Orchestras and Conductors

Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra.

Its history covers a period of over two hundred years, and the Mariinsky Orchestra has been in the heart of the musical life of St. Petersburg. The orchestra was headed by Berlioz, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff. They were followed by outstanding conductors, including Eduard Nápravník, Vladimir Dranishnikov, Boris Khaikin, and Yuri Temirkanov. Since 1988, Valery Gergiev has been Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre and its Orchestra. With his arrival, Gergiev succeeded in raising the orchestra to the highest level possible, capable of brilliantly performing both the theatre and concert repertoires. The programs include a prodigious amount of Russian and European music dating back four hundred years in any and all genres. The ensemble is notable for its virtuosity, universal character, unique resilience, and empathy for soloists. Many orchestral artists continue their solo careers, play in ensembles of different instrumentation, go into educational work, and compose music.

Conductors:

Valery Gergiev

Chief conductor, Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre.

Graduated from the Rimsky-Korsakov Leningrad State Conservatory, student of the legendary Professor Ilya Musin, Valery Gergiev was invited to join the Kirov Theatre (now the Mariinsky) as an assistant to the principal conductor in 1978 In 1988 Valery Gergiev was appointed Music Director of the Mariinsky Theatre, and in 1996 he became its Artistic and General Director. Under the direction of Valery Gergiev Mariinsky Theatre has become a major theatre and concert complex, unmatched in the world. The three stages in St. Petersburg, the stages in Vladivostok and Vladikavkaz branches host more than 1500 performances and concerts. The ensemble's repertoire includes more than two hundred operas and ballets from Glinka to Shchedrin, from Mozart to Strauss. Almost all the operas by Verdi and Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky are performed in the theatre. The Mariinsky Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev performs symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, works by Berlioz, Bruckner, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, and many other composers. The theatre has its own media broadcasting, online broadcasts of concerts and performances are regularly held.

All those years Valery Gergiev’s international activities were no less intensive and active, but he is currently fully focused on his work at home, in Russia.

Valery Gergiev is the founder of prestigious international festivals, including The Stars of the White Nights (1993) and the Moscow Easter Festival (2002). Since 2011, he heads the Organizing Committee of the International Tchaikovsky Competition.

Valery Gergiev’s musical and public activities have brought him three State Prizes of the Russian Federation (1993, 1998 and 2015), the titles of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation (1996) and Hero of Labour (2013), the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” and prestigious state awards of Armenia, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, France and Japan.

Pavel Smelkov

Speciality: Voice
Location: Mussorgsky Hall, Mariinsky II

Gurgen Petrosyan

Speciality: Brass Instruments
Location: State Academic Capella, Mariinsky Concert Hal

Nikolay Khondzinsky

Speciality: Woodwinds
Location: Repino Hall, Mariinsky Concert Hal

St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra

Speciality: Cello
Location: Saint Petersburg Philharmonia (Small Hall, Great Hall)

The orchestra joined the St. Petersburg Philharmonia 70 years ago. The St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra traces its history back to 1931 as a concert ensemble, later becoming the Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Radio. In August 1942, the musicians of this very orchestra, headed by Karl Eliasberg, performed the Leningrad premiere of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony. The orchestra was headed by legendary representatives of the Leningrad school: Nikolai Rabinovich and Yuri Temirkanov. For 40 years, from 1977 until June 2018, Alexander Dmitriev headed the orchestra as its Artistic Director. Vladimir Altschuler has been working with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra as its conductor for over 25 years. The orchestra’s programs include music of all styles, from Baroque to Avant-garde music. The orchestra was the first to have performed a number of works by Richard Strauss, Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin, Honegger, Dutilleux, Pärt, Schnittke, Ligeti for the first time in St. Petersburg.

Conductor: Felix Korobov

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Chief Conductor of the Moscow State Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre (since 2004). Laureate of the Moscow Prize in Literature and the Arts. Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Chamber orchestra of the Moscow Conservatory (since 2007).

Graduated from the Moscow State Conservatory in two disciplines: Cello (Professor Maria Tchaikovskaya) and Opera and Symphony Conducting (Professor Vassily Sinaisky). He started his career as a conductor in the Svetlanov State Symphony Orchestra of Russia. Under his direction operas by Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Massenet, Cherubini, Milhaud et Satie, ballets by Kilian, McMillan and others were staged. Almost all styles and directions are represented in the huge theatrical repertoire of the conductor. He performs with symphony orchestras in Russia and abroad. Since 2017 Felix Korobov collaborates with Teatro alla Scala, where he conducted ballets Onegin (2017), Manon (2018), The Sleeping Beauty (2019), Balanchine/Kilian/Bejar (2019).

State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia "Evgeny Svetlanov"

Speciality: Piano
Location: Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory

The first performance of the orchestra took place in 1936 at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Over the years, the State Symphony Orchestra has been directed by its founder Alexander Gauk, Natan Rakhlin, Konstantin Ivanov, Vasily Sinaisky, Mark Gorenstein, Vladimir Jurowski and Vasily Petrenko. The orchestra was headed by Evgeny Svetlanov for 35 years, and in 2005, the ensemble was named after the glorious conductor. The orchestra's concert programs include Russian and European symphony classics, as well as an impressive layer of modern music. Famous conductors, singers, and musicians performed with the orchestra. The orchestra has since represented Russian art in dozens of countries around the world, and records have been released by leading recording companies. The State Symphony of Russia often performs at festivals and competitions, including the International Tchaikovsky Competition.

Conductor - Alexei Rubin

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Conductor of the Novaya Rossiya State Symphony Orchestra. From 2015 to 2022 he was an Assistant Conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. Graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, majoring in choral conducting with Professor Valentin Nesterov and in opera and symphonic conducting with Professor Yuri Simonov. Alexey regularly appears at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the Rachmaninoff Concert Hall (Philharmonia 2), and at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He collaborates with leading Russian orchestras: the Svetlanov State Symphony Orchestra of Russia, the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.

Russian National Orchestra

Speciality: Violin
Location: Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall

The orchestra was founded in 1990 by Mikhail Pletnev and has quickly gained international fame. The orchestra tours a lot in Russia, including outlying regions of the country. The orchestra has worked with singers Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. The orchestra was conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, Kent Nagano, Charles Dutoit, and Alberto Zedda. Together with Deutsche Grammophon, Pentatone, and other labels, the orchestra has released more than 100 albums (and won the 2008 Grammy Award in the category of the Best Children's Audio Book). The orchestra participates in many festivals and annually holds its own Grand RNO Festival, bringing together both the world's leading artists and young talents. The orchestra was the first to receive a grant of the Government of the Russian Federation among non-governmental ensembles, and was turned into a state ensemble in 2009 In 2022, Alexander Rudin was appointed as its artistic director and chief conductor of the orchestra.

Conductor: Alexander Rudin

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People's Artist of Russia

One of the most prominent representatives of modern Russian musical art. A world-famous cellist, conductor who collaborates with both symphony and chamber orchestras, a pianist, an outstanding ensemble player, a researcher of old scores, an author of orchestral editions of chamber pieces, he belongs to a new type of Russian performers - the type of universal musicians. A laureate of international competitions, including the most prestigious ones such as the Bach Competition in Leipzig (1976), the Gaspar Cassadó Competition in Florence (1979), the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1978, 1982). People's Artist of Russia (2001), laureate of the State Prize, laureate of the Moscow Government Award, Chevalier of the Order of Friendship, Professor of the Moscow Conservatory.