The Bolshoi Theater Symphony Orchestra |

The Bolshoi Theatre Symphony Orchestra

The Bolshoi Theater Orchestra is the oldest Russian musical group and one of the largest symphony orchestras in the world. In 1776, when the artistic troupe of the future Bolshoi Theater was formed, it consisted of musicians bought by the treasury from the landowners, as well as foreigners and other free people. Being a participant in all musical drama and opera performances of the theatre, the orchestra performed the music of Russian composers – Sokolovsky, Pashkevich, Matinsky, Fomin. With the appearance of the first ballet performances in the troupe’s repertoire at the end of the XNUMXth century, the composition of the orchestra increased, and the names of Verstovsky, Alyabyev, Varlamov appeared on the poster. The repertoire gradually expanded: the XNUMXth century presented the orchestra with works by Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Serov, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Glazunov, Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Wagner, Bizet, Puccini, and others. Already at the end of the XNUMXth century, the orchestra began to perform with symphony concerts, which finally formed his creative level.

In the 20-30s of the XNUMXth century, the best performing forces of the country gathered in the collective – the orchestra became an authoritative community of performing musicians, the center of the musical life of the capital. The team is actively working on a diverse concert repertoire, which makes it one of the most popular symphony orchestras in the country.

Over the course of two centuries, the performing style of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra took shape. Many eminent conductors have contributed to shaping the orchestra and instilling the performance flexibility that has become a hallmark of its style. S. Rachmaninov, V. Suk, N. Golovanov, A. Pazovsky, S. Samosud, A. Melik-Pashaev, B. Khaikin, E. Svetlanov, G. Rozhdestvensky, Y. Simonov, A. Lazarev worked with the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra , M. Ermler. In 2001-2009 Alexander Vedernikov was the chief conductor and musical director of the theatre.

The most famous foreign musicians – B. Walter, O. Fried, A. Coates, F. Shtidri, Z. Halabala, G. Abendroth, R. Muti, while working with the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra, invariably noted the high professional level of the team. The Bolshoi Theater Orchestra has made numerous recordings of opera, ballet and symphony works, many of which have received wide international recognition and awards. In 1989, the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra was awarded Italy’s highest musical award, the Golden Viotti medal, as the best orchestra of the year.

Today, the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra has over 250 musicians. Among them are laureates and diploma winners of international competitions, honored and people’s artists of Russia. Over the years of creativity, the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra has developed a high international reputation, associated not only with its participation in theater tours, but with the symphonic activities of the team. In 2003, after a tour of the orchestra and choir of the theater in Spain and Portugal, critics noted that the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater “once again confirmed the glory that has developed over the years …”; “The program was specially chosen to show the energy with which the music of Tchaikovsky and Borodin reaches the depths of the soul…”; “… Tchaikovsky’s work was beautifully performed, and this is the great merit of Alexander Vedernikov, who preserved his original musical style.”

In the 2009-2010 season, the Bolshoi Theater began to cooperate with a group of permanent guest conductors representing Russian musical art all over the world. Among them are Alexander Lazarev, Vasily Sinaisky, Vladimir Yurovsky, Kirill Petrenko and Teodor Currentzis. With each of them, the theater management builds long-term creative contacts, which include their participation in new opera productions, symphony concerts, tours, as well as concert performances of operas and the renewal of performances of the theater’s current repertoire.

Since 2005, the Moscow Philharmonic has been holding subscriptions to the Bolshoi Theater Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the Great Hall of the Conservatory. Conductors Yuri Temirkanov, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Alexander Vedernikov, Günter Herbig (Germany), Leopold Hager (Germany), Jiri Beloglavek (Czech Republic), Vladimir Yurovsky, Enrique Mazzola (Italy), soloists Nikolai Lugansky (piano) took part in the concerts ), Birgit Remmert (contralto, Germany), Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin, Germany), Gerald Finlay (baritone, UK), Juliana Banse (soprano, Germany), Boris Belkin (violin, Belgium) and many others.

In 2009, in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, concerts of the Bolshoi Theater soloists and the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra’s season ticket, “The Bolshoi in the Small”, were held.

In the 2010-2011 season, conductors Alexander Lazarev, Vasily Sinaisky, Alexander Vedernikov, Zoltan Peshko (Hungary), Gennady Rozhdestvensky and soloists Ivan Rudin (piano), Katarina Karneus (mezzo-soprano, Sweden), Simon Trpcheski performed with the orchestra and choir of the Bolshoi Theater (piano, Macedonia), Elena Manistina (mezzo-soprano), Mikhail Kazakov (bass), Alexander Rozhdestvensky (violin).

Source: Moscow Philharmonic website