Armchair Concerts.
Broadcasts from Tchaikovsky Concert Hall

Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra – Symphony Academy is a unique musical collective and the largest youth project in the orchestral field. It was created in September 2018 with the support of the Presidential Grants Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and is being developed as part of the national project Culture. The Moscow Philharmonic Society is the curator of the project. In its creative work, the orchestra combines Russian musical traditions and international experience, solving three fundamental questions – art, educational and enlightenment. Such combination of functions, none of which is auxiliary, has no analogues.

Today the orchestra consists of 128 musicians from 35 regions of Russia. The project makes high demands on the participants: a large amount of educational, rehearsal and concert work, the need for personal and professional dedication, discipline, and passion. For the development of young musicians, unprecedented conditions have been created: excellent rehearsal base, intensive concert life, cooperation with the best conductors and soloists of the world, classes with concertmasters of major orchestras and professors of famous music high schools.

An important role in the development of the project participants is played by the work with outstanding conductors. The orchestra performed under the direction of outstanding conductors: Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Fedoseev, Mikhail Jurowski, Alexander Lazarev, Alexander Sladkovsky, Charles Dutoit, Pinchas Zukerman, Thomas Zehetmair, Vasily Petrenko, Julian Rachlin, Vassily Sinaisky, Philippe Herreweghe, Tugan Sokhiev, Marc Minkowski, Paavo Järvi, Lionel Bringuier and Jean-Christophe Spinosi. The soloists performing with the orchestra were Denis Matsuev, Alexandre Kantorow, Nikolay Lugansky, Alexander Romanovsky, Vadim Repin, Julian Rachlin, Piotr Beczała, Julia Lezhneva, Miklós Sebestyén, Sabine Devieilhe, Khibla Gerzmava, Maxim Vengerov, Carolin Widmann, Erwin Schrott, Thomas Hampson, Sonya Yoncheva, to name a few.

Today RNYSO is an integral part of the concert life of the country: during six seasons it held more than 280 concerts, having performed in 43 Russian cities. The RNYSO concerts took place on two main stages of the Moscow Philharmonic, Mariinsky-2 Concert Hall, on the Red Square in Moscow and have being broadcast by Medici.tv. In the first years of its life, the RNYSO presented a number of major symphonic programs, took part in the international festivals, as well as in major cultural and public events.

The RNYSO repertoire is being constantly replenished with symphonies of Beethoven, Berlioz, Weber, Brahms, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Mahler, Shostakovich, Lokshin, Schnittke, works by Mozart, Glinka, Schumann, Wagner, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Ives, Respighi, Pärt, Tarnopolsky, Reich, Zimmermann, Staud, Widmann, Ligeti, Sysoev, Boulez, Xenakis, Berg, Varese, Romitelli and Adams, along with the greatest composers of the Baroque era. In November 2020, the collective was honored to open the 7th International Contemporary Music Festival Another Space. In summer 2021, the orchestra has performed in the largest European halls, such as KKL Luzern Concert Hall and Wiener Musikverein.

In the season 2024/25 the orchestra takes part in the Another Space. Continuo, All of Stravinsky, The Language of Music, Musica sacra nova subscription concerts performing under the baton of Yuri Bashmet, Dmitry Jurowski, Philipp Chizhevsky, Dmitry Sinkovsky, Alexander Sladkovsky, Fyodor Lednev with such soloists as Denis Matsuev, Boris Berezovsky, Dmitry Shishkin, Angel Wong, Vadim Repin, Daniil Kogan, Boris Andrianov, Alexander Ramm.

Alexander Lazarev is one of Russia's foremost conductors. He studied with Leo Ginsbourg at the Moscow Conservatory graduating with first class honours. In 1971 he won first prize in the Soviet Union's national competition for conductors, and the following year went on to win first prize and gold medal at the Karajan Competition in Berlin.

From 1987 to 1995 Lazarev was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Theatre, the first person for over thirty years to hold both positions concurrently. His leadership marked a period of intensive activity with the Bolshoi Opera undertaking an unprecedented programme of prestigious foreign tours including Tokyo (1989), La Scala, Milan (1989), the Edinburgh Festival (1990 and 1991) and the Metropolitan Opera in New York (1991). Several of the Theatre’s most successful productions including Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar, Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orleans and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mlada were filmed for video, and the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra made a number of highly acclaimed recordings for Erato including such milestones of the Russian symphonic repertoire as Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2 and Shostakovich Symphony No. 8. He now holds the title of Conductor-in-Residence and this season will be conducting a new production of Tchaikovsky’s The Enchantress.

From 1992 to 1995 he was Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and from 1997 to 2005 Principal Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra where his conducting of the complete cycle of Shostakovich symphonies was a high point of his tenure. In recent years he has worked as a regular guest with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, appearing with them in London, Paris and Vienna. Other orchestras he has conducted include the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre National de France, Oslo Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, NHK Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Montreal Symphony and London Philharmonic, and he has appeared with opera companies such as the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Arena di Verona, Opéra Bastille, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Bavarian State Opera and Netherlands Opera.

His repertoire is particularly enterprising in its scope, ranging from the eighteenth century to the avant-garde. In 1978 he founded the Ensemble of Soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre whose most important aim was the programming and wide dissemination of contemporary music by both Soviet and foreign composers.

Alexander Lazarev is a prolific recording artist, appearing on such labels as Erato, Melodiya, Virgin Classics, Sony Classical, Hyperion, BMG, BIS and Linn Records. Since 2008 he has been Principal Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. His work with the orchestra is extensively represented on Octavia Records; they are currently in the process of performing and recording complete cycles of the Prokofiev and Rachmaninov symphonies.

Effervescent musicianship, intense lyricism and beguiling tonal beauty belong to the qualities that have secured Sergej Krylov’s place among today’s most renowned performers. The Russian-born violinist directs breath-taking virtuosity to reveal profound expressive insights into the works in his strikingly broad repertoire.

«Sergej Krylov transfixed the house, fiddling with the kind of effortless lyricism, liquid flow and mercurial tones that distinguish the best violinists» observed THE TIMES, following last year performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko.

A regular guest with several major institutions and world’s leading orchestras, Sergej Krylov has appeared with, among others, the St Petersburg Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic orchestras, Russian National Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, DSO Berlin, the Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin, Budapest Festival Orchestra, NHK Symphony Tokyo, Staatskapelle Dresden.

Among the prominent personalities with whom he has worked, Krylov’s friendship with Mstislav Rostropovich stands among the most important influences on his artistic life. Over the past decade he has collaborated with many leading conductors, from Mikhail Pletnev, Dmitri Kitajenko, Vasily Petrenko, Valery Gergiev, Andrey Boreyko and Vladimir Jurowski to Fabio Luisi, Roberto Abbado, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Dmitry Liss, Yuri Bashmet and Michał Nesterowicz.

Recent and forthcoming highlights of Sergej Krylov’s 2018/19 season include performances of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Russian National Orchestra/M. Pletnev and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/M. Alsop, Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/S. Kochanovsky and Qatar Philharmonic/D. Kitajenko, Paganini’s Concerto n. 1 with the St Petersburg Philharmonic/C. Dutoit and Charlotte Symphony/R. Abbado next to concerts with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Zagreb and Belgrade Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic, the Ural Philharmonic/Dmitry Liss and many others.

As Music Director of the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra since 2008, Sergej Krylov loves assuming the dual role of soloist and conductor in a wide repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary music. Major engagements in 2018-19 include an important event at MUPA concert hall in Budapest, live recorded for TV and radio broadcast along with concerts in Italy, Poland, France and Lithuania.

Sergej Krylov devotes much time to chamber music projects, playing in partnership with pianists Denis Matsuev, Nikolai Lugansky, Boris Berezovsky, Itamar Golan, Michail Lifits and in larger chamber groups with artists such as Elena Bashkirova, Yuri Bashmet, Maxim Rysanov, Alexander Kniazev.

Born into a family of musicians in Moscow in 1970, Sergej Krylov began studying the violin at the age of five and completed his training at the Moscow Central School of Music. His international breakthrough came with first prize-winning success at the International Violin Competition “Rodolfo Lipizer”, the Stradivarius International Violin Competition and the Fritz Kreisler Competition.

In addition to early recordings for Melodiya and EMI, Krylov’s discography includes two recent releases on Deutsche Grammophon: the first, a recording of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons in the role of soloist and conductor with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the second, an album devoted to Paganini’s 24 Capricci. Both albums attracted critical plaudits. Last season Sergej Krylov premiered Ezio Bosso’s Violin Concerto with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Fenice, recorded live under the composer’s direction and released by SONY Classical. He recently recorded the Violin Concerto Metamorphosen under Krzysztof Penderecki’s direction as part of a landmark project to record the Polish composer’s complete works.

Enrico Dindo was born in Italy into a family of musicians, and at the age of six he began studying the cello, then he entered the Turin Conservatory of Giuseppe Verdi, where he studied with Antonio Janigro. Enrico Dindo won First Prize at the Rostropovich Competition in Paris in 1997. 

Mstislav Rostropovich called him ‘a cellist of exceptional qualities… with an extraordinary sound which flows as a splendid Italian voice”. 

He has since established his solo career around the world. Enrico Dindo has performed with orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Rotterdam Philarmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Nationale de France, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Filarmonica della Scala, RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus. He has performed with Mstislav Rostropovich, Riccardo Chailly, Aldo Ceccato, Gianandrea Noseda, Myung-Whun Chung, Daniele Gatti, Paavo Järvi, Valery Gergiev, Ivan Fisher, Riccardo Muti and others.

Recent highlights include performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Gianandrea Noseda and Budapest Festival Orchestra with Ivan Fischer. In 2013-14 Enrico Dindo’s season highlights include performances with the Leipzig Gewandhaus at the Barbican in London, Paris and Vienna, as well as appearances with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome and at the Lugano Festival. 

Dindo participated in a number of festivals, including the Budapest (Spring Festival), Stresa (Settimane Musicali), the Dubrovnik and Lokenhaus festivals. 

A successful recording artist, Enrico Dindo has recorded with Decca and Chandos For Decca he has recently released recordings of the Bach Suites for solo cello and all Beethoven's works for cello and piano (piano part performed by Pietro de Maria). 

For Chandos he released recordings of the Shostakovich Cello Concertos with the Danish National Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda. In 2014 he has been appointed Principal and Musical conductor at the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Zagreb. 

Composers that have written for him include Giulio Castagnoli, Carlo Boccadoro, Carlo Galante and Roberto Molinelli. Enrico Dindo plays the Pietro Giacomo Rogeri cello of 1717 (ex-Piatti). 

Enrico Dindo is the winner of the the Abbiati Award of the Italian National Association of Music Critics (2000), the Vittorio de Sica Award (2005).

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.