St Petersburg, Concert Hall

The Nizhny Novgorod Academic Symphony Orchestra


PERFORMERS:
Soloists:
Anastasia Kalagina (soprano)
Yekaterina Mechetina (piano)

The Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Mstislav Rostropovich Philharmonic
Conductor: Alexander Skulsky

 


PROGRAMME:
Modest Musorgsky
Pictures at an Exhibition (orchestration by Leopold Stokowski)
The Nursery (orchestration by Rodion Shchedrin)

Camille Saint-Saëns
Piano Concerto No 2 in G Minor, Op. 22

Richard Strauss
Suite from the opera Der Rosenkavalier

About the performers

Artistic Director and Principal Conductor: Alexander Skulsky

The Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Mstislav Rostropovich Philharmonic was founded in 1937. From the day it was formed until 1954 the orchestra was directed by Semyon Lazerson. Over the years, the orchestra has also collaborated with such renowned conductors as Leo Ginzburg, Gavriil Yudin, Daniel Tyulin and Kirill Kondrashin. A particularly prominent role in the ensemble’s artistic life was played by Israil Gusman who directed the orchestra for thirty years (1957–1987). From 1988–2000 the orchestra was led by Vladimir Ziva, while since October 2000 its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor has been Alexander Skulsky.
The orchestra was the first to perform of a number of works by Shostakovich, Khachaturian, Khrennikov, Sviridov, Karaev, Shchedrin, Schnittke and Alexander Tchaikovsky. The ensemble has frequently taken part in the Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic’s festival Contemporary Music, and since 1992 regularly appears at the Andrei Sakharov Arts Festival.
Over the years the orchestra has been conducted by Yevgeny Svetlanov, Natan Rakhlin, Boris Khaikin, Karl Eliasberg, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Veronika Dudarova, Yuri Temirkanov, Valery Gergiev, Saulius Sondeckis, Jansug Kakhidze, Vassily Sinaisky, Dmitrij Kitajenko, Yuri Simonov, Yevgeny Kolobov, Eri Klas, Maxim Shostakovich, Vladimir Ponkin, Fuat Mansurov, Dmitry Liss, Emmanuel Leducq-Barome, Olivier Granjean, Fabio Mastrangelo, Pierre-Dominique Ponnelle, Hermann Dechant, René Gulikers, Otto Tausk, Micha Hamel, Ivan Meylemans, Igor Solzhenitsyn, Hobart Earle, Vladimir Svoisky and Andres Mustonen. Acclaimed musicians who have collaborated with the ensemble include Heinrich Neuhaus, Lev Oborin, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Maria Yudina, Mstislav Rostropovich, David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Yakov Flier, Van Cliburn, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Galina Vishnevskaya, Irina Arkhipova, Mikhail Pletnev, Viktor Tretiakov, Yuri Bashmet, Vladimir Spivakov, Daniil Shafran, Dmitri Bashkirov, Vladimir Krainev, Eliso Virsaladze, Grigory Sokolov, Natalia Gutman, Oleg Kagan, Gidon Kremer, Mischa Maisky, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Ivan Monighetti, Denis Matsuev, Barry Douglas, Daniel Pollack, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Ralph van Raat, Andrei Korobeinikov, Konstantin Lifschitz, Alexandre Bouzlov, Sergei Nakariakov, Arkady Shilkloper, Arno Bornkamp, Lilia Desknite-Larina and Daniel Galvez Vallejo.
The orchestra has frequently toured to various cities in Russia, the Baltic States, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. Has appeared at the festivals March Days of Music in Bulgaria, Symphonies d’argent in France, the Oleg Kagan Music Festival in Kreuth (Germany) and the International Mstislav Rostropovich Festivals in Baku and Moscow.
It has undertaken several major tours to cities in Spain, France, Belgium and Germany and has given concerts in Amsterdam, The Hague and countries in Scandinavia. One key event in recent years was the orchestra’s successful debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
In 2002 the orchestra was acclaimed as the winner in the category “Best performance of contemporary music” at the open festival of symphony and chamber ensembles of Russia run by radio Orpheus.
The orchestra has an extensive discography and has produced many recordings on radio and television. In January 2002 ConClaRec released two CDs featuring recordings of its concerts at the Andrei Sakharov International Arts Festival. In 1996 the newspaper Muzykalnoe Obozrenie (Music Review) named the ensemble “Orchestra of the Year”.

Age category 6+

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