Globally renowned Russian musicians performed three of their country’s most evocative and enigmatic pieces of classical music at a special concert in Brussels to honour political prisoners in Russian jails.

The concert, held at the prestigious Bibliothèque Solvay, was hosted by the European Parliament classical music group, and was organised to coincide with a hearing on political prisoners in Russia, which Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s son Pavel and trial lawyer Vadim Klyuvgant were invited to address.

Young Russian musicians Polina Leschenko (piano) and Nathan Braude (viola) led a quintet of internationally renowned musicians in performing pieces by Rachmaninov, Schnittke and Shostakovich.

The concert was attended by more than one hundred Members of the European Parliament, diplomats, lawyers, officials from the European Union institutions, think-tank personnel, journalists, NGO staff and business figures.

The inspiration for the concert came from Nathan, who recently visited Russia from his home in Belgium and was shocked at the deterioration in the state of freedom of expression, particularly in the artistic world.

“I was dismayed at the sense of tension and fear that exists in Russia today,” Nathan told this site. “The atmosphere for artists and others involved in creative pursuits is deeply unpleasant at the moment. It’s a consequence of the way the country is being governed. We wanted to perform this concert as a way of raising awareness of the fact that Russia continues to jail people for their political beliefs and actions. I’m delighted we’re partnering with the European Parliament classical music group. The European Parliament has consistently stood up in favour of basic human rights in Russia, and it needs to raise its voice today more than ever. We also wanted to do this to tie in with the hearing in the European Parliament on Russian political prisoners, which itself is intended as a fiftieth birthday tribute to Mikhail Khodorkovsky.”

The official programme of the concert can be found here.