Russian concert in Palmyra

Palmyra: A renowned Russian conductor has led a concert in the ruins of Palmyra in Syria, which were recaptured from the so-called ISIS in March. Valery Gergiev, a supporter of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, conducted the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, from St Petersburg, at Palmyra’s Roman Theatre. BBC reported.

The concert, “Pray for Palmyra: Music Revives Ancient Ruins,” was dedicated to victims of the terrorist group.Last July, IS posted footage online showing some of its fighters carrying out killings in the ancient theatre.

Syrian forces, backed by Russian air strikes, retook the historic site. Mr Gergiev led the orchestra through pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Sergei Prokofiev and Rodion Shchedrin, in front of a crowd of Russian soldiers, government ministers and journalists.

Pictures of the concert, broadcast on Russian state television, were occasionally interrupted by footage of military action — showing Russian military backing for Syrian government forces as they liberated Palmyra from IS militants. Mr Gergiev was until recently principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and is music director of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2014, he backed Mr Putin over the annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine. In 2008, he performed in the capital of South Ossetia when Russia and Georgia were fighting over the territory. The maestro described the concert as a protest against the barbarism and violence exhibited by Islamic State militants who had used the city’s Roman amphitheatre to execute prisoners.