Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (full name Russian Заслуженный коллектив России Академический симфонический оркестр Санкт-Петербургской филармонии, Sasluschenny kollektiw Rossii Akademicheski simfonicheski orkestr Sankt-Peterburgskoi filarmonii; German Verdient Collective of Russia, Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, for short: Russian ЗКР АСО SKR ASO) are a Russian symphony orchestra. The orchestra is based in the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Hall.
It should not be confused with the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic (ASO), founded in 1931.
The roots of the orchestra go back to 1882. At that time a choir was founded for the court of the Russian Tsar Alexander III, which was transformed into the "Symphonic Court Orchestra" in 1897. After the October Revolution in 1917, the function and organizational form of the orchestra changed; in 1921 it was transformed into the "State Petrograd Philharmonic Orchestra", and in 1924 it was renamed the "State Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Philharmonic". In addition, in 1934 it was awarded the honorary title of Deserved Collective. In 1946 it became the first Russian symphony orchestra to tour abroad. When Leningrad was renamed Saint Petersburg in 1991, the "Leningrad Philharmonic" also became the "Saint Petersburg Philharmonic" again.
The orchestra's principal conductors in more recent times have been Yevgeny Mravinsky (1938-1988) and Yuri Temirkanov (since 1988). From 1952 to 1984 the Latvian Arvid Jansons also conducted the orchestra, and from 1973 his son Mariss Jansons. However, the orchestra has always worked with Western-influenced conductors. Kurt Sanderling was Mrawinski's deputy from 1942 to 1960. Otto Klemperer, Hans Knappertsbusch, Erich Kleiber, Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Georg Solti and Claudio Abbado also conducted the orchestra.
Most of Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonies were premiered by the then Leningrad Philharmonic under Mravinsky's direction, as were many of Sergei Prokofiev's compositions.
Chief Conductor
- Yuri Temirkanov (since 1988)
- Yevgeny Mravinsky (1938-1988)
- Fritz Stiedry (1934-1937)
- Alexander Gauk (1930-1934)
- Nikolai Malko (1926-1930)
- Valerian Bierdiaev (1924-1926)
- Emil Cooper (1920-1923)
- Sergei Kusevitsky (1917-1920)
- Hugo Warlich (1907-1917)
- Hermann Fliege (1882-1907)
Questions and Answers
Q: What is the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra?
A: The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the oldest orchestra in Russia.
Q: When did the orchestra start?
A: The orchestra started in 1882 and was originally called the "Imperial Music Choir".
Q: Who conducted the orchestra in 1912?
A: Richard Strauss conducted the orchestra in 1912.
Q: What happened after the Russian Revolution?
A: After the Russian Revolution, there was no longer a tsar and so the town of Saint Petersburg changed its name to Petrograd and so did the name of the orchestra to "State Philharmonic Orchestra of Petrograd".
Q: How did they become famous abroad?
A: In the 1920s, they began to get money from state funding and became an excellent orchestra that was well-known abroad. They also had guest conductors such as Bruno Walter, Ernest Ansermet and Hans Knappertsbusch who helped them gain fame outside of Russia (the USSR). However, due to not being allowed to travel abroad, their fame mainly came from gramophone recordings.
Q: Who conducted for 50 years?
A: Evgeny Mravinsky conducted for 50 years with this orchestra.
Q: What is their conductor today? A: Their current conductor is Yuri Temirkanov.
