April 9, 2026 | Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory
Academic Grand Choir "Masters of Choral Singing"
Soloists: Philipp Kopachevsky, piano
Elizaveta Narsia, soprano
Ulyana Biryukova, mezzo-soprano
Ruslan Babaev, tenor
Rodion Vasenkin, bass
Conductor – Arsenty Tkachenko
Beethoven. Adagio sostenuto from Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor ("Moonlight"), Op. 27 No. 2. Orh. by Georgy Cherkin
Chopin. Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra in F minor, Op. 21
Mozart. Requiem for soloists, choir and orchestra, KV 626
The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia is presenting a program, which features works by great classics with visual illustrations of masterpieces by Michelangelo, da Vinci, Raffaello and Botticelli. The NPR’s concert will be shared with the Grand Academic Choir «Masters of Choral Singing» — one of Russia’s leading choir collectives. On the conductor podium there will appear Arsenty Tkachenko.
The concert program is structured as a unified dramatic storytelling from chamber confessional lyrics to a large-scale philosophical treatise. The night will start with Beethoven’s famous Moonlight Sonata in an unusual arrangement for a piano and orchestra by Bulgarian pianist and composer Georgii Cherkin. The well-known to one and all music will be heard in a new audial dimension where the orchestral timbres will underline the depth and fine dramaturgy of the original work.
It will be followed by Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, one of the most poetic and inspired opuses by the composer. The author himself admitted that his Concertos had reflected his love for operas by Vincenzo Bellini. The piano part will be played by Philipp Kopachevsky who is known for his refinement, brilliant technique and deep vision of the Romantic repertoire. Critics described the pianist’s playing as a genuine amalgamation of mastery and maturity together with sincere emotionality: 'His grand piano sings which, in our days, is a rare quality characteristic of Romantic perception, he preserves clarity in his playing while his phrasing is beautiful and flexible...'
The climax of the night will be one of the greatest oeuvres of sacred music — Mozart’s Requiem. The composer wrote Requiem commissioned by Franz von Walsegg-Stuppach but did not complete the score, which was later made by his pupil Franz Xaver Süssmayr, though he was not the only one who took part in finalizing it. Disputes about the authorship of various movements have not lost their actuality even now. But it goes without saying that Requiem with its sublime beauty and architectonic coherence belongs to the outstanding works of musical classicism and greatest monuments of world music culture.
The vocal parts in Requiem will be sung by a graduate of The Bolshoi’s Youth Opera Program Elizaveta Narsia and The Bolshoi’s soloists Ulyana Biryukova (the Chamber Stage), Ruslan Babaev (the Chamber Stage) and Rodion Vasenkin.