THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF THE ST PETERSBURG PHILHARMONIA celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2021, and spent the last season under the sign of the 70th anniversary of its incorporation into the Philharmonia. The orchestra traces its history back to 1931, having started its activity as a concert ensemble and then as the Leningrad Radio Symphony Orchestra Working in live broadcast, the musicians mastered a diverse repertoire. The mobility of the orchestra, which was led by H. Unger, then I. Alterman, was facilitated by collaboration with many conductors: O. Fried, F. Stiedry, A. Gauk, V. Dranishnikov, N. Golovanov, E. Mravinsky, I. Musin, B. Khaikin, E. Grikurov, K. Eliasberg, N. Rabinovich, K. Kondrashin.

During the war, the Leningrad Radio Symphony was the only orchestra that remained in the besieged city. Despite the fact that in the first winter of the war the orchestra actually ceased to exist, nonetheless, thanks to heroic efforts, on 9 August 1942, headed by Karl Eliasberg, the orchestra performed the Leningrad premiere of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony. Critics argue that «the Orchestra performances are highly authentic: there is a feeling that the musicians have inherited the tradition of the “Leningrad Symphony” orchestral performance from the older generation » (Tianjin Daily, 2015). Altogether, the orchestra performed more than 300 times during the siege and most of the concerts, including the “Leningrad Symphony” premiere, were held at the Grand Philharmonic Hall.

Continuing to step out onto the famous stage, the orchestra received the status of a philharmonic orchestra in 1953. It was headed by N. Rabinovich, K. Eliasberg and A. Jansons, who took the orchestra on its first foreign tour (Finland, 1965). In 1962-1963, I Stravinsky and B. Britten performed their own compositions with the orchestra. The orchestra also played under the batons of S. Baudo, I. Markevitch, K. Masur, L. Maazel, E. Svetlanov and R. Rozhdestvensky; V. Cliburn, S. Richter, E. Gilels, I. Stern, Y. Menuhin, D. Oistrakh, M. Rostropovich, D. Shostakovich were the soloists.

In 1968, the orchestra was headed by Yuri Temirkanov. The conductor initiated a rapid growth of the orchestra’s repertoire and played a crucial role in gaining its recognition abroad: the orchestra toured in Bulgaria, Scandinavian countries, The Netherlands (including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw), Japan and USA. «Leningrad – is a magnificent city, it deserves two great orchestras. And it has them…» (New York Post, 1977, after the concert at Carnegie Hall).

From April 1977 to June 2018 the orchestra was headed by Alexander Dmitriev. That period of the orchestra’s activity was marked by receiving of the “academic” title (1985); the biography and repertoire were supplemented by premiere performances of works by Handel, Mahler, R. Strauss, Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin, Schreker, Honegger, Tippet, Orff, Dutilleux, Pärt, Schnittke, Nono, Ligeti, Adams, Krum, Piazzolla and Leningrad-Petersburg composers, by recordings of all Beethoven and Schubert’s symphonies, of works by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Britten. Conductors N. Järvi, A. Katz, D. Kitaenko, Yu. Simonov, V. Fedoseev, A. Lazarev, E. Serov, R. Barshai, Y. Domarkas, R. Martynov, V. Ziva, E. Klas, P. Kogan, M. Shostakovich, V. Sinaisky, S. Sondeckis, A. Titov, M. Rostropovich, P. Berglund, M. Jurowski, J.-K. Casadesus, Y.-P. Tortelier, A. Buribayev, composer K. Penderecki, soloists G. Sokolov, N. Gutman, E. Virsaladze, Yu. Bashmet, V. Tretyakov, J. Lill, J. Ogdon, R. Hall, P. Donohoe and F. Kempf became the creative partners of the orchestra.

The orchestra participates in prestigious international festivals, tours in countries of Europe, Asia and America. Critics were always of high opinion: «The first-class Tchaikovsky and the impressive Shostakovich from the St Petersburg Symphony » (Bachtrack, 2015); «The players irrefutably had a total grasp, understanding and love of the music of their homeland’s music. Tempo and dynamics were spot on and the playing was simply astonishing; artists in total control of every composition, ever bar and every note. They lived, breathed and played with exemplary musicianship, coaxed along by Dmitriev whose fluent, controlled conducting never deviated into unnecessary histrionics» (Bristol.ñom, 2017); «Raw passion: Alexander Dmitriev brings dynamic taste of St Petersburg to London» (Bachtrack, 2017); «Rimsky-Korsakov was delightful: in the first part, one could feel the excitement of the sea and the sound of the wind, as if being on a ship with Sinbad» (Rugby Advertiser, 2017).

Nikolay Alexeev actively collaborates with the orchestra. Over the past six seasons, the opening concerts and tours have been held under his baton. The January concert dedicated to the conductor-laureate A.S. Dmitriev’s 90th anniversary promises to become the current season’s highlight. The orchestra will perform works by Debussy, Prokofiev and Mussorgsky un the baton of N. Alexeev.

Last season, under the leadership of Vladimir Altschuler, who has been working with the orchestra as a full-time conductor for over 25 years, there was a concert that opened a 2-year subscription dedicated to Anton Bruckner’s 200th anniversary. In March, they played Haydn’s “Farewell Symphony” and Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde”. Works by Glinka, Prokofiev and Shostakovich have been performed within the frames of «The Philharmonia from “The Creation”», and in June maestro conducted the orchestra’s season closing concert.

In current season, the conductor will perform works by Brahms, Wagner, R. Strauss, Liszt, Bruckner, Bizet-Shchedrin, Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Wajnberg and Basner. In January 2025 the conductor will perform the «Yellow stars» concert that has become traditional, and it will be dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz concentration camp liberation.

Last season, the orchestra performed the “All Tchaikovsky symphonies” subscription. Music of the Russian composers was played within the frames of the subscriptions: «Six masterpieces », «Popular classics», «The Philharmonia from “The Creation”», «Pushkin’s fairy tales » (to the poet’s 225th anniversary). F. Kempf played with the orchestra under the baton of D. Botinis at the XXIII “Arts Square” International Winter Festival. In March, commemorating Rimsky-Korsakov’s 180th anniversary the orchestra played symphonic program of works by the celebrant, Stravinsky and Rachmaninoff. The soloist was the XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition winner S. Davydchenko. The important events included the world premieres of Slonimsky’s Twenty-sixth Symphony and Khrushcheva’s «Book of Melancholy», written by the St Petersburg Philharmonia’s order.

Musicians such as F. Kopachevsky, A. Korobeynikov, M. Kultyshev, E. Mechetina, B. Andrianov, F. Mondelci (Italy), G. Kazazian, as well as conductors A. Anikhanov, P. Baleff, F. Korobov, A. Soloviev, D. Jurowski and others performed with the orchestra.

In the 2023/2024 season, the Symphony Orchestra of the St Petersburg Philharmonia under the baton of Dimitris Botinis has successfully performed on the winter tour of China. In the new season, maestro has been appointed the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the orchestra. The season opening and closing concerts featuring works by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Mozart, Berg (to the composer’s 140th anniversary), Mahler, as well as Shostakovich’s Seventh and Tenth Symphonies ((to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory and the 50th anniversary of the St Petersburg Philharmonia’s naming after the composer) will be played under Botinis’ direction, a musical evening will be held as part of the “Arts Square” Winter Festival and many other bright events.

The Symphony Orchestra of the St Petersburg Philharmonia will present its eponymous subscription dedicated to the conductor-laureate A.S. Dmitriev’s 90th anniversary. Moreover, the current season concerts will highlight the celebration of Schnittke’s 90th, Meyerhold’s 150th, Poulenc’s 125th, Basner and Berio’s 100th anniversaries.

This season guest conductors list features A. Rybalko, A. Rudin, A. Anikhanov, A. Abashev, N. Vinokurov, E. Bushkov, P. Bubelnikov, F. Korobov, F. Lednev, E. Kuliyev, A. Niaga. Soloists – A. Ramm, V. Lyubitzkaya, V. Kuleshov, I. Papoyan, G. Kazazian, D. Shishkin, M. Lobanova, I. Gyngazov, T. Pavlovskaya, A. Shagimuratova, A. Kashpurin, S. d’Oustrac (France), N. Boriso-Glebsky, A. Laukhina, A. Rudin, A. Korobeynikov, as well as drama actors M. Matveyev, A. Mikhalkova, E. Mironov and E. Boyarskaya.

The orchestra’s programs also include rarely performed works: Poulenc’s “The Human Voice” mono-opera, Wajnberg’s 1st and 21st Symphonies, Radvilovich’s “Judas” (passions for soloists, choir and orchestra), Violin Concertos by Berg and Karayev, Piano Concerto ¹ 4 by Mazhara.