David Garrett, the Rezo Gabriadze Marionette Theatre, English National Ballet and Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo at the Baku International Arts Festival The Baku International Arts Festival (BIAF), taking place from 28 October to 8 November 2026 at the key venues of Azerbaijan’s capital, continues to announce the headliners of this year’s programme. Among them are world-renowned stars of music, contemporary choreography, dramatic theatre and the visual arts. On 4 November, the Heydar Aliyev Center will host the only concert in Baku by the internationally acclaimed violinist David Garrett, an artist who has largely shaped the modern style of classical crossover.
A graduate of the Juilliard School, Garrett received rigorous classical training under such masters as Zakhar Bron and Ida Haendel. In his youth he also worked with outstanding conductors, among them Yehudi Menuhin, who called him “the greatest violinist of his generation.” This strong academic foundation gave Garrett the confidence and freedom to move effortlessly between genres and music of different eras — earning him the nicknames “the Jimi Hendrix of the classical stage” and “the Paganini of pop”. The rock star of classical music will bring to Baku for the first time his celebrated programme Millennium Symphony — a spectacular show in which the biggest hits of the past 25 years are performed in large-scale symphonic arrangements for violin.
Audiences can expect an emotional mix of dazzling technique, rock-stage energy and the creative freedom of one of the most charismatic artists of our time. The ideal setting for the evening will be the iconic Heydar Aliyev Center, whose fluid, almost weightless architecture resonates with the same power and boundlessness as Garrett’s music. On the same stage, on 3 and 4 November, the celebrated Rezo Gabriadze Marionette Theatre will present the production Alfred and Violetta — one of the most remarkable and poetic theatrical phenomena of our time.
The play, written and originally staged by the outstanding Georgian theatre artist Rezo Gabriadze, returns in a completely new version. Shortly before his death in 2021, the author almost entirely rewrote the piece; the final staging was completed by his son, director Leo Gabriadze. The classic love story, known from Alexandre Dumas fils’ novel La Dame aux Camélias and Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata, is transposed to the turbulent 1990s in Tbilisi, where the protagonists must overcome far harsher trials.
The world premiere of the renewed production took place in February 2022 at Venice’s Teatro Goldoni and immediately captivated both audiences and critics. The Italian press wrote: “Gabriadze is a master of theatrical style in which humour is mixed with heart-breaking pain. With animated figures that live and feel, he creates a unique world full of mystery” (La Nuova, Venice, 2022).
On 6 and 7 November, the Azerbaijan State Academic Musical Theatre will welcome, for the first time in Baku’s history, the renowned English National Ballet. The Company will present the programme Masters in Motion: Forsythe / Pite, featuring two landmark works by contemporary choreographers — Body and Soul (Part 1) by Crystal Pite and Playlist (EP) by William Forsythe. Body and Soul (Part 1) is a hypnotic piece exploring conflict and connectedness.
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