Yevgeny Svetlanov’s birthday was celebrated on stage

MOSCOW. In the Great Hall of the Conservatory, Evgeny Svetlanov was remembered.

Evgeny Fedorovich Svetlanov remained the permanent artistic director and chief conductor of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra for 35 years. Under the direction of Svetlanov, he not only acquired the status of one of the best academic groups in the country, but also took part in a fantastic project even by today’s standards - the creation of a complete anthology of Russian music. 110 discs contain the best works of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Glinka and many other domestic composers. Multifacetedly gifted, Svetlanov was also a brilliant pianist, as evidenced by preserved recordings, and an excellent composer.

This year, Svetlanov’s beloved brainchild, with whom he broke up just two years before his death, is on the verge of an 80-year-old. The concert, which was held at a full house on September 6, is not only a tribute to the memory of the outstanding conductor, but also the starting point of the new season of the famous orchestra, named after Evgeny Fedorovich. For five years now, Vladimir Yurovsky has led the team. The holder of an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Music successfully combines his work at the State Autonomous Oblast with the position of chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. Like its predecessor, he is actively engaged in educational activities, opening for the listeners the world of modern classical music. So at the last concert, an essay by Ephraim Podgaits was written, written specifically for the GASO. At the concert, after 80 years, the premiere of "Plant" Vsevolod Zaderatsky. Biographical facts unacceptable from an ideological point of view - music teacher Tsesarevich Alexei, service in the army of Denikin, arrest, prison, accusations of formalism - was enough to hush up his work. For the Russian classics that evening, the magnificent Prokofiev Second Symphony and Rachmaninoff’s Fourth Piano Concerto were responsible.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru