Maestro Dmitriev's Greetings

Dear Visitor,

I am glad to welcome you to our website.

Here you can learn more about the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra. One of oldest in Russia, the Orchestra celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2006. The Orchestra is known for performing the 7th Symphony by Shostakovich in Leningrad during the siege, a performance that has come to be regarded as a highpoint in the heroic history of Russian musical art.

On our pages you will also learn about our Chamber Orchestra and String Quartet, integral parts of the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra. You will participate in our daily life, watch our musicians (some of them are professors of music and have a teaching carrier along with their performing, and you will also see our orchestra musicians perform as soloists.

We will try to share the Orchestra's history with you, so you may come to know the famous conductors who have worked with us. Among these I have to mention two giants of the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky and Benjamin Britten, who both conducted their own oeuvre, performed by the Orchestra.

In the Photo Gallery we show some of the historic photographs of the Orchestra that belong to the Archives of the Philharmonic, and were never before published.

The Orchestra tours often, and we will update you regularly on what we are doing and where we are. Both the new Orchestra recordings and some unique ones from the Archives are available on our website for listening and purchase.

We will be glad to hear your comments and answer your questions.

I wish you to enjoy the journey with us.

Yours sincerely,

Alexander S. Dmitriev

Artistic Director and Head Conductor
The Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra