Melodies of Vienna.
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra,
Alexey Rubin, Yekaterina Mechetina

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.

Born in Leningrad in 1987, Alexey Rubin studied at the Glinka Choral College and then at the St. Petersburg Conservatory majoring in choral conducting with Prof. Valentin Nesterov (graduated in 2010) and in opera and symphonic conducting with Prof. Yuri Simonov (graduated in 2015). He has attended master classes by Yuri Simonov, Riccardo Muti, Vassily Sinaisky, Yuri Temirkanov, Victor Yampolsky and Bruno Weil. The musician has won prizes at the 3rdIlya Musin National Open Competition for Young Symphony Conductors in Kostroma (2013) and at the 2ndAll-Russian Music Competition in Moscow (2015). He has conducted Le nozze di Figaro by Mozart, Eugene Onegin and Iolanta by Tchaikovsky at the St. Petersburg Conservatory Opera and Ballet Theater.

Since 2015, Alexey Rubin has been Assistant Conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra regularly appearing with them at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and the Rachmaninoff Concert Hall (Philharmonia 2). Since 2018, he has collaborated with the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra that he conducted at the Denis Matsuev Festival in Perm in March 2019. Since 2022, Alexey Rubin has been conductor of the State Symphony Orchestra Novaya Rossiya.

The conductor regularly appears with the Rostov Academic Symphony Orchestra, Ural Youth Symphony Orchestra, Youth Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg, Surgut Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Krasnoyarsk Academic Symphony Orchestra, Iași Philharmonic Orchestra (Romania), also conducting performances at the Saratov Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. He has collaborated with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Yaroslavl Academic Governor’s Symphony Orchestra, Ulyanovsk Governor’s Orchestra and Far Eastern Academic Symphony Orchestra.

Alexey Rubin has performed with famous Russian soloists including Boris Berezovsky, Denis Matsuev, Sergey Tarasov, Andrey Gugnin, Vyacheslav Gryaznov, Aylen Pritchin, Sergey Antonov, Alexander Ramm, and Sofia Kiprskaya. He has assisted Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Spivakov and Mikhail Jurowski. Since 2017, he has been taking part in the Green Noise youth art festival in Surgut headed by Ekaterina Mechetina.

The conductor has performed with young laureates of the International Grand Piano Competition and the Nutcracker International Television Contest. In cooperation with Ekaterina Mechetina and Dmitry Antipov (ballet dancer, choreographer, artistic director of Rudi Dance Lab group), he staged one-act ballets to the music of Ravel and Rachmaninoff.

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.