Vladimir Spivakov and the NPR’s Tour in the Belgorod and Kursk Oblasts

On March 21-27, the Belgorod and Kursk Oblasts will host the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia directed by Vladimir Spivakov. The collective will give seven concerts under the auspices of the ArtOknoFest Project of the “Arts, Science and Sports” Alisher Usmanov Charity Foundation supported by the Metalloinvest Company. Along with the Belgorod and Kursk cities, the performances will also be given in towns of Stary Oskol, Gubkin and Zheleznogorsk (see Events).

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The NPR’s and Vladimir Spivakov’s tour in the Volga Region

The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia led by Vladimir Spivakov will tour the Volga Region in September 2021. It is not the first time that the Maestro and his collective are visiting  main cultural centers of the Volga Federal District, thus in 2017 the musicians performed in Samara, Ulyanovsk, Saransk, Penza and Kuznetsk. This year's tour includes also Togliatti and Saratov. All six concerts of the NPR will be conducted by its artistic director Vladimir Spivakov, a People's Artist of the USSR and UNESCO peace artist. Read more...

Vladimir Spivakov and the NPR Will Perform at Festivals in Italy

The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia and Vladimir Spivakov will take part in two esteemed music festivals in Italy this September. On September 9, the collective will give a concert at the annual Südtirol Festival in Merano, a spa resort in the Italian Alps (Bolzano province). The concert in the local Kurhaus will feature the Russian musicians together with the renowned French cellist Gautier Capuçon who will play the solo part in Dvořák's Cello Concerto.
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The NPR’s Russian Tour: St. Petersburg, Ivanovo and Nizhny Novgorod

The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia continues its touring Russia as part of the All-Russian Philharmonic Seasons Project of the Moscow Philharmonic Society and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. From December 15 to December 18, the NPR will play in St. Petersburg, Ivanovo and Nizhny Novgorod (see Events). In the northern capital, Vladimir Spivakov's collective already performed in June 2011, fully approving the wonderful acoustics  of the new Mariinsky Theater Concert Hall. The NPR  will give there a concert on December 15 with soprano Anna Aglatova,  soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, three times the Golden Mask Prize nominee.

The program on the Mariinsky stage is aimed at a sophisticated audience: it features Ravel’s works - Shéhérazade (three oriental poems for voice with  orchestra to the words of Tristan Klingsor) and the famous choreographic poem Valse - as well as Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with the philosophical Finale based on the children song Das himmlische Leben taken from the collection of German folk songs and ballads Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Vladimir Spivakov made Mahler's music part of the NPR's staple repertoire with the very first seasons as he regards it to be the measure of performing mastery of any music director and  orchestra.

In Ivanovo and Nizhny Novgorod, where the concerts will be held  within the framework of the All-Russian Festival “Vladimir Spivakov Invites ...”,  the maestro and the NPR will be joined by mezzo-soprano Polina Shamaeva, winner of the Big Opera TV Show, soloist of the E. Kolobov Novaya Opera Moscow Theater and the Hungarian State Opera House. In the first part of the concert, the singer will shine in arias from operas by Bizet and Saint-Saëns  (the full program is below), and in the second one, Vladimir Spivakov will treat music aficionados with Tchaikovsky's masterpieces: fragments from the ballets “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker”.

The NPR Is Going to the Baltic Countries for the Third Time

November 30, 2019 – Tallinn, "Estonia" National Opera
December 2, 2019 – Riga, Latvian National Opera
December 3, 2019 – Vilnius, Compensa Concert Hall
Soloist – Alexander Romanovsky, piano
Conductor – Vladimir Spivakov
Rachmaninoff. Concerto No.3 for piano and orchestra in D minor, Op. 30
Tchaikovsky. Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op.64

Vladimir Spivakov and the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia will give three concerts in the capitals of the Baltic Countries. The performances of the Russian collective will start on November 30 in Tallinn in the famous hall of the “Estonia” National Opera, go on at the Latvian National Opera in Riga, also a venue of a glorious and long history, on December 2, and end on December 3 at the new Compensa Concert Hall, opened in 2014, in Vilnius. The program of all three musical nights will feature Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony.

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The NPR Will Perform in Spain to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Ibermúsica Seasons

From November 4 to 7, Vladimir Spivakov and the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia will give three concerts in Spain: at the Auditorio de la Diputación in Alicante and the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid. The programs will feature works by Massenet, Paganini, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky (see below); María Dueñas (violin, Spain) and Ivan Bessonov (piano), two rising stars of the world music, are also invited to participate in the tour.

The NPR's concerts in Madrid are part of the Ibermúsica monumental concert series which proposes performances of outstanding contemporary musicians and the world's best orchestras every year. In the 2019/20 season, the Ibermúsica Series, founded by the legendary impresario Alfonso Aijon (“a great large-hearted man” as Vladimir Spivakov says about him), celebrates its 50th anniversary. It was at Mr Aijon's invitation that the first Spanish tour of the Moscow Virtuosi Orchestra took place shortly after the ensemble had been officially formed in 1979. The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia performed for the first time in Spain within the framework of the Ibermúsica Series in March 2010: the concerts directed by Vladimir Spivakov were held in Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza. For European music lovers, the name Ibermúsica implies highest mastership and solid international reputation, and serves as a guarantee of quality and interesting approach to the repertoire.

María Dueñas, a 17-year-old violinist from Spain, is a pupil of the famous professor Boris Kushnir, with whom she studies in Vienna and Graz. Maria conquered Vladimir Spivakov with her brilliant performance at the Yuri Yankelevich Competition in Omsk, and then winning the Vladimir Spivakov Competition in Ufa. Both international jury teams recognized her outright dominance, adding new awards to her impressive list of past achievements. Prior to the Russian competitions,  María Dueñas had won contests in China, Italy, Belgium and Poland, while at the Kronberg Academy she was awarded the prestigious Landgrave of Hesse Prize and scholarships from the international organization Jeunesses Musicales in Madrid.

Ivan Bessonov is the winner of the Grand Prix of the F. Chopin International Youth Competition (St. Petersburg) and some other contests, such as the A. Rubinstein Competition (St. Petersburg), Astana Piano Passion (Astana), “Young Talents of Russia”. In 2015, he made his debut as a composer, writing the music for the documentary film “Varicella” by Viktor Kosakovsky, premiered at the International Film Festival “Message to Man” in St. Petersburg. In 2018, he became the winner of the Blue Bird contest on the Russia-1 TV channel and the Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 in Edinburgh. He took part in the European tour of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia in Autumn 2018.


4 November. 2019 – Auditorio de la Diputación, Alicante
6 November, 2019 – Auditorio Nacional, Madrid
Soloist – María Dueñas, violin (Spain)
Conductor – Vladimir Spivakov
Massenet. Navarraise from "Le Cid"
Paganini. Concerto No. 1 for violin and orchestra in D major, Op. 6
Tchaikovsky. Siutes from ballets «Swan Lake» and «Nutcracker»
Programme Notes

7 November, 2019 – Auditorio Nacional, Madrid
Soloist – Ivan Bessonov, piano
Conductor – Vladimir Spivakov
Tchaikovsky. "Romeo and Juliet", overture-fantasy
Rachmaninoff. Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra in C minor, Op. 18
Tchaikovsky. Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
Programme Notes

 

Orenburg and Ufa Editions of the “Vladimir Spivakov Invites…” Festival

September is traditionally the month of the regional editions of the “Vladimir Spivakov invites ...” Festival. In September 2019, the Maestro and his orchestra will be hosted in Orenburg and Ufa. The concerts will feature young stars of the music art including the winners of international competitions María Dueñas (violin, Spain), Ivan Bessonov (piano), Aigul Akhmetshina (mezzo-soprano), a member of the ROH Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at Covent Garden, and Yaroslav Abaimov (tenor), soloist of the E. Kolobov “Novaya Opera” Theatre in Moscow. Maestro Vladimir Spivakov himself will be on the conductor podium all five evenings (see Events). The NPR’s Russian tour is part of the All-Russian Philharmonic Seasons Project of the Moscow Philharmonic Society and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

The NPR concert on September 14 will open the 76th concert season of the Orenburg Regional Philharmonic Society. Under Vladimir Spivakov's baton there will be performed works by Mozart and Mendelssohn (soloist - María Dueñas). The program of the second concert on September 15 is fully devoted to Beethoven's music (soloist - Ivan Bessonov). These two programs will be also presented in Ufa.

The Ufa fourth edition of the “Vladimir Spivakov invites ...” Festival (September 17-19) will be held at the Bashkortostan State Concert Hall, with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia once again being the star of the concerts. Vladimir Spivakov will also present appealing young soloists to the Bashkir public, some of whom are already known to Ufa music lovers: María Dueñas, Spanish violinist well remembered there for her brilliant victory at the Vladimir Spivakov Competition in 2018, and Aigul Akhmetshina, a native of Bashkortostan, glorifying her country with her successes in the Russian capital and in Europe, becoming a member of the ROH Jette Parker Young Artists Programme. The Ufa Festival edition will open with an opera gala, featuring popular fragments from Italian and French operas.

The “Vladimir Spivakov Invites…” Festival Will Take Place in the Murmansk Region

On May 20 to 23, 2019, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia will perform four concerts in Murmansk Oblast as part of the All-Russian Festival “Vladimir Spivakov Invites...”. On May 20-21 the concerts will be given at the Murmansk Philharmonic Society Hall. On May 22, the musicians will be hosted by the Stroitel Culture House in Severomorsk, the deployment centre of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Federation. The “Polar Tour” of the Orchestra will end on May 23 in Kirovsk, where Vladimir Spivakov's collective will appear for the first time.

The concerts will feature Ivan Bessonov (piano) and Anastasia Kobekina (cello), young virtuoso soloists, winners of international competitions. The programs include works by Mozart, Dvořák and Tchaikovsky (see Events). Vladimir Spivakov will conduct the first three of the concerts, while the fourth one will be led by the NPR's intern-conductor Arsenty Tkachenko.

The Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra first visited the Kola Peninsula in 2005 during an extensive tour dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of the WW2 Great Victory. It was the first large symphony orchestra ever playing in Severomorsk. The musicians were invited aboard the “Pyotr Velikiy” battlecruiser, the flagship of the Northern Fleet, met with the commanders and put wreaths at the monument to the “Heroic Defenders of the Polar Region”. The second visit of Vladimir Spivakov and his orchestra to Murmansk Oblast took place in 2008: the musicians played in Severomorsk, Murmansk and in Monchegorsk where no major symphony orchestra had performed before. The concert in Severomorsk was held in the hangar of the “Admiral Kuznetsov” aircraft carrier.

The NPR's current tour to the Kola Peninsula is taken within the “All-Russian Philharmonic Seasons” Project of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, implemented since 2003 together with the Moscow Philharmonic Society.

Forumcopera.com: Concert de l’Orchestre Philharmonique National de Russie – Boulogne-Billancourt

Une Bachianas russe ?
Concert de l'Orchestre Philharmonique National de Russie - Boulogne-Billancourt

Pour sa venue en France, le jeune et néanmoins excellent Orchestre Philharmonique National de Russie a choisi l’auditorium de la Seine Musicale. Le programme s'ouvre avec la 9e Symphonie de Chostakovitch, dépeignant une victoire militaire à la fois légère et ironique, qui nous permet d’apprécier l’exactitude rythmique et l’assertivité d’un orchestre assez rare en région parisienne. Puis la cinquième Symphonie de Tchaïkovski met en valeur de très bons solistes, notamment chez les cuivres, et les riches sonorités d’un orchestre dans la plus parfaite tradition nationale. Quitte parfois à être un peu trop clinquant dans l’acoustique assez intime de l’auditorium de la Seine Musicale. La direction attentionnée et discrète de Vladimir Spivakov semble indiquer que c’est surtout le travail de préparation qui a été précieux, l’ensemble faisant preuve d’une grande collégialité le jour J.

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The NPR and Vladimir Spivakov will give four concerts in European Music Centres

To end March, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia conducted by Vladimir Spivakov will go with a second European tour of this season. In the autumn, the Orchestra had an extensive European tour, giving 24 concerts in six countries. Now, from March 23 to March 29, the NPR will perform at famous concert venues in Paris (La Seine Musicale), Brussels (Flagey Centre), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw) and London (Cadogan Hall).

The program features well-known masterpieces of Russian classics – Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, as well as the Suite-Concerto for cello, soprano and orchestra by our contemporary and former compatriot Konstantin Boyarsky, now living in the UK. The Suite-Concerto will be played for the first time in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The work was written in 2015 for Dali Gutserieva and is dedicated to the memory of the composer's father, cellist Alexander Boyarsky. The structure of the piece follows the model of the “French Suites” by Johann Sebastian Bach.

The cello part in the Suite-Concerto will be played by the rising star Dali Gutserieva, the winner of the II Sviatoslav Knushevitsky International Competition. World-renowned cellist David Geringas predicted Dali to become one of the best cellists in the world. Ekaterina Lekhina (soprano), a winner of the Placido Domingo Operalia International Competition in Paris, a holder of the Diapason d’Or and Grammy awards, singing in all important opera houses, has been invited to perform the vocal part.

Konstantin Boyarsky (b. 1976) studied violin at the Music School affiliated to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, then (after moving to England in 1991) at Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey and at the Royal College of Music in London, where he switched to viola. He was a winner of the 1999 Bernard Shore Viola Competition and the International Tertis Viola Competition, and got a “Diploma of Honour” from Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. He is an active concert performer, one of the prime violists of the Royal Opera Covent Garden Orchestra. He took composition lessons with Malcolm Singer, Roderick Swanston and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Author of a number of instrumental works, two ballets, the opera “Pushkin” (“The Poet and the Tsar”), staged at the Moscow “Novaya Opera” Theatre in 2017.

La Seine Musicale (“The Musical Seine”) is a large music and performing arts centre on the Seguin Island in the western suburb of Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt. The complex was opened in 2017, the Grande Seine Hall admits 4,000 spectators.

Flagey is a cultural centre on the Flagey Place in Brussels, reconstructed from the former National Radio House. The 4th Studio Centre is one of the best acoustics concert halls in the world and the residence of the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra.

Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is a much famed concert hall with a rich history, opened in 1888. Residence of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The Main Hall admits over 2 thousand people.

Cadogan Hall – a concert hall in London, opened in 2004 in the Chelsea area and designed for 950 seats. Transformed from an old church. Residence of the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

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March 23 – Paris, La Seine Musicale
March 25 – Brussels, Flagey
March 27 – Amsterdam, Concertgebouw
March 29 – London, Cadogan Hall

The Nationl Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia
Soloists: Ekaterina Lekhina, soprano
Dali Gutserieva, cello
Conductor – Vladimir Spivakov

Shostakovich. Symphony No. 9 in E-flat major, Op. 70
Boyarsky. Suite-Concerto for cello, soprano and orchestra (2015)
Tchaikovsky. Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64 (Paris, Brussels, London)
Rachmaninoff. Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 (Amsterdam)