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The St.Petersburg Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) 
The Orchestra was formed in 1931, when radio was experiencing its boom, as the
Leningrad Radio Orchestra. Most of the broadcasts were live, so from the very
first, the musicians had to master a complex and vast repertoire. The war period
became a legendary part of the Orchestra‘s history. The Orchestra was the only
one to stay and perform in the besieged city of Leningrad . Its activities
culminated in the performance of Shostakovich‘s Seventh Symphony on the 9-th of
August 1942 - the day the Nazis planned to enter the captured city. The
Orchestra‘s work during the siege became a unique monument to the irrepressible
dignity of the human spirit.
After WW II, although the orchestra still worked for the radio, its live
concert appearances became more and more frequent, so it was quite natural that
it became part of the Leningrad Philharmonia. The Great Philharmonic Hall has
been its main venue ever since. The Orchestra prepared many new programs,
participated in Philharmonic subscriptions. At the same time it preserved the
generic features characteristic of a radio orchestra: ability to play at sight,
sensitivity and quick reaction to conductor‘s intent. During this period, the
Orchestra was headed by N.Rabinovitch (1953-1960) and A.Yansons (1961-1968).
A new period in the Orchestra‘s life started in 1968 when
young Yuri Temirkanov was appointed its Chief Conductor. Temirkanov who had just
won the All-Union Conducting Competition was already acknowledged and loved by
the Leningrad audience. He enlarged the repertoire and introduced new
interpretation of classical music. The orchestra started touring abroad: first
Scandinavian countries, then Europe , Japan and the USA . Its high artistic
level was noted by critics. "Leningrad deserves two great orchestras, and it
does have them", - newspapers wrote.
In 1977, when Temirkanov left the Orchestra for the Mariinsky
Theater, the post of Chief Conductor was assumed by Alexander Dmitriev -
Rabinovich‘s pupil, a worthy inheritor of the Leningrad/St.-Petersburg
conducting school traditions. His creative collaboration with the orchestra
which has lasted for over two decades has proven to be extremely fruitful. The
programs they prepared together included compositions that had never been
performed in St.Petersburg before - Handel‘s Oratorio "The Power of Music",
Mahler‘s Eighth Symphony, Preliminary Action by Scriabin-Nemtin, Debussy‘s
"Pelleas et Melisande", Zemlinsky‘s "Undina" and many others. These programs
were acknowledged by critics and obtained the recognition of the audience.
In 1985 the Orchestra received the honorary title
of Academic for its great contribution to the national performing arts.
At present it is one of the leading symphony orchestras of Russia . Its
playing is noted for its wonderful sense of ensemble and unique individualities
of the leaders and soloists. The Orchestra copes easily with new repertoire and
feels equally confident when playing music of varying epochs and styles.
The Orchestra successfully tours abroad and participates in the international
festivals held in St.Petersburg including such festivals as Arts Square , The
Stars of White Nights, Musical Spring, Christmas Meeting in Northern Palmyra ,
Musical Olympus etc. The Orchestra participated in the Second International
Rostropovich Cellists‘ Congress and appeared in the gala concert dedicated to
the 60th anniversary of Yu.Temirkanov‘s birth.
Since its conception the Orchestra has been an active advocate of modern
music. Its programmers constantly include works by R.Schedrin, A.Petrov,
S.Slonimsky, B.Tischenko, G.Ustvolskaya, Yu.Falik and many others.
Prominent Russian and Western conductors such as K. Eliasberg, M. Sargent, K.
Mazur, K. Osetrreicher, P. Argento, D. Barbirolli, O. Frid, G. Sebastian, E.
Mravinsky, E. Svetlanov, B. Khaikin, I. Mousin, G. Rozhdestvensky, D. Kitaenko,
A. Lazarev, P. Kletzki, L. Maazel, L. Segerstam, R. Benzi, Y.- P. Tortelier, M.
Rostropovich, V. Gergiev, V. Sinaisky, M. Yansons etc., have worked with the
Orchestra.
Working with different conductors‘ individualities and facing the continuous
expansion of the repertoire made the Orchestra mobile and flexible, so it
obtained its unique image in a short time.
The orchestra’s history is marked with great soloists’ names, including
S.Richter, E.Gilels, D.Oistrach, L.Kogan, V.Cliburn, I.Stern, A.Fischer,
I.Menuhin, P.Furnier, L.Marshall, G.Sokolov, E.Virssaladze, N.Gutman,
V.Tretyakov, R.Kerer, Yu.Bashmet, B.Pergamenshchikov etc.
The 75th anniversary of the Orchestra is the time of its artistic maturity
with renowned traditions in the past and challenging perspectives on the
future.
International recognition: press reviews about tours of the
St.Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra worldwide
ORCHESTRA STRUCTURE
First violinsHonoured artist of Russia
Shustin A.E.
Gentzelt V.E.
Noskov Z.D.
Sayfutdinova
I.E.
Krasilschikova A.D.
Svyatlovsky A.G.
Konovalova O.P.
Dogadina
L.G.
Osipov L.A.
Tomilova Y.A.
Klychkov Y.L.
Romanova
I.G.
Leybenkraft L.K.
Vasilieva V.B.
Arkhimandritov I.B.
Laureate
of International competition Krutik M.S.
Laureate of International
competition Zubova A.D.
G.Mnatsakanyan |
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Second violinsHonoured artist of Russia
Liskovich A.N.
Lisnyak V.D.
Velkov Z.Z.
Sysoeva L.N.
Stetskaya
N.A.
Kuzovkova G.I.
Sheykina N.V.
Kotov Y.V.
Lugovkina N.N.
Rakov
M.Y.
Kapustina O.V.
Velkova Z.Z.
Shalaev F.F.
Grikurov
V.V. |
Bass ClarinetBolshianov A.Y. |
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ContrabassoonGutkin M.N. |
TrumpetsLaureate of All-Russian and
International competitions Birk N.E.
Mikhaylov M.P.
Honoured artist
of Russia Yriev B.V. |
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BassoonsKunyavsky A.M.
Laureate of
All-Russian Competition Krasnik D.M.
Golm N.A. |
CellosHonoured artist of Russia Pechatin
S.V.
Volkov L.I.
Belisov S.V.
Shirokov P.A.
Tikhonov
O.A.
Kovarsky S.A.
Gerasimov M.L.
Novikov S.L.
Kartashov
I.B.
Zelikova N.N.
Lev A.E.
Gurkina |
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ViolasHonoured artist of Russia Meerovich
D.G.
Sokolov M.V.
Volkind J.R.
Alexandrov R.Y.
Shapiro
N.T.
Zarubin S.V.
Byaly G.A.
Bereznev I.A
Chernyshov M.V.
Bogorad
A.P.
Ovsyannikov Y.S.
Efimov I. |
HornsLaureate of All-Russian Competition
Mikaelyan A.G.
Laureate of All-Union and All-Russian Competitions Grokhovsky
I.G.
Honoured artist of Russia Sukhorukov A.K.
Laureate of All-Russian
Competition Mokshin V.V.
Mikhaylov A. |
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Timpani and PercussionKanatov V.K.
Fedorov
T.A.
Fedorov A.S.
Ryzhov N.V.
Lestov M.V. |
OboesLaureate of All-Union competition Tses
A.G.
Ivanov S.I.
Shrednik E.V. |
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TrombonesLestov V.P.
Zelikov A.V.
Antonyk
D.N. |
English HornNikitin V.V. |
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HarpsSimeon E.
Laureate of All-Union
competition Kravchik I.V. |
ClarinetsHonoured artist of Russia Fedorov
A.V.
Alexeev M.B.
Rakov R. |
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Stage TechniciansChinakaev R.M.
Remizov
A.A.
Stepanov V.I. |
Piano and glockenspielMazhara N.Y. |
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LibrarianZaytsev A.M. |
TubaShtadel A.R. |
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DirectorGutkin M.N. |
BassesMalinov V.S.
Rybakov T.L.
Shamshuro
N.N.
Makhauri E.I.
Ivaschenko A.L.
Karlov I.V.
Gogitidze
P.G.
Dmitriev S.V. |
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FlutesHonoured artist of Russia Suleymanov
R.Kh.
Laureat of Inernational Competition Sechkareva N.E.
Markul
M.D.
Jasenovich A.P. |
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