The State Symphony Capella of Russia was founded in 1991 as a result of a merger of the USSR State Chamber Choir under the leadership of Valeri Polyansky and State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR Ministry of Culture headed by Gennady Rozhdestvensky. Specialists mark strict performing discipline reigning in the collective, flexibility of phrasing, rich and warm sounding, nobility of expression, skillfully balanced sounding sections, all that make it the State Symphony Capella of Russia.
State Symphony Capella of Russia was founded in 1991 as a result of a merger of the USSR State Chamber Choir under the leadership of Valeri Polyansky and State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR Ministry of Culture headed by Gennady Rozhdestvensky. Specialists mark strict performing discipline reigning in the collective, flexibility of phrasing, rich and warm sounding, nobility of expression, skillfully balanced sounding sections, all that make it the State Symphony Capella of Russia.
Capella’s programs include such master pieces as Masses of Mozart and Schubert, Bruckner and Liszt, Requiems by Verdi, Cherubini, Brahms, Mozart, Dvorak, Britten, Schnittke, Rachmaninoff’s Bells, Stravinksy’s Wedding, operas in concert performances, etc.
Having visited numerous Russian cities, the Capella has toured Spain, Hungary, France, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Canada, England, Italy, and other European countries. Many critics around the toured countries noted the flawless vocal and choral technique, beautiful continuous sounding, crystal-clear and precise intonation and unfailing attention to poetic words. In December of 2005, the Capella made a debut tour of the Far East by visiting Hong Kong and Mainland China as a part of the Holiday Festival activities.
Capella under Polyansky conquers the hearts of audiences by its emotionally strained, passionate performing. Never before did the listeners around the world demanded an encore with such intensity and admiration.
“What a Choir! Beautiful, noble, ideally balanced sounding, diversity of timbres, flawless clear intoning… We can only dream about such a Choir…”
– Le Monde de la Musique”, France
Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1957 within the All-Union Broadcasting System. The orchestra’s first music director was Samosud. Later, such renown conductors as Aranovich, Shostakovich, and Rozhdestvensky were among the orchestra’s artistic directors until the early 90s when Maestro Polyansky took over the position of the artistic director and chief conductor.
At that time, the orchestra was known as the State Symphony Capella of Russia, the organization that also included a very well internationally recognized choral entity – the State Capella of Russia. The merger of these two independently run music organizations always fascinated Maestro Polyansky. It was up to him how to choose the right repertoire for both the orchestra and the choir, something he has been doing very successfully for several decades.
Capella’s programs include such master pieces as Masses of Mozart and Schubert, Bruckner and Liszt, Requiems by Verdi, Cherubini, Brahms, Mozart, Dvorak, Britten, Schnittke, Rachmaninoff’s Bells, Stravinksy’s Wedding, operas in concert performances, etc.
State Symphony Capella of Russia, also known as Russian State Symphony Orchestra, ranks among the finest Russian symphony orchestras of the 21 st century. The Orchestra is a frequent visitor of numerous international festivals in European countries and the Far East. Their recent tours have taken place in Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Croatia, South Korea and Taiwan. One of the music critics of “The Star” in Great Britain wrote: “While listening to the music conducted by Maestro Polyansky, one starts thinking whether there is a limit to perfection”. “The Symphonies by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff performed by the orchestra became a model of the highly respected tradition of interpretation and performance”, – Corriere Della Sera of Italy noted.
Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1957 within the All-Union Broadcasting System. The orchestra’s first music director was Samosud. Later, such renown conductors as Aranovich, Shostakovich, and Rozhdestvensky were among the orchestra’s artistic directors until the early 90s when Maestro
Polyansky took over the position of the artistic director and chief conductor.
The Orchestra concerts mark strict performing discipline, flexibility of phrasing, rich and warm sound, nobility of expression, and skillfully balanced sound of orchestral groups. Another aspect marked in reviews is a close creative unity and mutual understanding between the orchestra and conductor, making it possible to realize most interesting and sophisticated artistic concepts. The orchestra’s upcoming seasons will feature major international tours to Europe, the United States, and Japan.
Choir of the State Symphony Capella of Russia
Choir of the State Symphony Capella of Russia was founded by the conductor Valery Polansky in 1971. In 1975, the Capella won the International Competition "Guido d'Arezzo" (Italy), winning the Gold Medal in the category "academic singing" and "Golden Bell" - the symbol of the best choir of the contest. In 1980, the Choir took part in the cultural program of the Summer Olympics in Moscow. The fame of the collective went well beyond Russia: the choir was invited to different festivals such as ``Singing Wroclaw`` and ``Prague Autumn`` (Czech Republic). They performed in Merano (Italy) , Izmir (Turkey), Naarden (Holland); memorable participation was in the famous "Promenade Concerts" of Royal Albert Hall (Great Britain) and in historical cathedrals of France - in Bordeaux, Amiens, Albi. The choir was invited many times to a festival in Spoleto (Italy), where it took part in the performance of Prokofiev's opera ``War and Peace``, Wagner 's Lohengrin, and also performed Orff`s cantata ``Carmina Burana`` in Geneva. It constantly tours the USA, Hong Kong, Great Britain, Croatia, Slovenia, Belarus. Over the years, the Choir of the State Symphony Capella has sung almost all the masses, oratorios, requiems and other spiritual opuses of Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Berlioz, Liszt, Verdi, Dvorak, Rachmaninoff, Reger, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Schnittke. The noble, ideally balanced sounding and crystal-clear and precise intonation always distinguishes the choir of Valery Polyansky, for whom there are no unperformed music scores.
Symphony Orchestra of the State Symphony Capella of Russia
Symphony Orchestra of the State Symphony Capella of Russia has its own history since 1957. During the USSR period the collective was led by Samuel Samosud, Yuri Aranovich, Maxim Shostakovich, Gennady Rozhdestvensky. All outstanding Russian conductors such as Yevgeny Svetlanov, Nathan Rachlin, Neeme Jarvi, Vladimir Fedoseyev performed with the orchestra. The first foreign tours were held in 1959 at the Festival of Youth and Students in Vienna. The orchestra has also conquered the USA, Canada, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, Greece, Japan, Taiwan demonstrating its art in the best concert halls of the world such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center (New York), Kennedy Center (Washington), Musikveren (Vienna), Gewandhaus (Leipzig), Jahrhunderthalle (Frankfurt), Barbican-center (London), Berlin Philharmonic hall named after Karajan, the halls of Tokyo, Taipei, Helsinki, Barcelona, Prague. Since 1991, the Symphony Orchestra has merged with the State Chamber Choir, and in 1992 Valery Polyansky became the artistic director and principal conductor of a new collective - the State Symphony Capella of Russia. All the Russian and Western classics of the 18th and 20th centuries, modern music scores by A. Schnittke, S. Gubaidulina, A. Tchaikovsky and others are in the repertoire of the Capella. The collective has a huge discography on the discs of the company "Melody", Сhandos records, Vista Vera, a Japanese record label.