Vadim Repin, one of the world’s most famous and popular musicians, will give a concert at the opening of the Alekhine Memorial Chess Super-Tournament, which will take place on 20 April in Paris. Vadim Repin will join with pianist Nikolai Lugansky to perform a programme of works by Sergei Rachmaninoff for piano and violin.

“It’s a great joy to perform some rare works composed by Rachmaninoff for piano and violin, in this year, the 140th anniversary of the composer’s birth, at the opening of the tournament in memory of the great chess master”, said the musician. “Rachmaninoff’s lifetime, like that of Alekhine, coincided with a period of incredible historical shocks, and this was reflected in both their art and their life, which were at the same time spectacular and tragic. Despite spending a considerable part of their lives outside Russia, they both felt an unbreakable link with their homeland to the end of their days. The power and sincerity of Rachmaninoff’s music still excites and delights millions of people who listen to it, captivating them with its beauty and the truly Russian breadth of its melodies.”

Like Nikolai Lugansky, Vadim Repin has long been a fan of chess. Speaking of his decision to support the Alekhine Memorial, Vadim Repin said: “Chess has always been very popular among musicians: one recalls the match between Oistrakh and Prokofiev which took place at the Moscow Conservatory, and Prokofiev’s friendship with Botvinnik and Capablanca. Dmitri Shostakovich was a big fan of chess. There are lots of examples – in the musical world chess has always been seen as part of the culture.”

The Alexander Alekhine Memorial, organised by the Russian Chess Federation at the initiative and with the support of entrepreneurs Gennady Timchenko and Andrei Filatov, will feature the world’s best chess players – world champion Viswanathan Anand, former champion Vladimir Kramnik, World Cup holder Peter Svidler, Levon Aronian, Boris Gelfand and other outstanding grandmasters.

This major international sports and cultural event will take place in Paris and St Petersburg – two cities with close ties to the maestro - between 21 April and 1 May 2013.