The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (russian: Симфонический оркестр Санкт-Петербургской филармонии, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a Russian orchestra based in Saint Petersburg, at the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia.

History

The roots of the orchestra date back to 1802, with the founding of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Society that year. The orchestra was initially known as the Imperial Music Choir, and performed for the Court of

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...

. By the 1900s, the Orchestra started to give public performances at the

Philharmonia The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, ...

and elsewhere in Russia. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, the Orchestra was taken over by the members and the name was changed to the State Philharmonic Orchestra of

Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In the 1920s, the orchestra began receiving support from the State, and began to be known internationally. Its guest conductors included

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the U ...

Ernest Ansermet Ernest Alexandre Ansermet (; 11 November 1883 – 20 February 1969)"Ansermet, Ernest" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 435. was a Swiss conductor. Biography Ansermet ...

, and

Hans Knappertsbusch Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Ger ...

. Following the renaming of Petrograd to Leningrad after the death of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

, the orchestra was renamed the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra gained its most fame under the chief conductorship of

Yevgeny Mravinsky Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Mravinsky (russian: Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Мрави́нский) (19 January 1988) was a Russian conductor, pianist, and music pedagogue; he was a professor at Leningrad State Conservatory. Biog ...

, from 1938 to 1988. It made few tours to the West, and the first tour was to Finland in the spring of 1946. The orchestra and Mravinsky made a number of studio recordings, and various archival live recordings have since subsequently been commercially released. Under Mravinsky's direction, the orchestra premiered seven of Shostakovich's symphonies. In 1991, the orchestra was renamed the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

Yuri Temirkanov Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (russian: Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов; kbd, Темыркъан Хьэту и къуэ Юрий; born December 10, 1938) is a Russian conductor of Circassian ( Kabardian) origin. Early life ...

has served as artistic director of the orchestra since 1988, and was its chief conductor from 1988, after the death of Mravinsky, until January 2022. On 21 January 2022, Nikolai Alexeev became chief conductor of the orchestra.

Chief conductors

Hermann Fliege Hermann Fliege (9 September 1829, Stendal, Germany – 8 November 1907, St Petersburg) was a German composer and conductor. In 1882 he was appointed the first director of what would later become the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra The Sain ...

(1882–1907) * (1907–1917) *

Serge Koussevitzky Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevi ...

(1917–1920) *

Emil Cooper Emil Albertovich Cooper (russian: Эмиль Альбертович Купер, ), also known as Emil Kuper (December 13 S December 1 1877, Kherson, Ukraine, then in Russian Empire – November 16, 1960, New York) was a Russian conductor and viol ...

(1920–1923) * (1924–1926) *

Nikolai Malko Nicolai Andreyevich Malko (russian: Никола́й Андре́евич Малько́, ua, Микола Андрійович Малько; 4 May 188323 June 1961) was a Russian-born American symphonic conductor. Biography Malko was born in ...

(1926–1930) *

Aleksandr Gauk Alexander Vassilievich Gauk (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Га́ук; 30 March 1963) was a Russian/Soviet conductor and composer. Biography Alexander Gauk was born in Odessa in 1893. He recalled his first experience as h ...

(1930–1934) * Fritz Stiedry (1934–1937) *

(1938–1988) *

(1988–2022) * Nikolai Alekseev (2022–present)

References

External links

Official page of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
*

discography at

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

1882 establishments in the Russian Empire Russian symphony orchestras Culture in Saint Petersburg Musical groups established in 1882 {{SaintPetersburg-stub

History

Chief conductors

See also

References

External links