Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra (Moscow State Symphony Orchestra) |

Moscow State Symphony Orchestra

The Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pavel Kogan (MGASSO) was founded in 1943 by the Government of the USSR and is one of the five oldest concert orchestras in Russia.

The first chief conductor of the ensemble was the conductor of the Bolshoi Theater, People’s Artist of the USSR Lev Shteinberg. He led the orchestra until his death in 1945. Then the leadership of the MGASO was carried out by such famous Soviet musicians as Nikolai Anosov (1945-1950), Leo Ginzburg (1950-1954), Mikhail Terian (1954-1960), Veronika Dudarova (1960-1989). Thanks to cooperation with them, the orchestra became one of the best symphony ensembles in the country, but was known, first of all, for performances of Russian and Soviet classics, including premieres of works by Prokofiev, Myaskovsky, Shostakovich, Gliere.

Under the baton of Pavel Kogan, the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra has become world famous. The maestro took the position of artistic director and chief conductor of the orchestra in 1989 and immediately reformed the ensemble’s repertoire, limitlessly expanding it with works of European and American musical literature.

Grandiose monographic cycles of complete collections of symphonic works by the greatest composers: Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, R. Strauss, Mendelssohn, Mahler, Bruckner, Sibelius, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Scriabin, Berlioz, Debussy, Ravel. The collective’s large-scale programs consist of symphonic, operatic and vocal-symphonic classics, works by contemporary composers, and many works forgotten and unfamiliar to listeners.

Annually MGASO gives about 100 concerts. Among them are a series of subscription programs in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and the Concert Hall. P.I. Tchaikovsky, performances in the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic. D.D. Shostakovich and on the stages of other Russian cities, as well as a tour abroad. The band tours regularly in more than fifty countries of the world. Among them are the largest centers of the music industry, such as the United States of America, Great Britain, Japan, Spain, Austria, Italy, Germany, France, South Korea, Australia, China and Switzerland.

The band has a rich recording history, including CDs and DVDs of studio and live performances, radio and television broadcasts. In 1990 Pioneer made a live recording of Tchaikovsky’s Piano and Violin Concertos and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 performed by MGASO and Maestro Kogan (soloists Alexei Sultanov, Maxim Vengerov). In the early 90s, the film Journey with an Orchestra was released about the MGASO tour conducted by Pavel Kogan in Europe and St. Petersburg. The cycle of works by Rachmaninoff published by the Alto label is widely known and enjoys great popularity – the interpretations of the composer’s three symphonies and Symphonic Dances created by the MGASO and P. Kogan topped the lists of all existing readings.

The orchestra is proud of its partnership with outstanding conductors and soloists: Evgeny Svetlanov, Kirill Kondrashin, Alexander Orlov, Natan Rakhlin, Samul Samosud, Valery Gergiev, David Oistrakh, Emil Gilels, Leonid Kogan, Vladimir Sofronitsky, Sergey Lemeshev, Ivan Kozlovsky, Svyatoslav Knushevitsky, Svyatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniil Shafran, Maxim Vengerov, Vadim Repin, Angela Georgiou and many others.

Collaboration with Pavel Kogan has earned the orchestra a reputation as a team that promotes the highest standards of artistic excellence, demonstrates an artistic approach to the formation of programs, and has a wide range of loyal admirers around the world. From concert to concert, this wonderful tandem fully justifies its status. MGASO never rests on its laurels, and tirelessly strives for the heights that have not yet been conquered.

Source: official website of MGASO by Pavel Kogan Photo from the orchestra’s official website