Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra,
Yuri Simonov, Ekaterina Mechetina,
Nikita Borisoglebsky, Sergey Antonov

Throughout its history, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra has ranked among the best national orchestras and has been a worthy representative of Russian musical culture abroad. 

The orchestra was founded in September 1951 under the Soviet Radio Committee and joined the Moscow Philharmonic Society in 1953. Its artistic image and performing style were built under the guidance of renowned Russian conductors. The ensemble's first Artistic Director and Principal Conductor was Samuil Samosud (1951–1957). In 1957–1959, the orchestra, led by Nathan Rachlin, was considered as one of the best in the USSR. In 1958, at the 1st International Tchaikovsky Competition, the orchestra, conducted by Kirill Kondrashin, accompanied a triumphant performance by Van Cliburn, and in 1960 it was the first Russian symphony orchestra to tour the USA.

Kirill Kondrashin led the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra for 16 years (1960–1976). Those years were important milestones in the ensemble's history: the maestro conducted the premieres of Shostakovich's 4th and 13th Symphonies, his poem The Execution of Stepan Razin, Prokofiev's Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution, performed and recorded many Mahler symphonies. In 1973 the orchestra was awarded the title of Academic. Under Dmitry Kitaenko (1976–1990) the orchestra extended its 20th century repertoire, premiering works by Khrennikov, Denisov, Schnittke, Butsko, and Tishchenko. Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie, Stravinsky's King of the Stars (Zvezdoliki) and Requiem Canticles were performed for the first time in the USSR. The ensemble was subsequently led by Vasily Sinaisky (1991–1996) and Mark Ermler (1996–1998). 

The orchestra has collaborated with leading Russian and international conductors including André Cluytens, Igor Markevitch, Charles Munch, Zubin Mehta, George Enescu, Neeme Järvi, Mariss Jansons, Dzhansug Kakhidze, Kurt Mazur, Evgeny Svetlanov and composers Benjamin Britten, Igor Stravinsky, and Krzysztof Penderecki. It is with this orchestra that Sviatoslav Richter made his sole appearance as a conductor. Virtually all major soloists of the second half of the 20th century have appeared with the orchestra, including Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, Glenn Gould, Emil Gilels, David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Daniil Shafran, Yakov Flier, Nikolai Petrov, Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Krainev, Maurizio Pollini, Eliso Virsaladze, and Natalia Gutman. The orchestra has recorded over 350 LPs and CDs, many of which have received the highest international recording awards and are still in demand today. 

A new stage in the history of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra began in 1998, when it was taken over by People's Artist of the USSR Yuri Simonov. Under his leadership, the ensemble has achieved tremendous success. Today the orchestra is one of the mainstays of Russian philharmonic life, frequently performing in cities across Russia (over the last ten years they have appeared in more than 40 cities) and successfully touring Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, China, and Korea. 

In recent decades, the orchestra has played with such outstanding musicians as: Marc-André Hamelin, Valery Afanassiev, Yuri Bashmet, Boris Berezovsky, Yuja Wang, Maxim Vengerov, Stefan Vladar, Hibla Gerzmava, David Geringas, Barry Douglas, Lilya Zilberstein, Sumi Jo, Laura Kleikomb, Alexander Kniazev, Sergey Krylov, John Lill, Nikolai Lugansky, Konstantin Lifshitz, Oleg Maisenberg, Denis Matsuev, Ekaterina Mechetina, Viktoria Mullova, Daniel Pollak, Vadim Repin, Sergey Roldugin, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Viktor Tretyakov; Conductors Luciano Acocella, Semyon Bychkov, Alexander Vedernikov, Michael Güttler, Alexander Dmitriev, Marco Zambelli, Thomas Sanderling, Alexander Lazarev, Andres Mustonen, Vasily Petrenko, Benjamin Pionnier, 

Gintaras Rinkevičius, Alexander Sladkovsky, Leonard Slatkin, Saulius Sondeckis, Antonino Fogliani, Mariss Jansons and many others. 

One of the orchestra's priorities is working with the new generation of musicians: as part of the Stars of the 21st Century series, the orchestra plays with gifted soloists entering the big stage and invites young performers to join its philharmonic subscription programmes. The orchestra is a regular participant of international and Russian master courses for young conductors by Yuri Simonov, organized by the Moscow Philharmonic society. 

The activities of Maestro Simonov and the orchestra also aim at educating young listeners. The subscription series Tales with an Orchestra, taking place in Moscow and many Russian cities and featuring theatre and film stars, has become hugely popular. Guest stars have included Marina Alexandrova, Maria Aronova, Alyona Babenko, Valery Barinov, Sergei Bezrukov, Anna Bolshova, Olga Budina, Valery Garkalin, Sergei Garmash, Nonna Grishaeva, Ekaterina Guseva, Evgenia Dobrovolskaya, Mikhail Yefremov, Evgeny Knyazev, Avangard Leontiev, Pavel Lyubimtsev, Dmitry Nazarov, Alexander Oleshko, Irina Pegova, Yulia Peresild, Mikhail Porechenkov, Evgeniya Simonova, Grigory Siyatvinda, Daniil Spivakovsky, Yuri Stoyanov, Evgeny Stychkin, Victoria Tolstoganova, Mikhail Trukhin, Gennady Khazanov, Chulpan Khamatova, Sergey Shakurov. This project brought Maestro Simonov the Moscow Mayor's Arts Award in 2008, while in 2010, Yuri Simonov and the orchestra received the National Newspaper Musical Review Award in the Conductor and Orchestra category. 

In recent years, the ensemble has presented several Moscow, Russian and world premieres of works by Andrei Eshpai, Boris Tishchenko, Krzysztof Penderecki, Philip Glass, Alexander Tchaikovsky, Sergei Slonimsky, Valentin Silvestrov, Eduard Artemyev, Gennady Gladkov, Sofia Gubaidulina, Alexei Rybnikov, Efrem Podgaits, Kuzma Bodrov and other composers.

Yuri Simonov was born in 1941 in Saratov into a family of opera singers.  He was barely twelve the first time he stood on the conductor’s rostrum to conducting Mozart’s G minor symphony with the orchestra of the Saratov Music School, where he studied the violin.  In 1956, he was accepted by the junior department of the Leningrad Conservatory, where he later completed his undergraduate studies in 1965 as a viola student of Y. Kramarov and as a conductor in the class of N. Rabinovich (1969).  He was still a student when he won a prize at the 2nd Soviet Union Conductors’ Competition (1966) and as a result was invited to the Kislovodsk Philharmonia as Chief Conductor.

In 1968 Simonov became the first Soviet conductor to win an international competition, the 5th organised by the St Cecilia Academy in Rome.  This was reported by Il Messaggero: “the absolute winner of the competition was a twenty-seven year old Russian conductor, Yuri Simonov.  This is a great talent, full of inspiration and charm.  The exceptional qualities which marked him out for both the public and the jury were his extraordinary capacity to engage the audience, his inherent musicality and the strength and clarity of his gestures.  Lets celebrate this youngster who will no doubt become a custodian of great music.  After this event he was immediately invited by Yevgeny Mravinsky to become his assistant at the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and he joined him on a tour of Siberia.  Yuri Simonov has retained his contact with this orchestra until the present time.  Apart from concerts in the Great Hall of St Petersburg  Philharmonia he has joined them for tours of the UK, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Holland, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic.

In January 1969 Simonov made his début at the Bolshoi Theatre in Verdi’s Aida and the following February, after his triumphant performances on tour in Paris, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre, a position he held for more than fifteen years, a record in the history of this theatre.  His time there included many historical moments in the life of this theatre, the premieres of jewels of the operatic repertoire such as Glinka’s Ruslan & Ludmilla, Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Maid of Pskov, Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Bizet’s Carmen, Shostakovich’s The Golden Age, Schedrin’s Anna Karenina and Bluebeard’s Castle and The Wooden Prince by Bartok.  In 1979, Wagner’s Rhinegold marked the composer’s return to the theatre after a 40-year break.

His greatest achievement at the Bolshoi, however, was throughout his tenure there to sustain the highest standards in repertoire performances whilst supporting the vital process of continuous renewal of the artistic forces.  The result of this work was that works such as Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky), Khovanshchina (Mussorgsky), Prince Igor (Borodin), The Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky), Sadko (Rimsky-Korsakov), The Tsar’s Bride (Rimsky-Korsakov), Cosi fan tutte (Mozart), Don Carlos (Verdi), Petrouchka and the Firebird (Stravinsky) became trademark performances of the theatre.  Every day he dedicated many hours to working with rising talents, providing them with a solid basis for their own professional development and leaving an artistic legacy after departing from the theatre in 1985.  The scale of achievement of Yuri Simonov during this period is impressive enough but the simple statistics speak for themselves:  in any one season, he conducted more than eighty performances of at least ten different works produced under his direction.  At the end of the 1970s Yuri Simonov organised a chamber orchestra of young enthusiasts from the theatre orchestra, a group which toured successfully in its own right in the soviet Union and abroad, engaging such soloists as I. Arkhipova, E. Obraszova, T. Milashkina, Y. Mazurok, V. Malychenko, M. Petukhov, T. Dokshitzer and other significant artists of the time.

Between 1980 and 1990, Simonov undertook performances in major theatres around the world, starting with his début at Covent Garen in Eugene Onegin, followed four years later by La Traviata.  Other Verdi operas include Aida in Birmingham, Don Carlos in Los Angeles and Hamburg, La forza del destino in Marseilles, Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte in Genoa, R.Strauss’ Salome in Florence, Mussorgsky’s Khovantchina in San Francisco, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin in Dallas, and Queen of Spades in Prague, Paris and Budapest.

In 1982, he received an invitation to conduct a series of concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra, which marked the start of a fruitful relationship. At the same time many symphonic orchestras around the world invited him as a guest conductor and this led to appearances at leading international festivals including Edinburgh, Tanglewood, Paris, Prague Spring and Autumn festivals and Budapest Spring festival.

From 1985-89 he founded and directed a new State symphony orchestra with which he toured the former Soviet Union as well as Italy, Hungary, Poland and Germany.  At the beginning of the 1990s, he was the Chief Guest Conductor of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra and from 1994-2002 Music Director of the Belgian National Orchestra.  In 2001, he founded the Liszt-Wagner Orchestra in Budapest where he has been a guest conductor of the Hungarian State Opera for more than 30 years.  The highlights of this relationship were ten operas by Wagner, including all the Ring operas.  Apart from opera performances and many concerts with practically every Budapest ensemble, he also led international masterclasses for conductors in Hungary from 1994-2008, which brought him more than 100 students from 30 countries.  Hungarian television made three films about him.

Maestro has always combined his heavy artistic commitments with teaching.  From 1978-91 he was Professor of opera and symphonic conducting at the Moscow Conservatoire and since 2006 he has been teaching conducting at the St Petersburg Conservatoire and holding masterclasses both in Russia and abroad - in London, Tel Aviv, Almaty and Riga.  To mention some of his students: T.Boganyi, D.Botinis (Sr &Jr), Y.Botnari, J.Brett, L.Harrell, G.Horvath, T.Khitrova, I.Manasherov, V.Moiseev, G.Rincavichus, A.Rubin, Y.Samoylov, D.Sitkovetsky, P.Sorokin, M.Turgumbaev, M.Vengerov,  S.Vlasov,  M.Zoltowski.

Maestro Simonov was also a member of the jury of conducting competitions in Florence, Tokyo and Budapest.  In 2011 and 2015, he chaired the jury of both First and Second All-Russia conductors’ competition in Moscow. At present, he is writing a book on conducting.

Since 1998, Yuri Simonov has been the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.  Under his leadership, this orchestra has regained its former prominence.  Working with this orchestra gave him an opportunity display his characteristics of strong expression and technical dexterity, combined with an ability to establish a deep trust between the audience and the performers and striking theatrical imagery.  During this period, he has prepared more than 200 different programmes, which were played on tours throughout the world as well as in Moscow.  The press response has rarely been less than ecstatic, with remarks such as “Simonov gets out such a breadth of emotion that its close to genius,” (Financial Times), “a towering inspiration to his players,” (The Times). 

The 2008-9 season was celebrated with a special concert series entitled “Ten Years together”.  2010-11 was full with concerts in Moscow and tours in Russia and China but the main highlight were Maestro’s 70th birthday concerts in March 2011 in Moscow, Orenburg and on tour in Spain, Germany and Romania.

As well as performing concerts with the orchestra, Maestro Simonov takes a personal interest in developing the audiences of the future.  He has developed special programmes combining jewels from the literary and musical heritage to appeal to young audiences, using a wealth of material but within themes from the tales of The Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin and Cinderella.  Supporting the work of young musicians is no less important to him - in September 2008, he prepared the Commonwealth Youth Symphony Orchestra and toured with them to Moscow, Baku, Dushanbe, Bishkek and Almaty. 

Always ready to take on new artistic liaisons, in 2010 - 2015 he appeared with the Strasbourg, Bucharest (George Enesco Philharmonic), Sofia and Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestras, with the Brabant Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra of India in Mumbai. 

His repertoire comprises all styles and periods from the Baroque to the present day.  Some highlights of recent premieres are S.Slonimsky’s 27th and 29 th Symphonys, B.Tischenko’s Requiem and Laces of Vologda by K.Bodrov.  His own compilations from stage works by Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Prokofiev and Khatchaturian have been very popular with audience.

Yuri Simonov, National Artist of USSR (1981), Chevalier of the Russian Order of Merit (2001), Laureate of Music and Arts, Moscow (2008), Conductor of the Year (Music Observer 2005-6), Hungarian Order of Merit (2001), Commander of the Romanian Order of Star (2003), Polish Award for Culture, Russian Order for services to the Fatherland IV Grade  (2011).

His discography includes a wide repertoire produced by EMI, Melodia, Collins Classics, Cypres, Hungaroton, Le Chant du Monde, Pannon Classic, Sonora, and Tring International, and Kultur distributes DVDs of his performances at the Bolshoi Theatre.

Ekaterina Mechetina was born in Moscow into a family of musicians. She began to study music at the age of four then studied at the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory (class of Professor Tatyana Koloss) before enrolling at the Conservatory’s undergraduate programme (class of Professor Vladimir Ovchinnikov) and continuing her education at its postgraduate assistantship programme (class of Professor Sergei Dorensky). During her studies, she was a fellow of the Vladimir Spivakov and Mstislav Rostropovich foundations and undertook an internship in Paris in 2004 at the invitation of the latter. 

Ekaterina has been a prize-winner of 7 international piano competitions, including Ferruccio Busoni Competition in Bolzano (Italy) and the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, U.S. (1st Prize and Gold Medal).

The pianist has appeared at world-renowned venues including Consertgebouw (Amsterdam), Yamaha Hall and Casals Hall (Tokyo), Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Salle Gaveau (Paris), Great Hall of the Milan Conservatory, Milan Auditorium, Cecília Meireles Hall (Rio de Janeiro), Alice Tully Hall (New York), and others. Her performances can also be heard in Moscow and other Russian cities. 

Ekaterina Mechetina's broad repertoire includes over 50 piano concertos and numerous recital programs. She has appeared under the baton of Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Spivakov, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Saulus Sondeckis, Yuri Simonov, Pavel Kogan, Vladimir Ponkin, Dmitry Liss, Maxim Vengerov, Konstantin Orbelian, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Alexander Sladkovsky, Gintaras Rinkevicius, Alexander Skulsky, Fedor Glushchenko, Lawrence Foster, Christian Badea, Barry Douglas, Fabio Mastrangelo, and Maria Eklund. 

In chamber programmes, she has appeared with Rodion Shchedrin, Vladimir Spivakov, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Alexei Utkin, Alexander Knyazev, Alexander Ghindin, Boris Andrianov, Daniil Kogan, Graf Murzha, and other famous performers. In 2007, Ekaterina Mechetina, Nikita Borisoglebsky, and Sergei Antonov formed a trio that frequently appears in public and explores an extensive repertoire. 

Ekaterina has taken part in major international festivals, including December Nights of Svyatoslav Richter, Moscow autumn, Crescendo, Rodion Shchedrin Music festival, Russian Winter; and Benois de la danse in Moscow, Stars on Baikal in Irkutsk, Dubrovnik Festival, Consonances, Lille Piano(s) Festival, and Europalia (Belgium). 

She actively collaborates with contemporary composers such as Rodion Shchedrin (who entrusted her with the world premiere of his 6th Piano Concerto), Alexei Rybnikov, Tolib Shakhidi, Kuzma Bodrov, and many others. 

Ekaterina Mechetina has been teaching at the Moscow Conservatory since 2009 (being Associate Professor since 2020), and at the Conservatory’s Central Music School since 2016. Every year she gives master classes at the UNESCO Summer Creative School New Names in Suzdal. She has been member of the jury of Russian and international competitions (including the Nutcracker Television Competition for Young Musicians, the International Delphic Games, Astana and Seoul competitions) and hosts Diary of a Pianist and Musical Alphabet with Ekaterina Mechetina programmes on Radio Orpheus. 

The pianist's recordings have been released by Fuga Libera (solo album with Rachmaninoff works, 2005), Empire of Music (compositions by Shchedrin and Tolib Shakhidi, 2008), and Melodiya (music by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Rachmaninoff, 2013). In 2019, the Moscow Conservatory label recorded and released her album Author's Suite with Tchaikovsky's pieces. 

Ekaterina Mechetina has received the Triumph youth award, Parabola independent award by Andrei Voznesensky foundation, 3rd degree Order of Catherine the Great from the National Committee of Public Awards, Prize of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian Muses for the World Foundation, and Presidential Prize for Young Culture Professionals. In 2011, she became a member of the Culture and Art Council under the Russian President. 

Since 2013, Ekaterina Mechetina has been heading the Green Noise International Youth Art Festival (Surgut). In 2015, she was awarded the Honorary Badge of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for Strengthening Peace and Friendship of Peoples. In November 2017, she became a laureate of Russian Rome International Cultural Festival in the category Worldwide Promotion of Musical Culture. She was awarded the honorary title of Merited Musician in 2016 and Honoured Artist of Russia in 2018.

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.

One of the greatest artists of his generation, Sergey Antonov was born in 1983 into a family of cellists. His parents guided his first years, especially his mother, Maria Zhuravleva, a leading cello pedagogue at the prestigious Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory. His father, Boris, was a gifted cellist and a member of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Fedoseyev.

Sergey graduated from the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with Natalia Schakhovskaya and chamber music with Alexander Bonduryansky. Since 2006, Antonov has been studying with Terry King and is currently enrolled at the Longy School of Music in Boston.

A great influence on the cellist was his work with the late Mstislav Rostropovich. Sergey was a frequent participant in his master classes at the Moscow Conservatory, which led to the maestro's invitation to join him on tours of Europe and Russia.

In June 2007, Sergey Antonov won the prestigious Gold Medal at the XIII International Tchaikovsky Competition, one of the youngest cellists to win the prize ever. In addition, the Toyota Corporation awarded Antonov promotional sponsorship and a Special Prize: Favorite Artist in the Cello Division. Another award to the cellist was an offer from the Moscow Philharmonic: a five-year soloist contract over Russia with Moscow State Philharmonic Society Artists management.

Sergey has triumphed in many competitions including first prizes at the Swedish Duo Competition, the International Chamber Music Competition of the Chamber Music Foundation of New England the National ASTA Competition in Detroit (2007). He also has won top prizes in the Dotzauer and David Popper Competitions.

Sergey was embark upon a 15-concert tour of Japan, China and Korea in January/February 2008, culminating with performances of the Brahms Double Concerto in Moscow's Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Other performances include appearances with the Petrozavodsk Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, Russian National orchestra under Maestro Pletnev, Symphony Orchestra of Rome as well as chamber music collaborations with the Lyrica Chamber Music Series as their "Young Artist of the Year", and the Chamber Music Foundation of New England. Other engagements include solo recitals in Italy, Bordeaux Music Festival in France and Newport Music Festival in Rhode Island.

Antonov has appeared with the Moscow, St Petersburg, and Budapest Philharmonic Orchestras, the Philharmonia Di Nation (Italy and Spain) as well as numerous other orchestras in the Russian Federation. He has performed solo and chamber music recitals in Moscow, Boston, New York, Paris, Stockholm, Budapest, Gdansk and many other cities in Russia, Europe and the United States.