New Year's Eve with Yury Bashmet

The Moscow Soloists ensemble was founded by violist and conductor Yuri Bashmet in 1986. In 1992 the ensemble was completely revamped, taking in graduates and postgraduates of the Moscow Conservatoire. It made its debut on 19 May 1992 at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire. Two days later it gave its first performance abroad, at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. 

The ensemble has given concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Barbican Hall in London, the Tivoli in Copenhagen, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Sydney Opera House, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire.

The ensemble takes part in the Proms concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Mstislav Rostropovich Festival in Evian, Sony Classical sponsored concerts at the Théâtre des Champs Élysées, Semaines musicales de Tours, Elba Isola Musicale d'Europa, December Nights, Prestige de la Musique at the Salle Pleyel, the World Chamber Orchestras Festival in Omsk and festivals in Ravenna, Montreux, Bath, Sydney, Qabala and Moscow. 

Since 2008 the ensemble takes part in the Sochi Winter Festival, of which Yuri Bashmet is Artistic Director. The Moscow Soloists take part in Bashmet’s Moscow International Viola Competition and his festivals in Yaroslavl, Khabarovsk, Rostov-on-Don, Minsk and the Seychelles. In January 2013 the ensemble appeared at a festival commemorating the maestro’s sixtieth birthday. 

The ensemble’s concerts are frequently broadcast and recorded by the world’s leading broadcasting companies, among them the BBC, Bayerische Rundfunk, Radio France and NHK. The orchestra has performed with Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Natalia Gutman, Viktor Tretyakov, Gidon Kremer, Maxim Vengerov, Vadim Repin, Sarah Chang, Shlomo Mintz, Barbara Hendricks, James Galway, Lynn Harrell, Mario Brunello, Thomas Quasthoff, Anna Netrebko, Olga Borodina, Jessye Norman and Yefim Bronfman. 

The repertoire of the Moscow Soloists includes over three hundred and fifty masterpieces of world classics and rarely performed works, ranging from Bach and Mozart to Schnittke and Denisov as well as music by Kancheli, Gubaidulina and other contemporary composers. 

In 2008 the Moscow Soloists received a Grammy award for its recording of music by Stravinsky and Prokofiev. In 1994, 2006 and 2009 the ensemble was a Grammy award nominee. 

In 2007, to mark fifteen years since it was founded, the ensemble undertook a tour of Russia, during which it gave forty-two concerts in thirty-nine towns and cities. In Ufa the musicians performed their one thousandth concert, while their concert in Severomorsk took place on the cruiser Peter the Great. The ensemble undertook an even larger tour to mark its twentieth anniversary, giving over eighty concerts in thirty countries. 

In the autumn of 2009 the Moscow Soloists undertook a tour of Russian towns and cities during which they performed on unique instruments crafted by Antonio Stradivari from the Russian State Collection of Prized Musical Instruments. In the 2013/14 season the ensemble’s musicians undertook a similar tour of Europe’s capital cities. 

In 2014 the ensemble took part in the cultural programme of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Novaya Rossiya State Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1990 by decree of the Russian Government. In 2002, Yuri Bashmet became the orchestra's Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, opening a new page in the ensemble's history. 

The orchestra has collaborated with renowned conductors and soloists, including Valery Gergiev, Tan Dun, Alexander Lazarev, Teodor Currentzis, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andres Mustonen, Maxim Vengerov, Jean-Luc Ponty, Barry Douglas, Peter Donohoe, Denis Matsuev, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Boris Berezovsky, Viktor Tretiakov, Gidon Kremer, Vadim Repin, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Sergey Krylov, Kristóf Baráti, Viktoria Mullova, Natalia Gutman, David Geringas, Alexander Knyazev, James Galway, Deborah Voigt, Anna Netrebko, Laura Kleikomb, Plácido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Patricia Cioffi, Elīna Garanča and ballet dancers Ulyana Lopatkina, Nikolai Tsiskaridze and Ilze Liepa as well as actors Konstantin Khabensky and Sergei Bezrukov.

Since 2002, the orchestra has given over 1000 concerts in Russia and abroad. Russian performances have taken place in Moscow and St. Petersburg, cities and towns of the Volga region and the Golden Ring, of the Urals and Siberia, while international tours have brought the musicians to countries like Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland, UK, Baltic and Nordic countries, and many others. 

The orchestra's repertoire combines classical and contemporary music of various styles and genres. It has premiered works by Gian Carlo Menotti, Edison Denisov, Mikael Tariverdiev, Sofia Gubaidulina, Giya Kancheli, Alexander Tchaikovsky, Tan Dun, Jean-Luc Ponty, Toru Takemitsu, Igor Raichelson, Emil Tabakov, Alexander Baltin, Vladimir Komarov, Boris Frankstein, Georgy Buzogly, Kuzma Bodrov and Alexey Sumak. 

The orchestra regularly appears at Yuri Bashmet's Winter International Arts Festival in Sochi and at international festivals in Yaroslavl, Rostov-on-Don and Minsk. It has taken part in the Mstislav Rostropovich Festival, Moscow Easter Festival, Guitar Virtuosi and Vivacello Festivals. The orchestra's discography includes works by Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Alexander Tchaikovsky. 

In March 2007, the orchestra received a grant from the Government of the Russian Federation, followed by the Grant of the President of the Russian Federation in 2010. In 2014, Novaya Rossiya was involved in preparing and running the cultural programme of the 22th Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. 

In the 2021/22 season, the orchestra presents subscription concert cycles at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and the Rachmaninov Concert Hall (Philharmonia-2) in Moscow, some of which will focus on young audiences. Conductors Alexander Sladkovsky, Igor Razumovsky, Denis Vlasenko and soloists Alena Baeva, Gaik Kazazian, Viviane Hagner, Zlatomir Fang, Boris Berezovsky, Dmitry Masleyev, Olga Seliverstova, Yaroslav Abaimov and many others will appear alongside the orchestra throughout the season.

Yuri Bashmet is one of the most outstanding musicians of the present day. He studied music at the Moscow State Conservatoire under Vadim Borisovsky and Fyodor Druzhinin. Under the latter, Yuri Bashmet trained and held an assistantship at the Moscow Conservatoire (1976–1978). The start of his concert activities is connected with a tour to Germany by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, founded by Rudolf Barshai (1976). Since 1978, Yuri Bashmet has taught at the Moscow Conservatoire, as a lecturer (1988), and later as a professor (1996). Starting in 1980, Yuri Bashmet has regularly given master classes in Japan, Europe, America and Hong Kong. His students, several of whom have gone on to become prize-winners at international competitions, perform with the world’s greatest orchestras.

In 1986 Yuri Bashmet formed the chamber orchestra Moscow Soloists. Later, several musicians took the decision to remain in France, while Yuri Bashmet abandoned leadership of the orchestra, which soon after ceased to exist. In 1992 Yuri Bashmet founded a new ensemble using the old name, its members the most talented young musicians of Russia, graduates and post-graduate students of the Moscow Conservatoire. 

In 1996 Yuri Bashmet established the Experimental Viola Faculty at the Moscow Conservatoire, where in addition to solo viola works the repertoire was expanded to include viola roles in chamber, opera and symphony music as well as a strong focus on the history of performing styles from the past and present. 

The geography of the musician’s appearances is vast: it includes the finest concert halls of Europe, the USA, Canada, South America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. For the first time in world performing practice, Yuri Bashmet gave solo viola concerts in such venues as Carnegie Hall (New York), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), the Barbican Hall (London), Berliner Philharmoniker, La Scala (Milan), the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire and the Great Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic. 

His solo concerts and ensemble appearances with other outstanding performers never fail to pack halls and rouse lively interest. Musicians with whom Yuri Bashmet has performed include Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Isaac Stern, Gidon Kremer, Marta Argerich, Oleg Kagan, Natalia Gutman, Viktor Tretyakov, Rafael Kubelik, Seiji Ozawa, Valery Gergiev, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Colin Davis, John Eliot Gardiner, Yehudi Menuhin, Charles Dutoit, Neville Marriner, Paul Sacher, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kurt Masur, Bernard Haitink, Kent Nagano, Simon Rattle, Yuri Temirkanov and Nikolaus Harnoncourt to name but a few. 

Yuri Bashmet’s concert programs are unusually varied and include music from various styles and eras. Many contemporary composers have dedicated or specially written works for him. These include Schnittke’s concerto, Monologue and Concert for Three (dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich, Yuri Bashmet and Gidon Kremer), concerti by Gubaidulina, Аlexander Tchaikovsky, Balakauskas, Eshpai and Ruders, Golovin’s Sonata Breve, Raskatov’s viola sonata and Kancheli’s Liturgy and Styx. 

Yuri Bashmet is the founder and jury chair of Russia’s only International Viola Competition (Moscow) as well as president of the International Lionel Tertis Viola Competition in the United Kingdom. He is the recipient of various awards and regalia from Russia as well as from other nations. In 1995, he received the Sonnings Musikfond Prize, one of the most prestigious in the world, which was conferred in Copenhagen. Previous recipients of this award include Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, Arthur Rubinstein, Dmitry Shostakovich, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Richter and Gidon Kremer.

Denis Vlasenko is rapidly emerging as one of the brightest Russian conductors of his generation. He began his education at the Moscow Chorus Academy,folowed by the Moscow State Conservatory, finalizing his studies at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. In 2005 he was appointed Assistant Conductor to Vladimir Spivakov at the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia. He then worked at the “Novaya Opera” in Moscow. Subsequently he was appointed  Permanent Conductor at the “New Russia State Symphony Orchestra” at the invitation of Maestro Yuri Bashmet. Vlasenko is working regularly with many great artists,such as: Yuri Bashmet, Vadim Repin, Denis Matsuev, Boris Berezovky, Sergey Krylov, Maria Guleghina, Dmitry Korchak, Lucas Debargue and many others.  

He has been in increasing demand elsewhere in Europe and Asia where engagements include the “Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra”, “Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna”, “Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice Genova”, “Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, “Latvian National Symphony Orchestra” and the “Brussels Philharmonic”, "Muenster Symphony". Equally adept in the opera world he became the first Russian conductor to perform at the “Rossini Opera Festival” in Pesaro with “Il viaggio a Reims” . Recent successes  include: “Turandot”  at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, “La traviata”  at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, “Eugeny Onegin” at the Latvian National Opera in Riga and V Sochi International Festival of Arts (Art.Dir. Yuri Bashmet), successful debut at the prestigious music Festival “Crescendo” (Art.Dir. Denis Matsuev), Spanish debut in Valladolid with “Lucia di Lammermoor”, "Verismo Gala" of the great soprano Maria Guleghina at Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory. In 2014 he  made his great company debut  with the Japan Opera Foundation of Tokyo conducting “Le Comte Ory”  by Rossini. In 2015 he will return on the podium of the famous Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro to conduct “L`inganno Felice” directed by Graham Vick. In 2016 he is a main conductor of the 4th season of popular Russian TV Show "Great Opera" on channel Kultura 

Igor Butman, saxophone virtuoso, bandleader, club owner and television host, is Russia's number one jazz personality. Born in 1961 in Leningrad (now St.Petersburg), Igor Butman started playing the clarinet at the age of 11. In 1976 he entered the Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music, where during his second year he dropped the classical clarinet for the jazz saxophone. Besides being taught by the remarkable musician and brilliant teacher Gennady Goldstein, he took unofficial lessons from nightly broadcasts of jazz from 11: 15 p.m. to midnight on Voice of America.

In 1983, Igor Butman played in Oleg Lundstrem`s big band - the best one in the USSR. Next year he was invited by Nick Levinovsky to join the most well known jazz group "Allegro" and played with them for three years. In the Soviet Union, a country of over 300 million people, Igor was known as the best tenor saxophonist, placing first in the Soviet Critics' Polls and recording many albums for Melodiya. 

After Igor Butman immigrated to America in 1987, he went on to major in Performance and Composition at Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. By the time Igor arrived in the United States, he already had a "fan club" made up of some of America's most respected Jazz artists. While still in the U.S.S.R., Igor was invited to play with touring American musicians, including Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, Louis Bellson and Grover Washington Jr., who took Igor "under his wing". Igor appeared as Grover's special guest in concerts at Chautauqua, New York, the Berklee Center in Boston and at Great Woods Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Igor has performed as part of Grover's band several times, including at New York's Blue Note. He is featured on Grover Washington Jr.'s Columbia release Then & Now (1988) soloing on "Stolen Moments", "Stella By Starlight" and Igor's own composition "French Connections". 

Igor's big sound and boyish exuberance have earned him standing ovations and many new fans, and his US solo career has moved straight ahead. He led his own group with Rachel Z. at Boston's leading Jazz club, The Regattabar, and has been featured soloist with the Billy Taylor Quartet, the Walter Davis Jr. Quartet and the Monty Alexander Quintet. He appeared on "The Today Show", "Good Morning America" and numerous other international programs. 

Moving to New York in 1989, Butman worked with The Lionel Hampton Orchestra. In 1992, Igor recorded with actor/musician Michael Moriarty's Quintet the album Live at the Fat Tuesday`s on DRG Records. In Variety's review of this recording, it was noted that Igor, "Impressed with a round tone and deft ability at double time efforts and harmonized tightly". 

In 1993, saw the release of his solo album Falling Out mostly with Igor's own composition, which featured no less than Eddie Gomez on bass, Lyle Mays on piano and Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums and received good reviews in the most respectable jazz magazines. Next year Butman collaborated with Partners in Time, joined by Gary Burton, in the recording of their album Equinost (Intersound). 

In 90`s Igor Butman performed at almost every major jazz festival, such as JVC Jazz Festival in New York, Boston Globe Jazz Festival in Boston, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho, Festival Internationale de Jazz de Montreal in Canada. 

That year Igor Butman moved to Russia and during the following years he became " a jazz bridge between Moscow and New York", bringing to Russia and playing with Eddie Gomez, Lenny White, John Abercrombie, Joe Lock and many other musicians. 

Especially pleasing to Igor's admirers was his new solo album Nostalgie which was recorded at RPM Studio in New York and released on Soyuz label in Russia in 1997 with Ira Gitler commenting that "Butman showed the fire and depth of his world-class improvisational talent". The Igor Butman's videoclip Nostalgie has reached the second position on Canadian TV channel Bravo! Canada. 

Butman`s marvelous coalescence of soul, sound and technique drew praise from American President Bill Clinton, one time tenor man, at a state dinner hosted by Vladimir Putin at the Moscow Kremlin. Clinton stated, that Igor Butman is "may be the greatest living jazz saxophone player, who happens to be a Russian."

Vladislav Lavrik, one of the most talented musicians of his generation, is Russia’s finest trumpeter and a rising young conductor. Vladislav is artistic director and chief conductor of The Tula Symphony and The Chamber Orchestra of Orenburg Philharmonie. Recognized for achievements in both classical and jazz performance styles, he was appointed principal trumpet of the Russian National Orchestra at the age of 20, the youngest person to hold a principal chair in the history of the orchestra. Since 2008 Lavrik has been a professor of the trumpet faculty of the Moscow State Conservatory. In 2011 he was elected to the board of the International Trumpet Guild, the first Russian to be given this recognition and responsibility. In 2016 he received the Russian Presidential Prize for Young Artists, the country’s highest honor for young artists.

In 2010 Lavrik achieved his conducting debut with the Russian National Orchestra at Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow. Since then he has led the RNO in its regular concert season and in festival concerts, including the 2014 program dedicated to Serge Kussevitsky. Mikhail Pletnev, the RNO’s founding conductor, invited Lavrik to the podium for his 2012 return to the concert stage as solo pianist, and Lavrik again led the RNO with Pletnev as soloist in their 2015 concerts in South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan. The 2013 Minnesota Beethoven Festival marked Lavrik’s American conducting debut, leading the RNO in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6. 

In addition to his work with the RNO, Lavrik has guest-conducted other leading Russian orchestras, including the Svetlanov State Symphony orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra “New Russia,” the State Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra “Musica Viva,” the Krasnoyarsk Academic Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Urdmurtia, the State Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Ministry of Defense, and the State Wind Orchestra. 

Born to a family of musicians, Lavrik’s early training included both piano and trumpet. After completing the Master’s Degree in trumpet performance at Moscow State Conservatory, he completed the opera and symphonic conducting program at the Gnesin Academy of Music, where his major professor was Maestro Vladimir Fedoseyev. Lavrik has also studied with Horia Andreescu, Teodor Currentzis, Mark Elder, Neeme and Paavo Jarvi, Vladimir Jurovsky, Alfredo Naseda, Vassily Petrenko, and Mark Singer. In 2014 he was invited to assist Maestro Kent Nagano leading the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, preparing Saint-Saens’ Symphony No. 3. On several occasions Lavrik has led the Gnesin Academy Opera Series in Tchaikovsky’s Evgeny Onegin. 

Lavrik is an organizer and leader of brass music festivals and ensembles, as well as a sought-after member of trumpet competition juries in the United States and Europe. He is founder and artistic director the Russian National Orchestra Brass Quintet and of the International Brass Days Festival of the Moscow State Conservatory. In recent Brass Days festivals Lavrik has premiered new arrangements by Evgeny Ratner of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, conducting a large brass and percussion ensemble in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. 

As a conductor and trumpet soloist Lavrik is actively involved in music projects for children, including the RNO’s established series “Magic of Music.” During 2011 and 2012 he visited orphanages and special schools in the United States and Russia with a program of music therapy for children with disabilities. In 2013 he both conducted and performed in premiere performances of the children’s musical Hermitage Cats Save the Day by Chris Brubeck in Washington, DC, Tuscaloosa, Alabama and St. Petersburg, Russia. His recording with the Russian National Orchestra of Alexander Rosenblatt’s Alice in Wonderland with narrator Alexander Oleshko was released in 2013. In 2011 he released a solo album “Meditations” featuring music by Russian composers.

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.

Anna Aglatova born in 1982. She completed her studies at the department of academic singing at the Gnesin Music College (R.Lisitsian’s class) in 2004,after which she enrolled at the Gnesin Russian Music Academy’s faculty of singing.In 2001,she received a Sergei Leiferkus grant from the Vladimir Spivakov Fund.In 2003,she won 1st prize at the “Bella voce” International Competition for singers.In 2003 ,she was invited to take part in the Cristmas Festival in Dusseldorf.In 2005,she made her Bolshoi Theatre debut as Nannetta (“Falstaff” G.Verdi).

May, 2005 – went on tour with the group of the invited soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre around cities of South Korea.In 2005 has acted as Pamina and Papagena ("Die Zauberflote" W.-A.Mozart) on stage of the Bolshoi Theatre. In November 2005 she won 3 rd prize at the“Neuen Stimmen” International Competition for vocalist’s(Germany). In 2006 has acted as Susanna ( “Le nozze di Figaro” W.-A.Mozart) on stage of the Theatre of Novosibirsk(Russia). 2007 she sang Xenia (“Boris Godunov” M.Mussorgsky ), Prilepa (“The queen of spades” P.Tchaikovsky) and Liu (“Turandot” G.Puccini) on stage of the Bolshoi Theatre.

Worked with prestigious conductors, such as: Alexander Vedernikov (Russia), Stuart Badfort (UK), Thomas Zanderling (Germany), Alessandro Pagliazzi (Italy), Teodor Kurendzis (Greece), Mikhail Pletnyov (Russia), Alexander Rudin (Russia).

The Yurlov Russian State Academic Choir is a world-famous Russian choir, and one of the oldest music ensembles in Moscow. 

Although the Choir celebrated the 100th anniversary of its official history in the 2018/19 season, the prehistory of the company dates back to 1900, when the church choir master Ivan Yukhov founded a family singing ensemble in the town of Shchelkovo near Moscow. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Moscow saw a lot of emerging art associations like Moscow Art Theater or Pyatnitsky Russian Folk Choir. Yukhov’s amateur choir had become widely known long before the 1917 revolution for performing sacred music, folk songs, choral, vocal, and symphonic works by Russian and Western European composers.

After the revolution, the choir was nationalized by the Soviet authorities, and in January 1919 it received the official status of the First State Choir. Apart from touring extensively, the increasingly popular ensemble was also involved in cultural projects of the young Soviet state. In particular, they recorded soundtracks for such famous films as Jolly Fellows, The Circus, We are from Kronstadt, and Volga Volga. 

Appointing Alexander Yurlov (1927–1973) to head the company in 1958 was a landmark event in its history. With this outstanding conductor, the Choir ranked among the country’s best musical groups in the 1960s. The company collaborated with the renowned Russian composers Sviridov and Shostakovich and premiered works by Rubin and Shchedrin. Alexander Yurlov deserves credit for reviving the tradition of concert performances of Russian Orthodox church music. Yurlov was succeeded by Yuri Ukhov and Stanislav Gusev, talented musicians, conductors and choirmasters who enhanced the popularity of the Choir. 

Since 2004, the Choir has been headed by Gennady Dmitryak, People’s Artist of Russia, professor, one of Russia’s top choral, opera and symphony conductors. A musician of great energy, Gennady Dmitryak meets daunting challenges confidently, while launching unique art projects. With him, the Choir ran Kremlins and Temples of Russia, and Holy Love, festivals reviving the traditions of major vocal and choral educational programs. In the spring of 2014, the company was closely involved in the 22nd Winter Olympic Games and 11th Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi. In the 2018/2019 anniversary season, the Choir held a music festival with concerts in Moscow, Sevastopol, Kurgan, Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk, as well as in France. 

The Choir often tours throughout Russia from Magadan to Kaliningrad. The company led by Gennady Dmitryak has appeared triumphantly in Spain, Greece, Great Britain, the Republic of Belarus, Armenia, Poland, Ukraine, North Korea and in the Baltic countries. The team is a regular guest of leading music festivals. Symphony conductors collaborating with the Choir include Yuri Bashmet, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Fedoseev, Dmitri Jurowski, Vladimir Jurowski, Mikhail Pletnev, Pavel Kogan, Teodor Currentzis, Sergey Skripka, Alexander Sladkovsky, and Yuri Simonov. The ensemble is widely known for their brilliant interpretations of music by Bortnyansky, Berezovsky, Kastalsky, Grechaninov, Chesnokov, Rachmaninoff, and Sviridov. The Choir’s repertoire includes virtually all of the Russian and Western European cantatas and oratorios, from Bach’s High Mass to works by Britten, Bernstein, Shostakovich, Schnittke, Kancheli and Tavener. 

A unique project of the Choir was recording the complete choral works by Sviridov commemorating the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth. In 2019, the project won the Pure Sound International Award for the best recording of Russian academic music in Choral category. 

On May 31, 2019, the Choir was awarded the Commendation of the President of the Russian Federation ‘for merits in developing national culture and art and years of fruitful activities.’ 

(Press Service of the Choir)