On May 13th, the 11th Music Festival Hibla Gerzmava invites… will kick off in Abkhazia. This year, Hibla brings to the Festival well-known jazz musicians: Andrei Ivanov (double bass), Dmitry Sevastyanov (percussion), Arkady Shilkloper (French and Alpine horn) and, of course, a pianist Denis Matsuev, a great friend of Hibla who comes to the Festival for the second time (he was there last year). The concert will feature a special appearance by Georgy Piliya. On May 16th, Hibla will give a recital accompanied by a pianist Ekaterina Ganelina, Hibla’s long-time music partner. The recital will feature works by Peter Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov and a song cycle Madrigal by Nikolai Miaskovsky, as well as a few arias from operas by famous Western European composers performed by a soloist of the Moscow Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre Arsen Sogomonyan (baritone). Both concerts, which will be held at the Abkhazia R. Gumba State Philharmonic Hall in Sukhum, will be narrated by a famous music critic Esma Dzheniya. The Festival runs within the framework of Russia-Abkhazia cultural seasons and supported by the Government of the Republic of Abkhazia, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Abkhazia and the Ministry of Culture of Russia. For many years, and this year was no exception, the Festival was made possible thanks to continued support of Hibla’s close friends: Andrei Dudko and “New Generation” Charity Foundation, Enver Kuzmin and “Restavratsia N” Ltd.