orchestra in London.
Misato Hanawa – virtuoso saxophonist from Japan.
Mateus Belloni – virtuoso Brazilian violinist and concertmaster of numerous orchestras around the world, including Brazil, Italy and China. In the 2026 season, Mateus will be the concertmaster of the Klassika Kütkes Orchestra.
Barnabás Kelemen and Katalin Kokas are virtuoso violinists from Hungary and professors of violin at the Liszt Academy in Budapest.
Indrek Vau - one of Estonia's most respected brass instrument players. ERSO (Estonian National Symphony Orchestra)
Rein Roos – Estonian timpani player from the Estonian National Opera Orchestra.
Tatiana Gashimova – cellist from the Narva Symphony Orchestra; cellist from the “Klassika Kütkes” orchestra.
Festival mission:
A hug is a simple expression of human warmth. “Classical Hugs” is an expression of affection, which is conveyed through music. The festival's mission is to show how music can bring love and peace to the whole world.