Cornell Concert Series Brings the St. Petersburg Philharmonic & Pianist Nikolai Lugansky to Ithaca

The St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Russia’s oldest symphonic ensemble, was founded in 1882 under Alexander III and served as the court orchestra for Nicholas II.  Tchaikovsky himself conducted the premiere of his 6th Symphony, the “Pathetique,” with the orchestra shortly before his death.  On Friday, April 15th, 2011 this celebrated institution presents, in full 100-piece magnificence under the direction of conductor Nikolai Alexeev, a resplendently all-Russian program at Cornell University’s Bailey Hall.  The 8 p.m. concert features Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto, with the dynamic young Moscow native Nikolai Lugansky as soloist, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov.  This event is sponsored by the Cornell Concert Series, also a storied tradition now in its 109th year.

Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic became the State Orchestra and then, in 1921, was incorporated into the Petrograd Philharmonic (later the Leningrad Philharmonic).  But the extraordinary turbulence of 20th-century Soviet politics did not stop the orchestra from playing with the great conductors and soloists of Russia and Western Europe, including Otto Klemperer, Bruno Walter, Richard Strauss, Arthur Nikisch, Alexander Glazunov, Serge Koussevitsky, Vladimir Horowitz and Sergey Prokofiev (the latter performing his own piano concertos).  Programs included modern repertoire by Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Berg, Hindemith, Honegger, Poulenc and contemporary Russian composers; historical premieres such as of the “Classical” Symphony by Prokofiev, with the composer conducting, and Shostakovich’s First Symphony; and the first Russian performances of Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben and Also Sprach Zarathustra, Mahler’s First and Bruckner’s Ninth symphonies, and Skryabin’s Poem of Ecstasy.  The orchestra’s most formative partnership, lasting for 50 years from 1938 to 1988, was with conductor Evgeny Mravinsky under whom the orchestra became the model for the performance of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich symphonies.  Yuri Temirkanov succeeded Mravinsky as principal conductor in 1988, and Maestro Alexeev also joined the orchestra in 2000.

Pianist Nikolai Lugansky, known for his superb interpretations of Rachmaninoff, is a prizewinner in several major competitions, including the 1994 Tchaikovsky International Competition.  He has appeared with the world’s top orchestras in concerto repertoire ranging from Mozart to Ravel, and directed by distinguished conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Marek Janowski, Neeme Järvi, Sir Charles Mackerras, Kurt Masur, Kent Nagano and many others.  Acclaimed as a recitalist and for his fine recordings as well, Mr. Luganksy studied at the Central School of Music in Moscow where his teachers included the legendary Tatiana Nikolaeva and Sergei Dorensky.