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For over one hundred and fifty years, the St. Petersburg Philharmonia,
the oldest in Russia, has been known as one of the greatest musical centers
of the world. Great architectural and decorative design and perfection of
acoustics distinguish its two great halls: the sumptuous white-columned Grand
Hall (formerly the Assembly of Nobles), built between 1834 - 1839 by P. Jacot,
a student of Carlo Rossi, and the Small Hall, named after M. I. Glinka (formerly
the Engelgardt house), designed by B. Rastrelli, and rebuilt by P. Jacot.
The greatest musicians of the 19th and 20th centuries appeared in these halls,
including
Clara Shumann, Berlioz, Wagner, Liszt, Scriabin, Rachmaninov,Anton Rubinstein, Chaliapin,
Horowitz, von Karajan, Solti, Abbado, Casals, Oistrakh, Richter and Gilels.
The archives are replete with the memories of many historic concerts.
For example, the world premiere of Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" took place at
the behest of the Petersburg Philharmonia Society on March 26, 1824, and Tchaikovsky
conducted the premier of his Sixth Symphony "Pathetique" on October 16, 1893, just
nine days prior to his death. Here in these halls, many works by Russian composers
were heard for the first time, works of Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov,
Prokofiev, Sviridov, Gavrilin, Petrov, Slonimsky, Tishchenko, and, of course, Shostakovich.
The Philharmonia proudly bears the name of Shostakovich.
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St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra is rightfully considered one of the best in the world.
Created out of the Court Musical Choir, it became the first state orchestra of the country,
receiving the title of Honored Group of Russia. It was the first Soviet orchestra to travel and perform abroad,
and the first to bear the prestigious title of "Academic".
Evgeny Mravinsky, one of the outstanding musicians of
the 20th century, led the orchestra for nearly 50 years. Today Maestro Yuri Temirkanov, a leading authority in the
musical world, is the Principle Conductor and Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic.
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Festival Calendar 
St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra enjoys the highest of reputations.
Founded in the 1930's by the Leningrad Committee for Radio, it was the only orchestral ensemble to be
heard continuously throughout the blockade of Leningrad during the war.
It is through its efforts that the now legendary performance of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony took
place under the baton of K. Eliasberg on August 9, 1942. Since 1977, the orchestra has been under the direction
of Maestro Alexander Dmitriev, a profound and serious musician.
