TUBA MIRUM International Cultural Project

June 2001 saw the official opening of the New Entrance to the State Hermitage from Palace Square. For the first time after a gap of a century, the Main Gates and Large Courtyard of the Winter Palace, the former residence of the Russian emperors, were open to visitors. This event was marked by the Russian premiere of the oratorio The Seven Gates of Jerusalem by the outstanding contemporary composer Krzysztof Penderecki.

TUBA MIRUM was a tremendous musical event. The setting for it was the Large Courtyard of the Winter Palace. Some 400 musicians from many countries took part in the concerts, of which two — on 26 and 28 June 2001 — were central.

At 10 in the evening of 26 June the first Russian performance of Penderecki’s The Seven Gates of Jerusalem began with orchestras, choirs and soloists conducted by the composer himself. This work was written in 1996 for the 3000th anniversary of the City of Jerusalem to biblical texts that express hope and the summons to “Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in” (Isaiah 26,2)

Two days later, on 28 June, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was performed by four orchestras, four choirs and four soloists conducted by Saulius Sondeckis.

The foyer of the Hermitage Theatre was the setting for a unique exhibition of musical instruments from the collection of the world’s only trumpet museum in the German town of Bad Säckingen.

The halls of the Hermitage and the stage of the Hermitage Theatre hosted concerts by soloists and orchestras from Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Israel and Russia.

From now on the Large Courtyard of the Winter Palace will be the setting for annual open-air musical events and open its gates to welcome musicians from all over the world.

Krzysztof Penderecki

Saulius Sondeckis