A series of educational concerts “Stories with the Orchestra”. Alexander Lazarev conducts and narrates. Biography of Alexander Lazarev Alexander Lazarev conductor family

Alexander Nikolaevich Lazarev Date of birth July 5, 1945 (63 years old) Place of birth Moscow, USSR Country ... Wikipedia

- (b. 1945), conductor, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1977). Student of L. M. Ginzburg. Since 1973 conductor, in 1987 95 chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theater... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (b. 1945), conductor, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1982). Student of L. M. Ginzburg. Since 1973 conductor, in 198795 chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theater... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Wikipedia has articles about other people with this surname, see Lazarev. Leonid Lazarev Leonid ... Wikipedia

Wikipedia has articles about other people with this surname, see Lazarev. Wikipedia has articles about other people named Lazarev, Evgeniy. Evgeny Lazarev Birth name: Evgeny Nikolaevich Lazarev Date of birth: March 31, 1937(... Wikipedia

Evgeny Lazarev Still from the film A Particularly Important Task Birth name: Evgeny Nikolaevich Lazarev Date of birth: March 31, 1937 (72 years old) ... Wikipedia

Wikipedia has articles about other people with this surname, see Lazarev. Lazarev, Alexander: Lazarev, Alexander Alexandrovich (born 1967) Russian theater and film actor. Lazarev, Alexander Nikolaevich (born 1945) Soviet and Russian conductor.... ... Wikipedia

Wikipedia has articles about other people with this surname, see Lazarev. Alexander Lazarev Birth name: Alexander Alexandrovich Lazarev Date of birth: April 27, 1967 (1967 04 27) (45 years old) ... Wikipedia

Lazarev Alexander Nikolaevich (II)

Opera and symphony conductor, teacher.
Honored Artist of the RSFSR (05/25/1976).
People's Artist of the RSFSR (07/2/1982).

In 1963 he graduated from the Music College named after. October Revolution in the accordion class and entered the GMPI named after. Gnessins to the Faculty of Folk Instruments. After the 1st year he was drafted into the ranks of the Soviet army. In 1967, he continued his education with a degree in conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory in the class of I. E. Sherman. In 1968 he transferred to the Moscow Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1972. Student of L. M. Ginzburg (conducting), N. P. Rakov (instrumentation), I. A. Barsova (score reading). In 1975, he completed an assistantship-internship at the Conservatory (supervisor - L. Ginzburg).

Since 1973 he worked at the Bolshoi Theater, in 1987–1995 - artistic director and chief conductor.
The operas “Don Carlos” by G. Verdi, “A Life for the Tsar” by M. I. Glinka, “Prince Igor” by A. P. Borodin, “Boris Godunov” by M. P. Mussorgsky, “The Snow Maiden”, “Mlada” were performed under his direction. "N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, "The Maid of Orleans" by P. I. Tchaikovsky, "The Gambler", "The Tale of a Real Man" by S. S. Prokofiev, ballets "The Seagull", "The Lady with the Dog" by R. K. Shchedrin .
Organizer of a series of foreign tours of the theater's opera troupe: Tokyo (1989), Milan (La Scala Theatre, 1989), New York (Metropolitan Opera, 1991), Edinburgh Festival (1990–1991).
In 1991, the theater orchestra under his leadership was awarded the Golden Viotti Prize as the best symphony orchestra of the year. Founded the Ensemble of Soloists of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra (1978), the purpose of which was to perform and popularize contemporary music by domestic and foreign composers.

He worked and recorded a lot with the State Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow and Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestras, the Symphony Orchestra and the Great Choir of the All-Union Radio and TV. Conducted a number of monographic concert programs dedicated to S. Frank, W. A. ​​Mozart, J. Brahms, P. I. Tchaikovsky, D. D. Shostakovich. He performed with outstanding Russian musicians: L. B. Kogan, V. T. Spivakov, V. V. Tretyakov, Yu. A. Bashmet, N. G. Gutman, P. P. Kehrer, A. A. Nasedkin. He toured abroad as a symphony conductor, performing works by G. Berlioz, D. D. Shostakovich, S. S. Prokofiev, R. K. Shchedrin, A. A. Eshpai.

In 1982–1992 and 2004–2006 he taught at the department of opera and symphony conducting of the orchestral faculty of the Moscow Conservatory. Taught an orchestra class and a practice course at the opera house.

From 1992 to 1995 he was guest conductor of the London BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 1994 he became principal guest conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and led it from 1997-2005.
He acts as a guest conductor with the world's leading symphony orchestras and opera groups. He has made numerous recordings for the fund of the All-Union Radio and TV, as well as for the companies Melodiya, Erato, Virgin Classics, Sony Classical, Hyperion, BMG.

prizes and awards

State Prize of the RSFSR named after M.I. Glinka (1986) - for performances and concert programs of the Bolshoi Theater (1983-1985).
Lenin Komsomol Prize (1977) - for his great contribution to the development of Soviet opera.
Laureate of the All-Union Conducting Competition in Moscow (1971, 1st prize).
Laureate of the International G. von Karajan Conducting Competition in West Berlin (1972, 1st prize and Gold Medal).

last information update: 05/04/19

publications

I have only two entries in my work book

On February 1, the outstanding conductor Alexander Lazarev performed in the Great Hall of the Conservatory after a break of more than two years. Under his direction, the New Russia Orchestra performed works by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. Before the concert, Gazeta correspondent Ilya Ovchinnikov talked with the conductor about his work at the Bolshoi Theater, studio recordings and modern opera directing, as well as much more.

Alexander Nikolaevich, your performance with the Russian National Orchestra (RNO) in October 2003 was remembered by many as the best concert of the season. Why haven't you performed in Moscow since then?
- I was doing some other things, but there were no invitations to perform in Moscow. Now the invitation has been received and accepted. The Philharmonic offered a choice from several Moscow orchestras - it was most interesting for me to perform with a group that I did not know before. I was told that there are young people there who really want to play; and this is true - their desire to play covers up many other errors. And then we performed together with the RNO one more time in Spain: we played Glazunov’s “Seasons” and Prokofiev’s Fourth Symphony in the second edition.

How did you get into the Zhukovsky People's Symphony Orchestra?
- Remember, in the film “Beware of the Car” the hero Evstigneev says that soon folk groups will supplant professional ones. And then there were many such groups. Professionals worked as accompanists and teachers - they sat at the head of the group, and amateurs followed them. In 1968, I entered the Moscow Conservatory, and Professor Mikhail Nikitich Tarian told me about the orchestra in Zhukovsky: they say, if you like it there, you will go once a week, get 60-70 rubles, this is good practice.
Every Sunday from ten to two we rehearsed. The atmosphere was semi-family: if you are strict with a person, he simply will not come another time, you will be left alone. It was necessary to show interest in people if they came to play in the orchestra on their day off. There was one scientist there, an associate professor at Moscow State University, a violinist. We didn’t have violists, and he said: “Maestro, I’ll master the viola!” I bought a viola, started practicing... And how can you feel about it? Only with respect. There was no fever, as in professional orchestras: we gave a concert only when we were ready. As a result, I have only two entries in my work book: this folk orchestra and the Bolshoi Theater.

To the Bolshoi Theater - straight from the folk orchestra?
- Not immediately, but after two competitions. In December 1971, I received first prize at a conducting competition. And in 1972 there was a competition of symphony orchestras in Berlin, and they decided to send the orchestra of the Moscow Conservatory there with me at its head. We won, and Karajan invited me to be his assistant: he said that he could not guarantee me concerts, but I would work with the orchestra, travel with it and observe this whole life from the inside. The offer was simply great, but I refused; I wanted to continue communicating with Professor Ginzburg, with whom I was a graduate student.
And then Deputy Minister of Culture Kukharsky called me and said: I need to go to the Bolshoi Theater. I didn’t want to, I couldn’t imagine what it was. I asked for “The Queen of Spades” as a debut, but rehearsals were canceled twice for some reason. Then I decided that I didn’t need it, and decided to go to Kirill Kondrashin as the second conductor. And then a call from the ministry: “You have already been appointed. Why don’t you bring the documents?” And the work began, from 1973 to 1995.

Do you currently have any offers from the Bolshoi Theater?
- I didn’t have them even when the Bolshoi was preparing for a tour in Japan, where three performances staged by my comrades and me were going: a new production of “Onegin”, “The Maid of Orleans” and “Prince Igor”. I was then “left” from the theater, and why did I even take on conducting the last three performances? Because the Japanese arrived, they needed to shoot a commercial, and I promised them. Then I submitted the application that was expected of me. Yuri Grigorovich submitted it even earlier. But the theater only opened in June, and I was not invited to my own performances. I’m not angry with these people, but if you take someone else’s dish from someone else’s table, then at least clarify how to serve it. It wasn’t scary that they weren’t inviting me anymore, my sadness was that they went and ruined my performances.

At the Bolshoi Theater you also led an ensemble of soloists performing contemporary music. How did this idea come about?
- The idea came from Alexander Vasilyevich Ivashkin: it was connected with the fact that a lot of interesting music of our contemporaries is not performed. At first we didn’t know whether the team would form, but random people dropped out, and about twenty-five people remained. Alfred Garrievich Schnittke, Edison Vasilyevich Denisov, and my friend Kolya Korndorf immediately brought us their works. There were many concerts and festivals where we played both Berio and Ligeti - a lot of everything that was not heard much at that time. And they recorded a lot of records. The ideologist and think tank was Alexander Vasilievich. And I was engaged in my craft, conducting. We started in 1977 and finished around 1989. During the period of the great migration of peoples from the Soviet Union, we suffered great losses; Several of our people left - where do you think they went? To South Africa! At that time, many Americans who worked in South African orchestras left the country due to instability in South Africa. Vacancies arose, and musicians from Russia and their families left for South Africa, many still live and work there.

Is there music that you have not conducted yet that you would like to perform?
- You know, now, for example, it’s very interesting for me to play Rachmaninov’s First Symphony. But not because I just learned it; I think I found something of my own there, although I play it quite often. Remember this scene from “The Theatrical Novel”, when Ivan Vasilyevich says to his aunt: “But the writer Maksudov, he wrote a new play”? “Why write a new one,” she says, “when so many good plays have already been written?” And I think about this every time I see Beethoven and Mozart being played again. After all, before performing, you must come up with a reason why you should play it. And I always have a certain imperative: First Rachmaninov. He then fell in love with a married woman, put the epigraph “Vengeance is mine, and I will repay,” as in “Anna Karenina,” and her name was Anna, she was a gypsy... All this is in the score, and I want to get it and show.

Are you currently working in the opera?
- You understand, in the West the theater management forms a production group: here, they say, is a good conductor, he knows Onegin, let's call him. And we’ll call so-and-so as the director. At the same time, no one cares what these people feel about each other. For example, I staged Salome in Dusseldorf. And the director was the chief choreographer of the Cologne Opera House! I come to the rehearsal and see that Iokanaan is not on stage, there is a handsome man there, a ballet dancer, and Iokanaan is singing from the orchestra pit! “What is all this for?” I ask the choreographer. After all, what is the intrigue of Salome? She is a beautiful woman, young, vicious, she is more gifted than the rest: everyone in this opera sings, and at the climax she also dances the Dance of the Seven Veils. Because she is talented and she alone knows how to do it, that’s why Herod is ready to do anything for her sake. And you,” I tell him, “for some reason you’re releasing a ballet couple here, and we get a pas de deux from the opera “Salome.” That’s when I came to the theater quartermaster and said: “I’ll go home, I don’t need your hospitality.” He says: “Where can I find a replacement, not on the street?” I had to stay and watch. Therefore, I have no desire to create in the opera house in the West. Although there are proposals: to do “The Love for Three Oranges” at the Paris Opera in the fall, and a year later in Geneva to do “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.” I’ll probably do both.

How did you come up with the idea to celebrate Shostakovich’s centenary with such an uncommon work of his as the operetta “Moscow, Cheryomushki,” which you staged in Lyon last year?
- Oh yes, that was the case! I hadn’t staged this thing before and didn’t take it seriously. And he was wrong! When I learned the score, I realized that it was an amazing piece. These dialogues, of course, are funny now; therefore the translation was not literal. They were played in French and were made very witty. Let's say the building manager comes and starts reading something in a tragic tone: so-and-so, get up! He gets up and thinks that now he will be exiled or executed... Then they report that he has been given an apartment. And he falls unconscious from fear. But the vocal numbers were sung in Russian, they were left untouched. Previously, I did not consider Shostakovich a great melodist. And here he did these duets, these gallops and cancans simply brilliantly. We played nine performances to a packed house.

Opera and symphony conductor, teacher

Laureate of the All-Union Conducting Competition in Moscow (1971, 1st Ave.)
Laureate of the International Conducting Competition of G. von Karajan in West Berlin (1972, 1st pr. and Gold Medal)
Laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize (1977)
Laureate of the State Prize of the RSFSR (1986)

In 1963 he graduated from the Music College named after. October Revolution in the accordion class and entered the GMPI named after. Gnessins to the Faculty of Folk Instruments. After the 1st year he was drafted into the ranks of the Soviet army. In 1967, he continued his education with a degree in conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory in the class of I. E. Sherman. In 1968 he transferred to the Moscow Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1972. Student of L. M. Ginzburg (conducting), N. P. Rakov (instrumentation), I. A. Barsova (score reading). In 1975, he completed an assistant internship at the Conservatory (supervisor Ginzburg).

Since 1973 he worked at the Bolshoi Theater, in 1987-1995 - artistic director and chief conductor. The operas “Don Carlos” by G. Verdi, “A Life for the Tsar” by M. I. Glinka, “Prince Igor” by A. P. Borodin, “Boris Godunov” by M. P. Mussorgsky, “The Snow Maiden”, “Mlada” were performed under his direction. "N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, "The Maid of Orleans" by P. I. Tchaikovsky, "The Gambler", "The Tale of a Real Man" by S. S. Prokofiev, ballets "The Seagull", "The Lady with the Dog" by R. K. Shchedrin . Organizer of a series of foreign tours of the theater's opera troupe: Tokyo (1989), Milan (La Scala Theatre, 1989), New York (Metropolitan Opera, 1991), Edinburgh Festival (1990-1991). In 1991, the theater orchestra under his leadership was awarded the Golden Viotti Prize as the best symphony orchestra of the year. Founded the Ensemble of Soloists of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra (1978), the purpose of which was to perform and popularize contemporary music by domestic and foreign composers.

He worked and recorded a lot with the State Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow and Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestras, the Symphony Orchestra and the Great Choir of the All-Union Radio and TV. Conducted a number of monographic concert programs dedicated to S. Frank, W. A. ​​Mozart, J. Brahms, P. I. Tchaikovsky, D. D. Shostakovich. He performed with outstanding Russian musicians: L. B. Kogan, V. T. Spivakov, V. V. Tretyakov, Yu. A. Bashmet, N. G. Gutman, P. P. Kehrer, A. A. Nasedkin. He toured abroad as a symphony conductor, performing works by G. Berlioz, D. D. Shostakovich, S. S. Prokofiev, R. K. Shchedrin, A. A. Eshpai.

In 1982-1992 and 2004-2006 he taught at the department of opera and symphony conducting of the orchestral faculty of the Moscow Conservatory. Taught an orchestra class and a practice course at the opera house.

In 1992-1995 he was a guest conductor of the London BBC Symphony Orchestra, and since 1997 he has been the chief conductor of the Royal National Orchestra of Scotland. He acts as a guest conductor with the world's leading symphony orchestras and opera groups. He has made numerous recordings for the All-Union Radio and TV Foundation, as well as for the companies Melodiya, Erato, Virgin Classics, Sony Classical, Hyperion, and BMG.

Source: Lazarev A. N. // Moscow Conservatory from its origins to the present day. 1866-2006. Biographical encyclopedic dictionary. M., 2007. P. 287.

The outstanding musician of our time, Alexander Lazarev, studied conducting at the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Professor L. Ginzburg. In 1971 he won 1st prize at the All-Union Conducting Competition, and a year later became the winner of the most prestigious conducting competition named after. Herbert von Karajan in Berlin.

One of the best chapters in the history of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia is associated with the name of Alexander Lazarev, where from 1987 to 1995 he served as artistic director and chief conductor.

At the Bolshoi Theater he conducted the operas "Betrothal in a Monastery" by Prokofiev, "Iolanta", "Eugene Onegin", "The Queen of Spades" by Tchaikovsky, "The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia", "Sadko", "The Tsar's Bride", "Mozart and Salieri" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Boris Godunov", "Khovanshchina" by Mussorgsky, "The Stone Guest" by Dargomyzhsky, "Don Carlos" by Verdi, "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini, "Rigoletto", "La Traviata" by Verdi, "Faust" by Gounod, "Ruslan" and Lyudmila" by Glinka, "Tosca" by Puccini; ballets: “The Rite of Spring” by I. Stravinsky, “Anna Karenina” by R. Shchedrin, “Ivan the Terrible” to music by S. Prokofiev. There he staged operas: “The Gambler” and “The Tale of a Real Man” by Prokofiev, “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” by Molchanov, “The Abduction of the Moon” by Taktakishvili, “The Snow Maiden”, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, “Mlada” and “The Night Before Christmas” "Rimsky-Korsakov, "A Life for the Tsar" by Glinka, "The Maid of Orleans" by Tchaikovsky, "Prince Igor" by Borodin, "The Miserly Knight" and "Aleko" by Rachmaninoff; ballets: "The Seagull" and "The Lady with the Dog" by Shchedrin.

Under the direction of Alexander Lazarev, the theater's opera troupe made an unprecedented series of prestigious foreign tours, performing in Tokyo (1989), on the stage of La Scala in Milan (1989), at the Edinburgh Festival (1990, 1991), at the Metropolitan Opera Theater (New York, 1991). ). Alexander Lazarev founded the Bolshoi Theater Soloists Ensemble (1978), the main goal of which was to popularize contemporary music by domestic and foreign composers.

Among the orchestras with which the conductor has collaborated are the Berlin and Munich Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, the National Orchestra of France, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra , NHK Symphony Orchestra (Japan), Cleveland and Montreal Symphony Orchestras, London Philharmonic. He has also performed with the opera companies of the Brussels Royal Theater La Monnaie, the Arena di Verona, the Paris National Opera, the Geneva Opera House, the Bavarian State Opera and the Lyon National Opera.

Having made his debut in London in 1987, Alexander Lazarev became a regular guest in the UK. He was Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1992–95, Principal Guest Conductor from 1994–97, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra from 1997–2005, and is now Honorary Conductor of that orchestra. The result of his work with these groups was the recording of all the symphonies of Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff, performances at the BBC Proms festival and intense touring activities.

From 2008–16 he was chief conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. With this group, the maestro recorded all the symphonies of Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Glazunov and Shostakovich (Octavia Records).

The conductor's repertoire covers works from the 18th century to the avant-garde. Alexander Lazarev has made many recordings. In addition to working with the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra for the Erato recording company, he has recorded over 35 albums for Melodiya and Virgin Classics; with the BBC Orchestra on Sony Classical, the London Philharmonic Orchestra on Hyperion and BMG, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra on BIS and Linn Records, and the Yomiuri Japan Symphony Orchestra on Octavia Records.

Among the recent works in opera houses are performances of the operas: “The Love for Three Oranges” by Prokofiev at the Paris National Opera, “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” by Shostakovich at the Opera House of Geneva, “The Rake’s Progress” by Stravinsky at the National Opera of Lyon, “The Enchantress” by Tchaikovsky at Bolshoi Theater.

Alexander Lazarev's debut at the Musical Theater named after. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko took place in 2012 in the play “Betrothal in a Monastery”. He produced the performances “Khovanshchina” by Mussorgsky (2015), “The Love for Three Oranges” by Prokofiev (2016) and “The Queen of Spades” by Tchaikovsky (2016).

Alena Baeva

One of the most brilliant violinists of our time. Born in 1985 into a family of musicians. She started playing the violin at the age of five in Alma-Ata in the class of Olga Danilova. In Moscow she studied with Professor Eduard Grach - at the Central Music School (1995-2002) and the Moscow Conservatory (2002-2007). At the invitation of Mstislav Rostropovich, she trained in France in 2003. As part of master classes, she studied with Ida Handel, Shlomo Mintz, Boris Garlitsky and Maxim Vengerov.

Since 1994, she has repeatedly become a laureate of Russian and international competitions. Winner of competitions in Novosibirsk, Warsaw, Kloster-Schonthal and Poznan; awarded the Grand Prix of the II Moscow International Paganini Violin Competition (2004) with the right to play the Stradivarius violin that belonged to Henryk Wieniawski for a year. In 2007, she won the Gold Medal and the Audience Award at the III International Music Competition in Sendai (Japan). In the same year she was awarded the Russian youth prize "Triumph".

Performs in the best halls in the world, including the Great Halls of the Moscow Conservatory and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Verdi Hall in Milan, the Louvre Concert Hall, the Gaveau Hall, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the hall of the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Victoria. hall in Geneva, Carnegie Hall in New York and many others. Participates in various festivals, including “December Evenings of Svyatoslav Richter”, “Return”, “Crescendo”, “Stars of the White Nights” (Russia), “Virtuosos of the 21st Century” (USA), “Seiji Ozawa Academy” (Switzerland), “ Violin in the Louvre" (France) and many others - in Austria, Greece, Turkey, Brazil.

Baeva gives concerts with the world's leading orchestras. Among them are the Tchaikovsky Grand Symphony Orchestra, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia named after Svetlanov, the Honored Ensemble of Russia Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Royal Danish Opera Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Lucerne Festival String Orchestra and many others. Among the conductors with whom Baeva has performed are Alexander Lazarev, Vladimir Fedoseev, Paavo Berglund, Sir Neville Marriner, Sakari Oramo, Kazuki Yamada. She pays much attention to chamber music: her stage partners were Yuri Bashmet, Itamar Golan, Alexander Knyazev, Vadim Kholodenko, Vladislav Pesin, Maxim Rysanov, Christina Blaumane. In 2014, Baeva created a string quartet.

Among the events of recent years is the debut at the Salle Pleyel in Paris with the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev (the concert was recorded by the Mezzo TV channel); participation in the largest European open-air concert in Nuremberg (120 thousand listeners), broadcast by Bavarian Radio; performance of Beethoven's Triple Concerto with Boris Andrianov, Stefan Vladar and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra; performances with the National Orchestra of Lille (France) conducted by Jean-Claude Casadesus, with the English Chamber Orchestra in London, with the chamber ensemble “Trondheim Soloists” in Norway.

The violinist's discography includes concerts by Tchaikovsky, Bruch, Bartok, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Szymanowski, sonatas by Poulenc, Prokofiev, Debussy. A number of stock recordings were also made on radio and television in Russia, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Poland, Israel, Japan and the USA. Baeva’s concerts were broadcast by the TV channels “Culture”, “TV-Center”, Mezzo, Arte, and BBC radio.

Alena Baeva plays the 1697 Molitor violin by Antonio Stradivari, provided by Maxim Viktorov.

Alexander Lazarev

Alexander Lazarev is one of the leading conductors of our country, People's Artist of Russia (1982). Born in 1945, he studied with Leo Ginzburg at the Moscow Conservatory. In 1971 he won 1st prize at the All-Union Conducting Competition, and the following year - 1st prize and a gold medal at the Karajan Competition in Berlin.

Since 1973, Lazarev worked at the Bolshoi Theater, where in 1974, under his direction, the first production of Prokofiev’s opera “The Gambler” took place in Russian (directed by Boris Pokrovsky). In 1978, Lazarev founded the Bolshoi Theater Soloists Ensemble, an important part of whose activities was the popularization of modern music; With Lazarev, the Ensemble performed a number of premieres and made many recordings. In 1986, Lazarev was awarded the State Prize of the RSFSR for concert programs and performances of the Bolshoi Theater. In 1987-1995 – chief conductor and artistic director of the theater. The maestro’s period at the helm of the Bolshoi was marked by intense touring activities, including performances in Tokyo, La Scala in Milan, the Edinburgh Festival and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

At the Bolshoi Theater he conducted the operas "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by Glinka, "The Stone Guest" by Dargomyzhsky, "Iolanta", "Eugene Onegin" and "The Queen of Spades" by Tchaikovsky, "The Tsar's Bride", "The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia", " Mozart and Salieri", "Sadko" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina" by Mussorgsky, "Betrothal in a Monastery" by Prokofiev, "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini, "Rigoletto", "La Traviata", "Don Carlos" by Verdi, " Faust" by Gounod, "Tosca" by Puccini; ballets “The Rite of Spring” by Stravinsky, “Anna Karenina” by Shchedrin, “Ivan the Terrible” to music by Prokofiev.

Under the direction of Lazarev, productions of the operas “A Life for the Tsar” by Glinka, “The Snow Maiden”, “Mlada”, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” and “The Night Before Christmas” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “The Maid of Orleans” by Tchaikovsky, “Prince Igor” by Borodin, “ The Miserly Knight" and "Aleko" by Rachmaninov, "The Gambler" and "The Tale of a Real Man" by Prokofiev, "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" by Molchanov, "The Abduction of the Moon" by Taktakishvili; ballets “The Seagull” and “The Lady with the Dog” by Shchedrin. A number of productions (“A Life for the Tsar”, “The Maid of Orleans”, “Mlada”) were filmed on television. With Lazarev, the theater orchestra made a number of recordings for Erato.

Among the orchestras with which the conductor has collaborated are the Berlin and Munich Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, the National Orchestra of France, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Orchestra, the NHK Orchestra ( Japan), Cleveland and Montreal orchestras. He performed with the theater companies of La Monnaie, Arena di Verona, Opera Bastille, Geneva Opera, Bavarian State Opera and Lyon National Opera. The conductor's repertoire includes works from the 18th century to the avant-garde.

Having made his debut in London in 1987, Lazarev became a regular guest in the UK. In 1992-1995. he is the principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, from 1994 he was the principal guest conductor, from 1997 to 2005 he was the principal conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (today he is honorary conductor). The maestro's work with British orchestras resulted in numerous recordings, performances at the BBC Proms festival and intense touring activities. From 2008 to 2016, Lazarev headed the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he recorded all the symphonies of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and is working on recording the symphonies of Glazunov.

Lazarev made dozens of recordings at Melodiya, Virgin Classics, Sony Classical, Hyperion, BMG, BIS, Linn Records, Octavia Records. He actively collaborates with leading symphony orchestras in Moscow: the Russian National Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, “New Russia”, and the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic. In 2009, Lazarev returned to the Bolshoi Theater as a permanent guest conductor. In 2010, the conductor was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree. In 2016, he received the Moscow Prize in the field of literature and art for the production of “Khovanshchina” at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko MAMT.

Among Lazarev’s works in recent years are productions of the operas “The Enchantress” by Tchaikovsky at the Bolshoi Theater, “Khovanshchina” by Mussorgsky, “The Love for Three Oranges” by Prokofiev and “The Queen of Spades” by Tchaikovsky at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko MAMT, “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” by Shostakovich at the Geneva Opera, “The Rake’s Progress” and “The Fairy’s Kiss” by Stravinsky in the opera houses of Lyon and Bordeaux, performances of such large-scale works as Mahler’s Seventh Symphony, Rachmaninoff’s Second and Third Symphonies, Strauss’s “Home Symphony”, Tchaikovsky’s “Manfred”, “Taras” Bulba" Janacek and others.

“The concept of interpretation is often replaced by the concept of high-quality execution, and nothing more,” says Lazarev. – But this is only the basis: the conductor’s will, the conductor’s message, the conductor’s vision are needed. Another thing is that a conductor is nothing without an orchestra. They are connected very tightly, it is a passionate love that often turns into hatred. I have heard many times how one orchestra with two different conductors sounded like two different orchestras. Here is the answer to the question whether a conductor is needed and why.”

State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia named after E. F. Svetlanov

The State Orchestra of Russia named after E. F. Svetlanov, one of the oldest symphony groups in the country, celebrated its 80th anniversary. The first performance of the orchestra, conducted by Alexander Gauk and Erich Kleiber, took place on October 5, 1936 in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.

Over the years, the State Orchestra was led by outstanding musicians Alexander Gauk (1936-1941), Nathan Rakhlin (1941-1945), Konstantin Ivanov (1946-1965) and Evgeny Svetlanov (1965-2000). On October 27, 2005, the team was named after Evgeniy Svetlanov.

In 2000-2002 The orchestra was led by Vasily Sinaisky, in 2002-2011. – Mark Gorenstein. On October 24, 2011, Vladimir Yurovsky, a world-famous conductor who collaborates with the largest opera houses and symphony orchestras in the world, was appointed artistic director of the ensemble. Since the 2016/17 season, the main guest conductor of the State Orchestra is Vasily Petrenko.

The orchestra's concerts took place at the most famous concert venues in the world, including the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Musikverein in Vienna, Albert Hall in London, Salle Pleyel in Paris, Teatro National Opera Colon in Buenos Aires, Suntory Hall in Tokyo. In 2013, the orchestra performed for the first time on Red Square in Moscow.

Behind the board of the group were Herman Abendroth, Ernest Ansermet, Leo Blech, Nikolai Golovanov, Kurt Sanderling, Otto Klemperer, Kirill Kondrashin, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Mazur, Nikolai Malko, Igor Markevich, Evgeniy Mravinsky, Charles Munsch, Mstislav Rostropovich, Saulius Sondeckis, Igor Stravinsky, Arvid Jansons, Charles Duthoit, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Leonard Slatkin, Yuri Temirkanov, Mikhail Yurovsky, Valery Gergiev, Alexander Lazarev, Andrey Boreiko, Alexander Vedernikov, Ion Marin, Gintaras Rinkevičius, Alexander Sladkovsky and other wonderful conductors.

The orchestra featured singers Irina Arkhipova, Galina Vishnevskaya, Sergei Lemeshev, Elena Obraztsova, Maria Guleghina, Placido Domingo, Montserrat Caballe, Jonas Kaufman, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, pianists Emil Gilels, Van Cliburn, Heinrich Neuhaus, Nikolai Petrov, Svyatoslav Richter, Maria Yudina, Valery Afanasyev, Eliso Virsaladze, Evgeny Kisin, Grigory Sokolov, Alexey Lyubimov, Boris Berezovsky, Nikolay Lugansky, Denis Matsuev, violinists Leonid Kogan, Yehudi Menukhin, David Oistrakh, Maxim Vengerov, Victor Pikaizen, Vadim Repin, Vladimir Spivakov, Victor Tretyakov, violist Yuri Bashmet, cellists Mstislav Rostropovich, Natalia Gutman, Alexander Knyazev, Alexander Rudin. In recent years, the list of soloists collaborating with the group has been replenished with the names of singers Waltraud Mayer, Anna Netrebko, Khibla Gerzmava, Alexandrina Pendachanskaya, Nadezhda Gulitskaya, Ekaterina Kichigina, Ildar Abdrazakov, Dmitry Korczak, Vasily Ladyuk, Rene Pape, pianists Mitsuko Uchida, Rudolf Buchbinder, violinists Leonidas Kavakos, Patricia Kopatchinskaya, Julia Fisher, Daniel Hope, Nikolai Znaider, Sergei Krylov. Considerable attention is also paid to joint work with young musicians, including conductors Stanislav Kochanovsky, Andris Poga, Marius Stravinsky, Philipp Chizhevsky, pianists Luca Debargue, Philipp Kopachevsky, Jan Lisetsky, Dmitry Masleev, Alexander Romanovsky, violinists Alena Baeva, Ailen Pritchin, Valery Sokolov , Pavel Milyukov, cellist Alexander Ramm.

Having first gone on tour abroad in 1956, the orchestra has since represented Russian art in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Denmark, Italy, Canada, China, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, USA, Thailand, France, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, South Korea, Japan and many other countries.

The band's discography includes hundreds of records and CDs released by leading companies in Russia and abroad (Melodiya, Bomba-Piter, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, BMG, Naxos, Chandos, Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm, Toccata Classics, Fancymusic and others). A special place in this collection is occupied by the “Anthology of Russian Symphonic Music”, which includes audio recordings of works by Russian composers from Glinka to Stravinsky (conductor Evgeny Svetlanov). Recordings of the orchestra's concerts were made by Mezzo, Medici, Rossiya 1 and Kultura TV channels, and Orpheus radio.

Recently, the State Orchestra performed at festivals in Grafenegg (Austria), Kissinger Sommer in Bad Kissingen (Germany), Arts Square in St. Petersburg, VI Mstislav Rostropovich Festival in Moscow, III Russian Symphony Forum in Yekaterinburg, Platonov Arts Festival in Voronezh; performed world premieres of works by Alexander Vustin, Sergei Slonimsky, Anton Batagov, Andrei Semenov, Vladimir Nikolaev, Oleg Paiberdin, Efrem Podgaits, Yuri Sherling, as well as Russian premieres of works by Beethoven - Mahler, Scriabin - Nemtin, Orff, Berio, Stockhausen, Tavener, Kurtag , Adams, Silvestrov, Shchedrin, Tarnopolsky, Gennady Gladkov; took part in the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition and the I International Competition for Young Pianists Grand Piano Competition; four times presented the annual cycle of educational concerts “Vladimir Yurovsky Conducts and Tells”; participated three times in the festival of contemporary music “Another Space”; visited the cities of Russia, Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Spain, Turkey, China.

In September 2015, Vladimir Yurovsky announced a long-term project “80 premieres”, within the framework of which the ensemble, which celebrated its 80th anniversary, performs eighty premieres – world, Russian and Moscow – over several seasons. Since January 2016, the State Orchestra has been implementing a special project to support composers’ creativity, which involves close cooperation with contemporary Russian authors. The first “composer in residence” in the history of the State Orchestra was Alexander Vustin.

For outstanding creative achievements, the team has been awarded the honorary title “academic” since 1972; in 1986 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, in 2006 and 2011. awarded the gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation.