History of the SPBSO

The Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2006.

The SPBSO was formed in 1931, when radio was experiencing its boom, as the "Leningrad Radio Orchestra". Most of the broadcasts were live, so from the very first, the musicians had to master a complex and vast repertoire.

The war period became a legendary part of the Orchestra's history. The Leningrad Radio Orchestra, then under the direction of Carl Eliasberg, was the only orchestra to stay and perform in the besieged city. Its activities culminated in the performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony on the 9th of August 1942 - the day the Nazis had planned to enter a captured city. The Orchestra's work during the siege became a unique monument to the irrepressible dignity of the human spirit.

After WW II, although the Orchestra still worked for the radio, its live concert appearances became more and more frequent, so it was quite natural that it became part of the Leningrad Philharmonia. The Great Philharmonic Hall has been its main venue ever since. The Orchestra prepared many new programs, participating in Philharmonia subscriptions. At the same time it preserved the essential features characteristic of a radio orchestra: the ability to play at sight, an avid sensitivity and quick reactions to a conductor's intent. During this period, the Orchestra was headed by Nikolai Rabinovitch (1953-1960) and Arvid Jansons (1961-1968).

A new period in the SPBSO's life started in 1968 when the young Yuri Temirkanov was appointed its Chief Conductor. Maestro Temirkanov who had just won the All-Union Conducting Competition and was already acknowledged and loved by the Leningrad audience. He enlarged the repertoire and introduced new interpretations of classical music. The Orchestra also started touring abroad: first Scandinavian countries, then Europe, Japan and the USA. Its high artistic level was noted by critics. "Leningrad deserves two great orchestras, and it does have them", was the decision of the critics.

In 1977, when Maestro Temirkanov left the Orchestra for the Mariinsky Theater, the post of Chief Conductor was assumed by Alexander Dmitriev - Nikolai Rabinovich's pupil, and a worthy inheritor of the Leningrad - Saint Petersburg conducting school traditions. His creative collaboration with the SPBSO which has lasted for over two decades has proven to be extremely fruitful. The programs they prepared together included compositions that had never been performed in Saint Petersburg before - Handel's Oratorio "The Power of Music", Mahler's Eighth Symphony, Preliminary Action by Scriabin-Nemtin, Debussy's "Pelleas et Melisande", Zemlinsky's "Undina" and many others. These programs were acknowledged by critics and won the esteem of the highly critical Saint Petersburg audience.

In 1985 the Orchestra received the honorary title of "Academic" for its great contribution to the national performing arts.

At present the SPBSO is one of the leading symphony orchestras of Russia. Its playing is noted for its wonderful sense of ensemble and unique individualities of the leaders and soloists. The Orchestra copes easily with new repertoire and feels equally confident when playing music of varying epochs and styles.

The Orchestra successfully tours abroad and participates in the international festivals held in St.Petersburg, including the Arts Square Festival, The Stars of White Nights, Musical Spring, Christmas Meeting in Northern Palmyra and Musical Olympus. The Orchestra participated in the Second International Rostropovich Cellists' Congress and appeared in the gala concert dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Yuri Temirkanov's birth.

Since its conception the Orchestra has been an active advocate of modern music. Its programs constantly include works by R. Schedrin, A. Petrov, S. Slonimsky, B. Tischenko, G. Ustvolskaya, Y. Falik and many others.

Prominent Russian and Western conductors such as M. Sargent, K. Mazur, K. Osetrreicher, P. Argento, D. Barbirolli, O. Frid, G. Sebastian, E. Svetlanov, B. Khaikin, I. Mousin, G. Rozhdestvensky, D. Kitaenko, A. Lazarev, P. Kletzki, L. Maazel, L. Segerstam, R. Benzi, Y.-P. Tortelier, M. Rostropovich, V. Gergiev, V. Sinaisky and M. Jansons have worked with the Orchestra.

Equally well-regarded are the soloists who have joined in performances given by the SPBSO. The orchestra’s history is marked with many great soloists’ names, including S. Richter, E. Gilels, D. Oistrach, L. Kogan, V. Cliburn, I. Stern, V. Krainev, A. Fischer, I. Menuhin, P. Furnier, L. Marshall, G. Sokolov, E. Virssaladze, N. Gutman, V. Tretyakov, R. Kerer, Y. Bashmet and B. Pergamenshchikov.

The 75th anniversary of the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra is the time of its artistic maturity - with renowned traditions form the past and bright, but challenging, prospects for the future.


[Note: the links in the text lead to Photo Albums, showing some of the rare historical images conserved by the dedicated archivists of the Orchestra. Additional Photos show other soloists, some the Orchestra's Concert Masters and the SPBSO in performance.]