St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra

The St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra is the patriarch of the domestic musical scene. At the same time, the history of the oldest orchestra in Russia was proposed to count from different dates. Thus, at one point 1917 had been counted as the starting year, when the orchestra became the State one (although, practically it just meant the simple name change, made as a matter of fact). There were also attempts to refer the beginning of the creative biography to the end of the XVIII century (and, true enough, the court orchestras existed in Russia from the first half of this century). There were also some curious versions, for instance in 1934, wanting to celebrate the anniversary of the orchestra, someone decided to count the year 1919 as the date of its inception. But historically, more adequate seems the timeline maintaining the creation of the orchestra in 1882. That was the year, when on the Order of Alexander III, the Court musical choir has been established, the prototype of today’s Russian choir.

Thus, in 2007, the orchestra will celebrate its 125th anniversary. Of course, the Court choir of 1882 style was nothing like today’s symphony orchestra. The musical performance had exclusively decorative character, and the repertoire was complete with the fanfare signals and such. The pinnacle of this type of activity was the participation of the choir in 1896 in the coronation ceremony of Nicholas II. But already from the end of the XIX – beginning of the XX century, the performances of the group renamed in 1897 into a Court orchestra, began to acquire the features more familiar to us. Public concerts became commonplace, where under the cycle Musical news Collection there have been performed the programs of musical pieces, played in Russia for the first time. The orchestra had been directed by some of the world famous musicians: Richard Strauss, Arthur Nikish, Alexander Glazunov, Sergey Kussevitsky...

The history of the orchestra is inseparable from the history of the state. Following the period of peak performance, there came the wave of disasters after 1917. The orchestra survived those turbulent times only thanks to the enthusiasm of the musicians. They not only continued to give concerts, but continuously tried to make contacts with the new authorities. As a result, based on the Decree of 1921, on the base of the orchestra, the first in country philharmonia has been established. And in about three years, the unprecedented tours began of the whole pleiade of Western conductors. Their names enjoy the unquestioned authority in today’s musical world: Otto Klemperer (the conductor also conducted the program concerts), Bruno Walter, Felix Weingartner. As soloists, Vladimir Horowitz and Sergey Prokofiev perform with the orchestra, with their piano concerts. On the initiative of the foreign conductors, the orchestra begins to play the modern repertoire – Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Berg, Hindemith, Honegger, Poulenc. There also sound the music of domestic composers. Back in 1918, directed by the author, the orchestra had performed for the first time, the Classical symphony of Prokofiev. And in 1926 Shostakovich makes a debut with his First symphony in the Grand hall of Philharmonia (conducted by Nikolay Malko).

In 1934 the orchestra receives the title of the Honored art collective of the republic, Four years later, the orchestra is joined the young Evgeny Mravinsky who stayed with the orchestra until his last days. During half the century, the conductor has been creating step after step, one of the world’s best orchestras. The class of the virtuoso orchestra permitted its recognition as best interpreter of Mozart music in the Viennese festival dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the composer. The unique for the musical world is also the creative alliance of Mravinsky and Shostakovich. Many symphonies of the composer had been performed by Mravinsky for the first time and they become the centerpieces of the repertoire, included in the program of foreign tours. The conductor continues advancing the music of Shostakovich when the composer falls out of favor. On just how deep did Shostakovich appreciated this collaboration, speaks the very fact of dedication of the Eighth symphony to him.

The heir of Mravinsky in the orchestra became the shooting star of the conductor’s Olympus, Yuri Temirkanov. In 1988 on the initiative of the musicians, he becomes the conductor of the most famous national orchestra. The history opens the "Temirkanov era", the period of collaboration with one of the most demanded conductors of our times. In the past season alone, the orchestra had added to its list the Russian premiere of "… al niente" Canceli and the opening of the 2005/2006 season in New York Carnegie hall, which became the culmination of years’ worth of touring the most prestigious concert halls of the world. The St. Petersburg Philharmonic orchestra, having first in the nation received the titles of merited and academic, having performed on one scene with Bartok, Hindemith, Van Cliburn, Richter, Oistrakh, Rostropovich, today, thanks to Yuri Temirkanov remains, according to the penetrating definition of New York Times "the most expressively Russian of all famous Russian orchestras".

Within the Festival of the World Symphonic Orchestras outstanding musicians from different regions of our country - Vladivostok, Ekaterinburg, Kirov (Vyatka), Kislovodsk, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Petrozavodsk, Rostov-on-Don, Saratov and Sochi - will play members of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.