Johannes Brahms.
Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra of Russia,
Vladimir Ponkin,
Nikita Borisoglebsky,
Artem Vargaftik

State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia (Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra) is one of the oldest symphony ensembles in the country: in 2021 it has celebrated its 85th anniversary. The first performance of the orchestra conducted by Alexander Gauk and Erich Kleiber, took place on October 5th, 1936 in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.

Over the years, the State Orchestra was directed by outstanding musicians: Alexander Gauk (1936–1941), Natan Rakhlin (1941–1945), Konstantin Ivanov (1946–1965) and Yevgeny Svetlanov (1965–2000). In 2005, the ensemble was named after Yevgeny Svetlanov. In 2000–2002, the orchestra was headed by Vasily Sinaisky, in 2002–2011 – by Mark Gorenstein, in 2011–2021 – by Vladimir Jurowski, in 2021–2022  by Vasily Petrenko. Since 2024, Philipp Chizhevsky has been Artistic Director of the orchestra.

The orchestra’s concerts were held at the most famous concert venues in the world including the Great Hall of the Conservatory, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, the Column Hall of the House of Unions, the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Pleyel in Paris, the Colon National Opera in Buenos Aires, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. In 2013, the orchestra for the first time performed in the Red Square in Moscow.

Herman Abendroth, Ernest Ansermet, Leo Blech, Nikolai Golovanov, Kurt Sanderling, Otto Klemperer, Kirill Kondrashin, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Mazur, Nikolai Malko, Igor Markevich, Yevgeny Mravinsky, Charles Munch, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Mstislav Rostropovich, Saulus Sondeckis, Igor Stravinsky, Mariss Jansons, Andrey Boreyko, Alexander Vedernikov, Valery Gergiev, Charles Dutoit, Alexander Lazarev, Alexander Sladkovsky, Leonard Slatkin, Yuri Temirkanov, Thomas Zehetmair, Mikhail Jurowski, Neeme Jarvi and other outstanding conductors directed at the conductor's desk of the orchestra.

Famous musicians and ensembles performed with the orchestra including singers Irina Arkhipova, Galina Vishnevskaya, Montserrat Caballé, Sergei Lemeshev, Elena Obraztsova, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Maria Guleghina, Placido Domingo, Jonas Kaufmann, Sergei Leiferkus, pianists Emil Gilels, Van Cliburn, Heinrich Neuhaus, Nikolai Petrov, Sviatoslav Richter, Maria Yudina, Valery Afanassiev, Boris Berezovsky, Elisso Virsaladze, Yevgeny Kissin, Nikolai Lugansky, Denis Matsuev and Grigory Sokolov, violinists LeonidKogan, Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrakh, Boris Belkin, Maxim Vengerov, Gidon Kremer, Victor Pikaysen, Vadim Repin, Vladimir Spivakov and Victor Tretyakov, violist Yuri Bashmet , cellists Mstislav Rostropovich, Natalia Gutman, Alexander Knyazev and Alexander Rudin, as well as Sveshnikov State Academic Russian Choir and Yurlov State Academic Choir Capella of Russia.

In recent years, the list of soloists collaborating with the ensemble has been recruited with the names of such singers as Ildar Abdrazakov, Dinara Alieva, Aida Garifullina, Khibla Gerzmava, Dmitry Korchak, Elisabeth Kulman, Jose Kura, Vasily Ladyuk, Julia Lezhneva, Waltraud Meier, Anna Netrebko and Rene Pape, pianists Marc-Andre Hamelin, Leif Ove Andsnes, Rudolf Buchbinder, Simon Trpceski, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Mitsuko Uchida, violinists Kristof Barati, Ilya Gringolts, Alina Ibragimova, Leonidas Kavakos, Patricia Kopatchinskaya, Sergei Krylov, Julian Rakhlin, Julia Fischer, Thomas Zehetmair, Nikolai Znaider and Pinchas Zuckerman, violist Maxim Rysanov. Considerable attention is also paid to joint work with young musicians, including conductors Maxim Emelyanychev, Dmitry Matvienko, Marius Stravinsky, Valentin Uryupin and Philipp Chizhevsky, pianists Andrei Gugnin, Lucas Debargue, Philipp Kopachevsky and Dmitry Masleyev, violinists Alena Baeva, Pavel Milyukov and Aylen Pritchin, cellist Alexander Ramm.

Having visited abroad for the first time in 1956, the orchestra has since represented Russian art in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Denmark, Italy, Canada, China, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, USA, Thailand, France, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, South Korea, Japan and many other countries.

The discography of the ensemble includes hundreds of LP records and CDs released by leading recording companies in Russia and abroad (Melodiya, Bomba-Peter, Delos, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, BMG, Naxos, Chandos, Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm, BelAir, ICA Classics, Pentatone, Toccata Classics, Fancymusic and others). A special place in this collection belongs to the Anthology of Russian Symphonic Music, which includes audio recordings of works by Russian composers from Glinka to Stravinsky (conducted by Yevgeny Svetlanov). The TV channels such as Mezzo, medici.tv, Russia-1 and Kultura, radio Orpheus made recordings of the orchestra’s concerts.

Recently, the State Orchestra performed at the G. Enescu Festival in Bucharest, Another Space, Universe is Svetlanov! festivals and the XIV Guitar Virtuosos Moscow International Festival, Summer. Music. Museum  Festival in Istra; performed world premieres of works by Alexander Vustin, Victor Yekimovsky, Efrem Podgaits, Sergei Slonimsky, Vladimir Nikolaev, Alexei Retinsky, as well as Russian premieres of works by John Adams, Brett Dean, Gerard Grisey, Victor Kissin, Gyorgy Kurtag, Valentin Silvestrov, Olivier Messiaen, Rodion Shchedrin, Carl Orff, Vladimir Tarnopolsky and Karlheinz Stockhausen; took part in the  International Tchaikovsky Competition, the Grand Piano Competition for young pianists; presented the annual cycle of Stories with Orchestra educational concerts eight times; visited the cities of Russia, Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Greece, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Germany, Spain, Romania, Turkey, China, Japan. Chamber evenings with the participation of soloists of the orchestra are also regularly held.

Since 2016, the State Orchestra has been implementing a special project to support professional composer creativity involving close cooperation of the ensemble with contemporary Russian authors. The first in the history composer in residence was Alexander Vustin. For outstanding creative achievements, the collective has been bearing the honorary title of “academic” since 1972; in 1986 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, in 2006, 2011 and 2017 it dignified the gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Ponkin is one of Russia's leading contemporary conductors. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia (2002) and two Golden Mask National Theatre Awards (2001, 2003). By the decision of the Ministry of Culture and Arts of the Republic of Poland, maestro was awarded a Medal for Merits to Polish Culture (1997). In 2001, he received a 2nd Class Medal for Merits to Kuban Development. In 2005, the Council for Public Awards in Russia of the Russian Heraldic Chamber awarded Vladimir Ponkin a 1st Class Cross to a Defender of the Fatherland for merits to the Fatherland in the field of cultural development in Russia and abroad. Maestro was also awarded an Order for Service to Russia (2006) by the National Committee of Public Awards of the Russian Federation, a 1st Class Cossack Order for the Love and Loyalty to the Fatherland (2006), and an Order of Friendship (2012).

Born in Irkutsk in 1951, Vladimir Ponkin graduated from the Gorky Conservatory. He also graduated from the Moscow Conservatoire and completed a postgraduate course in opera and symphonic conducting by Gennady Rozhdestvensky. In 1980, he became the USSR's first young conductor to win the 5th Rupert Foundation Conducting Competition held in London. Over the years, maestro led the Yaroslavl Symphony Orchestra, the State Symphony Orchestra of Cinematography, the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra (Poland), and the State Symphony Orchestra. Currently, he's the art director and chief conductor of the Kuban Symphony Orchestra.

In 1990-2004, Vladimir Ponkin led the State Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic Society. During the years of cooperation with Vladimir Ponkin, the State Symphony Orchestra became one of country's most popular, both in Russia and abroad. This orchestra performed on the stages of the world's best concert halls, participated in Russia's and Europe's largest international festivals. Ponkin's versatility manifested itself in performing various pieces by different composers with an extraordinary grace, in a filigree conductor's technique, in the delicate elaboration on the details, as well as in a concept's reasonableness and consistency. His repertoire includes almost all the classical music pieces of three centuries. In the summer of 1996, Vladimir Ponkin and the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic Society's orchestra participated in 42nd Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. During the opera festival, Vladimir Ponkin gave two symphony concerts of Russian and French music. The Italian press wrote: «They have significantly raised the festival's emotional temperature. Ponkin boast of a huge repertoire. He created some extremely diverse interpretations of composers belonging to different historical eras and styles». (Viareggio, La Nazione).

A special place in this conductor's creative work belongs to opera. In 1995, Vladimir Ponkin was invited to become the chief conductor of The Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danch

Since 1999, he has been actively cooperating with the Helikon Opera Theater, eventually becoming this theater's chief conductor (in 2002). A number of productions were staged there under his lead, including the following: Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (by Shostakovich), Lulu (by Berg), Kashchey the Immortal (by Rimsky-Korsakov)

Vladimir Ponkin worked as a guest conductor with such renowned ensembles as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Leningrad Academic Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra (an Honoured Ensemble of Russia), the National Academic Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestras of All-Soviet Union Radio, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra (Germany), Italian orchestras (the Guido Cantelli Symphony Orchestra of Milan and the Bergamo Festival Orchestra), some of the leading ensembles of Australia (the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Brisbane, and the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra), the US's Palm Beach Orchestra and many others. He performs regularly with the Moscow Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra (with Yuri Simonov as an Art Director).

Vladimir Ponkin is well-known thanks to his accompaniment skills, as well. He participated many times in the International Festival of Contemporary Music in Moscow and in International Music Festivals of Pärt and Penderecki in Stockholm. Ponkin's repertoire is huge. It includes both well-known pieces by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and exotic (for the Moscow audience) pieces of music by Stravinsky, Elgar, and a number of contemporary composers.

Various concert tours by Vladimir Ponkin were successfully held in Australia, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Israel, Sweden, South Korea, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Argentina, Chile, and the United States. Maestro has performed with many famous artists, including singers Angela Gheorghiu, José Cura, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Yevgeny Nesterenko, Paata Burchuladze, Zurab Sotkilava, Maria Bieșu, Yuri Mazurok, Lucia Alberti, and Virgilius Noreika, pianists Ivo Pogorelić, Evgeny Kissin, Grigory Sokolov, Daniel Pollack, Denis Matsuev, Vladimir Krainev, Victor Yampolsky, Eliso Virsaladze, Edith Chen and Nikolay Petrov, Alexander Gindin, violinists Andrei Korsakov, Sergei Stadler, Oleg Krysa, and a cellist Natalia Gutman.

Vladimir Ponkin has a huge repertoire covering both classical pieces of music and pieces by contemporary composers. He introduced the Russian public to a number of pieces by Penderecki and Lutoslawski. One of the most outstanding creative works by Ponkin involved conducting a monumental and extremely difficult musical composition Matins (by Penderecki) for soloists, chorus and orchestra. It was performed during the concert in Stockholm as part of festival dedicated to the composer. Penderecki highly appreciated Ponkin's skills by saying: «I have no more desire to conduct this music piece in person after this concert».

The concert held in residence of Pope John Paul II by Vladimir Ponkin and the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra was undoubtedly an outstanding event. It was so successful that John Paul II wanted an encore and awarded the conductor a Guest of Honor Medal.

«Vladimir Ponkin, as the new conductor, brings in to the performance the talent of a true musician and the skill of an experienced conductor – it has been a while since this orchestra sounded so fully and perfectly» («Nezavisimaya Gazeta», Moscow).

Visiting Taiwan on invitation of Dalai Lama with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra was a truly special episode in Vladimir Ponkin's life. The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism awarded him a certificate of Guest of Honour of the World Buddhist Center and expressed his special respect by giving his own rosary to maestro at parting.

Vladimir Ponkin treats his young audience with a great sensitivity. Various concerts for children are very popular. During those concerts, he acts as a master of ceremonies and invites young viewers to talk about music.

Vladimir Ponkin has served as a professor at the Moscow Conservatory since 2004. He's also a Chairman of the Opera and Symphony Conducting Department at the State Musical Pedagogical Institute named after M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov

Nikita Borisoglebsky's rise to prominence came in 2010 when he won the International Jean Sibelius Violin competition and the International Fritz Kreisler Violin competition. He has also been awarded top prizes in the nine other prestigious violin contests including the Tchaikovsky, the Queen Elisabeth and the Monte Carlo Violin Masters competitions.

The violinist has performed with many major orchestras, including the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Moscow Philharmonic, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Brussels Philharmonic, Kansai Philharmonic, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Goethenburg Symphoniker, Antwerpen Royal Philharmonic, London Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra “Musica Viva”, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia under such conductors as Valery Gergiev, Okko Kamu, Sakari Oramo, Hannu Lintu, Eri Klass, Vladimir Fedoseev, Dmitry Liss, Conrad van Alphen, Gilbert Varga, David Afkham, Lionel Bringueir. He appears regularly at many of the important festivals including the Menton Festival, Rheingau Festival, S.Richter’s “December Nights” in Moscow, Beethovenfest in Bonn, Ohrid summer festival, Dubrovnik summer festival, “Stars of the White Nights” and “Arts Square” in Saint Petersburg, “Crescendo” and “Stars on Baikal” festivals of Denis Matsuev, and others.

In addition to solo engagements, Nikita has enjoyed working in collaboration with renowned musicians including Seiji Ozawa, Rodion Shchedrin, Natalia Gutman, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Augustin Dumay, Andras Schiff, Boris Berezovsky, Jean-Philippe Collard, Alexander Kniazev, Rafael Wallfish, Michel Strauss, Jean-Claude Vanden Eyden, Lovro Pogorelich, David Geringas and others.

In collaboration with the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and the Belgian record label "Fuga Libera" the violinist has released the two CDs: the Third violin concerto of Henri Veiuxtepms with Liege Royal Philharmonic and Patrick Davin, and the monographic album of Edouard Lalo with Sinfonia Varsovia, Augustin Dumay and Jean-Philippe Collard. The Lalo’s CD was given a 5-star review in the French magazine “Diapason”.

Nikita Borisoglebsky was born in Volgodonsk, Southern Russia. His mentors in different years were Eduard Grach and Tatiana Berkul in Moscow, Augustin Dumay in Brussels, Ana Chumachenco in Kronberg.

In the last years he has become a recipient of the several international awards and titles - "Violinist of the Year" from the International Maya Plisetskaya and Rodion Shchedrin foundation (USA); “Person of the Year” from the major Russian magazine “Musical review”; “Virtuoso” award from the Italian string society and the Antonio Stradivari foundation; "Jean Sibelius birthplace medal" from J.Sibelius foundation in Hameenlinna, Finland.

The violinist plays on Matteo Goffriller’s violin from 1720-s.

Radio and TV journalist Artyom Vargaftik was born in 1971 in Moscow. He studied at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory’s Academic School of Music and the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, then completed a postgraduate course at the Moscow Conservatory. He taught cello history at the Gnessin Academy of Music in 1997–2000 and was a trainer of music journalism in 2003–2006. 

While still a student, he began working on the radio as a correspondent, presenter, and creator of musical programs. His programs Orchestra Pit and Music Scores Never Burn on the Kultura TV channel brought him a wide recognition. Both projects were awarded with TEFI national television awards in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

From 1994 to 2003, Artyom Vargaftik worked as a music journalist on the Echo of Moscow radio, and since 2003 he has been a columnist for Kultura Radio and Radio of Russia. He has taken part in numerous festivals and concerts in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara, Saratov, Kazan, and other Russian cities. He has been a regular concert presenter at festivals led by Boris Andrianov, such as Vivacello and Musical Expedition. 

In 2007, he began to collaborate with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, and their active collaboration is still ongoing (in the 2021/22 season, Artyom is creating and hosting The Story of a Masterpiece series). Artyom Vargaftik is also a regular host of concert programs at the Moscow International House of Music.