Concert in Beslan in memory of victims

A special concert to commemorate the victims of the Beslan school siege in 2004 was held on Tuesday. Leading Russian musicians and a special guest from Britain, Michael Collins, were among the performers.

The Russian National Orchestra performed there, as well as piano soloist Denis Matsuev and Michael Collins, a prominent British clarinettist.

Michael Collins was opening the concert – he played a part of Mozart’s Concerto.

The music was specially chosen by Maestro Pletnev, the head of the Russian National Orchestra.
 
The concert took place at school number eight, one of the two new schools that have been opened after the tragedy which happened three years ago in Russia’s southern Republic of North Ossetia when terrorists seized control of Beslan's school number one. More than 1,200 children, teachers and parents were taken hostage and 334 of them died when the siege reached a bloody end.

Mikhail Pletnev, one of the organisers of the event, said he hopes music had a healing effect.

Friends and relatives of those who died in the school siege were among the audience.