Mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina begins her jubilee season with a concert at the Constantine Palace as part of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Held this year in Borodina’s native St. Petersburg, the conference is the world’s leading international cooperation forum, leading discussions on international economic and financial issues held from September 5 – 6, 2013. Borodina will perform at a private concert on September 5.

Held annually on Lincoln Center Plaza, the Metropolitan Opera’s Summer HD Festival concludes this year on Monday, September 2, with a screening of Verdi’s Aida, starring Olga Borodina under the baton of Fabio Luisi.

Of the 2012 performances, which also starred Liudmyla Monastyrska and Roberto Alagna, the New York Times wrote, “the combined fervor” of Borodina and Luisi “made for an electrically charged and energetic performance.” The Times added that  Borodina’s “astonishingly powerful, almost masculine low notes seem to come out of an instrument different from that of the rest of her range… her final plea for peace was heart wrenching.”

Following an acclaimed appearance with the Istanbul Music Festival earlier this summer, Maxim Vengerov returns to Turkey for a concert in Bodrum with the D-Marin Turgutreis International Classical Music Festival. Under the baton of Rengim Gökmen, Vengerov guests with the Presidential Symphony Orchestra for Tchaikovsky’s much-loved Violin Concerto. For more information, click here.

As both conductor and violinist, Maxim Vengerov celebrates the conclusion of the 2013 Sion Festival, a celebration of voice and violin on August 21. He leads the International Menuhin Orchestra and appears as soloist for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, while also highlighting the composer’s vocal works by conducting two arias featuring soprano Rachel Harnisch. Vengerov also offers Tchaikovsky’s Valse Scherzo, Op. 23, for violin. For more information, click here.

As a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations Children’s Fund, Maxim Vengerov has lent his support to UNICEF’s new global initiative to help end violence against children. Launching on July 31, the campaign focuses on eradicating child abuse by bullying or sexual violence and trafficking in homes, areas of conflict, and schools. As UNICEF writes, “Just because you can’t see violence, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Make the invisible visible.”

Vengerov has said of his work with UNICEF, “Helping children in need and sharing classical music with young people is perhaps the greatest responsibility of my life.” Learn more about his work with the organization here.