The Moscow Virtuosi is a chamber orchestra founded in 1979 by Vladimir Spivakov, who has been the orchestra's conductor, soloist and creative director ever since.
In 1990, upon invitation of Felipe, Prince of Asturias, the orchestra have left to Spain, but kept performing both in Russia and all over the world. In 1999, the orchestra returned to Russia.
The balalaika is a Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the third string is a perfect fourth higher. The higher-pitched balalaikas are used to play melodies and chords. The instrument generally has a short sustain, necessitating rapid strumming or plucking when it is used to play melodies. Balalaikas are often used for Russian folk music and dancing.
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He is originally from Russia and has held Icelandic citizenship since 1972, and Swiss citizenship later. He has lived in Switzerland since 1978. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists. In addition, he has recorded a large repertoire of classical and romantic works. His recordings have earned him five Grammy awards and Iceland's Order of the Falcon.
The Year 1812, Solemn Overture, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture, is a concert overture in E♭ major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The piece commemorates Russia's successful defense of the French invasion of the country by Napoleon in 1812.
The Nutcracker, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination. The plot is an adaptation of E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The ballet's first choreographer was Marius Petipa, with whom Tchaikovsky had worked three years earlier on The Sleeping Beauty, assisted by Lev Ivanov. Although the complete and staged The Nutcracker ballet was not as successful as had been the 20-minute Nutcracker Suite that Tchaikovsky had premiered nine months earlier, The Nutcracker soon became popular.
Serge Koussevitzky, born Sergey Aleksandrovich Kusevitsky was a Russian-born conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Yevgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov was a Russian conductor, composer and pianist.
Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer.
Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR State Prize (1972), the Lenin Prize (1984), and the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1992), and is a former member of the Inter-regional Deputies Group (1989–1991). He is also a citizen of Lithuania and Spain.
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. In 1988 he became general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg. He was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic from September 2015 until he was dismissed on 1 March 2022.
The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra is a Russian orchestra based in Saint Petersburg, at the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia.
The Russian National Orchestra was founded in Moscow in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican and in Israel.
The Marche slave in B-flat minor, Op. 31, is an orchestral tone poem by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky published in 1876. It was written to celebrate Russia's intervention in the Serbo-Ottoman War.
Yuri Abramovich Bashmet is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist.
The Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra is a Russian classical music radio orchestra established in 1930. It was founded as the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, and served as the official symphony for the Soviet All-Union Radio network.
The State Academic Symphony Orchestra "Evgeny Svetlanov" is a major Russian orchestra based in Moscow. Sometimes known in English as the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra gives concerts in Moscow at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall.
The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1951 by Samuil Samosud, as the Moscow Youth Orchestra for young and inexperienced musicians, acquiring its current name in 1953. It is most associated with longtime conductor Kiril Kondrashin under whom it premiered Shostakovich's Fourth and Thirteenth symphonies as well as other works. The Orchestra undertook a major tour of Japan with Kondrashin in April 1967 and CDs of the Japanese radio recordings have been made available on the Altus label.
Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski is a Russian conductor. He is the son of conductor Michail Jurowski, and grandson of Soviet film music composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski.
Georgy Vasilyevich Sviridov was a Soviet and Russian neoromantic composer. He is most widely known for his choral music, strongly influenced by the traditional chant of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as his orchestral works which often celebrate elements of Russian culture.
The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra or just the Mariinsky Orchestra is located in the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. The orchestra was founded in 1783 during the reign of Catherine the Great, it was known before the revolution as the Russian Imperial Opera Orchestra. The orchestra is one of the oldest musical institutions in Russia.