THEATER, CONCERTS AND OPERA IN MOSCOW
The quality of the ballet, theater, opera and music productions at Moscow' is quite good. There is a good choice of concerts and ballets every night. In an average week there are several hundred theater performances and poetry readings; several dozen ballets and operas as well as scores of concerts, operettas and puppet shows. Performances usually start at 7:00pm.
The Bolshoi Theater offers world-famous ballet and opera programs during the autumn, winter and spring but unfortunately is closed during the summer months. For Russian speakers, the city boasts several extraordinarily good dramatic theaters such as the Moscow Art Theater, which hosts where plays by classic Russian playwrights such as Chekhov. The city's children's and puppet theaters, including the world-famous Obraztsov Puppet Theater, are prime attractions for families. For classical music lovers, the Moscow Conservatory has a full annual schedule of concerts and recitals featuring Russia's best musical performers. The city also has an active jazz, rock and techno scene. Concerts are held quite frequently around the city.
Tickets for Concerts and Performances are cheap but tickets for premier events are not as cheap and easy to get as they once were. Tickets to most events can be bought in advance at the theater or stadium box office, at special kiosks scattered about the city, or obtained by local tour companies. Tourist agencies and service desks and concierges at hotels can help you with tickets. They often take large commissions for their service. Conceirges often can get good tickets. The Metropole Hotel is said to be a good place to get tickets for premier events.
Tickets are easily available online for large theatres and the websites have an English versions that are easy to use. Book and purchase online, and then bring a print out on the day of the show. Smaller theaters often don’t have such systems. Cheaper tickets are available through booking offices and informal booth or tables set up the streets or in main Metro station, or at box offices of theaters. There are often scalpers selling tickets outside the venues. If you buy a ticket from a tout (scalper) make sure the date is correct and the ticket is not a fake. Box offices are the best places to get tickets if they are available but tickets for top events often sell out quickly. A Bolshoi ticket that sells at the box office for US$40 is sold for US$150 at hotels. Sometimes cheap tickets go on sale an hour before the performance.
Dmitrovka: Moscow’s Theater Street Dmitrovka is arguably the most theatrical street in Moscow. Here you can find Ramtha, a new stage of the Bolshoi Theater, the Column Hall of the House of Unions, the Musical Theater of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko. The street stretches from Okhotny to the Passion of the Boulevard, along Tverskaya. The one-kilometer-long pedestrian zone arrangement around it was completed in 2013. In addition, the facades of buildings were restored, advertising signs were dismantled, new street lighting, benches and flowerbeds was installed and ugly lights and hanging wires were removed. There are many restaurants and cafes.
Theaters in Moscow
Productions at the Taganka, the Moscow Art Theater, and the Maly in Moscow feature dramatic lighting and music, lots of stage gimmickry, intense emotion and heavy use of symbolism. The Tagangka Theater is famous for its innovative productions. The Satire Theater (Sheremetievskaya ul 8) hosts comedies and dramas and is housed big grey historical house. The Obraztsov Puppet Theater is at Sadovaya-Samotyochnaya 3.
Maly Theater (Teatralnaya pl. 1/6) has classical Russian and European dramas. The troupe of the Maly theatre was launched in 1756 at Moscow University and was included into the system of Imperial theatres. In 1824, it opened an imperial theatre at Peter Square (now Theatrical Square). On this stage plays by Schepkin, Mochalov, Yermolov, Lensky, Yuzhin, Ostuzhev, Pashennaya, Tsarev, Ilyinsky, Tourchaninova, Yablochkina and Gogolev have been performed. The troupe has toured, the United States, Germany, Japan, Mongolia, Israel, Argentina and number of ither countries
Moscow Mayakovsky Theater is one of the oldest and most famous theater groups in Moscow and Russia. Such world famous artists as Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse performed on it stage. In 1922 it was reorganized into the Revolution Theatre. In1968, A.A.Goncharov becomes its Artistic Director and famous performances of “Streetcar Named Desires”, “The Seagull” and “Doll House” were staged there. Famous Russian actors such as Maria Babanova, Mikhail Astangov, Faina Ranevskaya, Lidia Sukharevskaya, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Olga Yakovleva, Natalia Gundareva, Alexander Lazarev appeared at the theater.
MMDM (Kosmodamianskaya quay on the the Moscow River, near the Novospasskiy Monastery) stands for Moscow International Performing Arts Center. This modern center of performing arts hosts performances of Russian and foreign symphony orchestras, theaters, jazz, pop, folk music, chamber music, opera and ballet. There are three halls of the center (Svetlanov, Chamber and Theater) and the have been the site of large international forums, evening events, presentations holiday shows, conferences and corporative meetings as well as concert,. The hall was built in 2002 as the main element of a large architectural ensemble at Kosmodamianskaya quay on the the Moscow River. There is a beautiful view to Novospasskiy monastery from the building.
Moscow Art Theatre
The Moscow Art Theater (Inner North, Kamergersky per 3, Teatralnaya Ploshchad Metro Station) hosts realistic theater. Known as MKhAT, it was founded in 1898 by Constantine Stanislavsky, the creator of "method a technique," a form of theatrical expression popular in New York in the 1960s and used by actors such as Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. The theater is is also where Chekhov's plays such as “Three Sisters,” “The Cherry Orchard” and “Uncle Vanya” debuted and found an enthusiastic audience. The theater remains very active. If you attend a performance it helps if you understand Russian.
The Moscow Art Theatre was established KS Stanislavsky and Vl.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko and opened in 1898. In 1987 the theater has broken up into two creative collectives: The Chekhov Moscow Art Academic Theater ( Chamberlain Lane) and the Moscow Art Academic Theater (Tver parkway, 22). The Bitter MKhAT is located in the historical MKhAT building constructed in 1973.
Works by Chekhov, Bitter, Bulgakov, Dostoevsky and the Soviet playwrights Alexander Vampilov, Victor Rozov, and Alexey Arbuzov are performed. Favorites include works by Valentine Rasputin, Yury Poljakov, Vladimir Maljagin. The repertoire of MKhAT includes on Chekhov’s “Cherry Orchard” and “Three Sisters”, Meterlinku’s “Bluebird of Happiness,” “Secret of a Door of Hotel Rigan”, “Its Friends”, “The Hidden Friend”, “The Old Actress for a Role of the Wife of Dostoevsky”, “Breakage”, “White Guard”, “In Hundred Steps from a Holiday” and “Dear Pamella”.
Dubrovka Theater (former Palace of Culture Theater)
Dubrovka Theater (7 Melnikova street) may host concerts, shows and performances. Also known as the Melnikova Street Theater after the streets where it is located and formerly known as the Palace of Culture, it is best know for being the site of one of Russia’s most notorious terrorist attacks.
In October 2002, forty-one a Chechen terrorists stormed the theater in the middle of a musical play, taking 922 people hostage. Fifty seven hours later, Russian commandos stormed the building after pumping it full of gas. All 41 of the terrorists and 129 hostages were killed. The attack took place during a performance of Nord-Ost (North-East) a musical set in Stalin times inspired by a children’s book about polar explorers. The play was being held at the the Palace of Culture Theater, also known as the Melnikova Street Theater, and the Dubrovka theater after the streets where it is located.
The attack began at 9:00pm, just after intermission, when the second act of Nord-Ost had just begun. An actor playing a pilot was just getting ready to deliver his lines. A chorus in Red Army military uniforms was performing a song and dance, Wearing a ski masks and shooting their automatic weapons into the ceiling, the Chechen fighters walked on the stage and shouted “Allahu akbar!” “We are Chechens!” “We are at war here!” “Release Chechnya and Russia from Russians!”
For a few long seconds many people thought the raid was part of the show. An actress who managed to escape through a dressing room window said, “No one understood anything. They thought it was all part of the play.” One woman in the audience later recalled thinking “What a clever theatrical concept.”
Only when the musicians were ordered to climb out of the music pit and they and actors were ordered to sit in the front rows did many in the audience realize something was amiss. Immediately the terrorists went to work planted explosives throughout the theater—to pillars, walls and seats. There was one large explosive plus smaller bombs and mines and suicide belts. The terrorists claimed there was enough to bring down the whole building.
The terrorists had one demand: a full withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya within a week. The rescue effort began around 5:30am on the forth day of the crisis. A powerful gas was pumped into the theater through ventilation system and holes bored underneath the auditorium. The aim was to incapacitate the militant gunmen and, especially, the explosivs-laden women. A lot of gas was pumped in because Russian security forces wanted to make sure there was enough to do the job. There were concerns that if they didn’t pump enough in the terrorists would realize a rescue mission was taking place and detonate their bombs.
After the gas was pumped in, commandos stormed the theater. Over 650 hostages, including 30 children and 75 foreigners were rescued and escaped alive, but another 129 people died. To this day it still has not been made public exactly what the gas was. Some had originally thought it was a nerve gas. Later it was revealed that it was an aerosol version of fentanyl, the fast-acting opiate at the root of America’s opiate problem. But it is still not clear whether it was mixed with something else.
Ballet in Moscow
Moscow is one of the best places in the world to see ballet. The Bolshoi Theater offers world-famous ballet and opera programs during the autumn, winter and spring but unfortunately is closed during the summer months. Dance Companies include Kremlin Ballet and the Moscow Classical Ballet Theater, which perform at the State Kremlin Palace, and the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Dannchenko Theater famous for modern ballet. Folk dance ensembles often perform at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. In addition to the ballet theaters mentioned below, Moscow has a number of excellent theater companies that have no venue of their own. Among these is the Classical Russian Ballet, founded in 2004.
Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre (Bolshaya Dmitrovka ul. 17). is Moscow’s second most important ballet theater. What distinguishes it from the Bolshoi is its lower ticket prices and a reputation for experimentation and more modern productions. The theater features first-rate soloists, conductors, directors and designers — both within the theater and and invited guests.
Kremlin Ballet is located in the State Kremlin Palace. Created in 1990 as the "Ballet Theater of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses", it was renamed the "Kremlin Ballet" in 1992. The ballet’s artists have collaborated Ekaterina Maximova and Vladimir Vasiliev, who staged his ballet "Macbeth" (music by K. Molchanov), originally shown at the Bolshoi Theater in 1980. The program of the Kremlin Palace includes not only popular excerpts from "Swan Lake", "Sleeping Beauty", "La Bayadere", "La Sylphide", but also Marius Petipa’s masterpiece "Dancing Hours" from the opera A. Ponchielli "La Gioconda". Among the guest artists that have appeared at the "The Kremlin Ballet" are Michael Shannon from the U.S., Yuri Klevtsov from the Bolshoi, Igor Iebra from Spain and Karl Package and Stephen Frusti Byuyon from the Paris Opera.
Ballet Moscow was founded in 1991 and has a repertoire that includes works by Russian and international choreographers, specially designed for the Moscow Ballet dancers. The theater has no permanent choreographer and this is on purpose. According to artistic director NA Basin it is much more interesting to work with different choreographers, each time there is a new technique and a different attitude towards art. Choreographers Roman Kislukhin, Régis Obadia (France), Paul Selwyn Norton (Netherlands), Nikita Dmitrievsky, Larisa Alexandrova, Konstantin Uralsky (USA) Gennady Sandy and Wan Su (China) have all worked with the ballet. The theater honors the traditions of Russian ballet and tries to revive and preserve the best of what was in it. The ballets of Marius Petipa and Nicholas Markaryantsa are given a high place.
Moscow Classical Ballet is also known as the State Academic Theater of Classical Ballet. It was formed in 1966 and headed by the famous artistic director Igor Moiseyev. The repertoire included if fragments from the ballet and choreographic compositions staged by Goleizovsky Messerer. The Classical Ballet is now under the direction of Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilyov.
Bolshoi Theater
Bolshoi Theater (City Center, Teatralnaya of. 1, about 500 meters from Red Square) is the home of the world's most famous ballet and opera company by the same name. It was once regarded without question as the best in the world but the quality of its performances have slipped somewhat in recent decades while those of its main rival the Kirov in St. Petersburg has soared. The theater has 2,200 seats. Performance are sometimes held in the Kremlin's 6000 seat Palace of Congresses.
The Bolshoi has its own orchestra and over 250 dancers that at one time included Galina Ulanova, Maya Plisetskaya, Maria Semyonova, Olga Lepeshinskaya, Alexander Godunov and Alla Mikhalchenko The production and props are quite extravagant. The Bolshoi Theater itself is a glorious venue with a heavily-decorated ceiling hung with crystal chandeliers, six levels of gilded balconies and seats upholstered with plush red velvet and curtains that bore the hammer and sickle long after the Soviet era ended. The theater It was built in 1824 and is Russia’ oldest theater.
The Bolshoi Theater was closed from 2005 to 2011 for what was supposed to be a US$885 million reconstruction that was supposed te elevate the theater to the level of La Scala or Covent Gardens, A few days after the theater closed the Russian government accused he theater of extravagance and ordered the budget cut to US$293 million, The reconstruction involved completely reconstructing the building, installing new stage apparatus, cloakrooms and escalators and enlarging underground storage space. The work doubled the theater’s area with underground floors and installed a complex system of gallery passages, elevators and new sophisticated stage. Expensive repairs of the velvet seats and crystal chandeliers were completed. The Bolshoi’s triumphant reopened took place on October 28, 2011. The final cost of reconstruction was around US$600 million. . In the early 2000s, a new secondary theater called the New Stage opened on Dmitrovka: Moscow’s Theater Street. Built in a traditional horseshoe-shape, thos theater has only 900 seats but has a stage almost as large as the one at the Bolshoi. It hosts both ballet and opera and features smaller productions and more experimental works. Like the main Bolshoi it looks like something out of the 18th century. It boasts paraquet floors, crystal chandelier, gilt wall lights.
If you have the chance to see a performance at the Bolshoi you should definitely seize the opportunity. The building is pictured on the hundred-ruble banknote and if one of the finest examples of 19th century Russian classical architecture. On the pediment, Apollo’s Quadriga by Peter Klodt can be seen. Opposite the theater are Revolution Square, the Metropol Hotel, the printing house and the passage to cozy pedestrian Nikolskaya Street. For several years running, the Bolshoi Theater building has been used for the Circle of Light Festival. Impressive video projections are displayed to music on the theater's facade.
These days, the Bolshoi's repertoire includes Russian and foreign classics along with modern works by choreographers such famous Dmitry Chernyakov. Since its foundation, the theater has staged around 800 works, including the legendary operas “A Life for the Tsar” and “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by Glinka and the legendary ballets “Gizelle” by Adams, “Swan Lake”, “The Nutcracker”, and “Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky, and “Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky.
Tickets cost anywhere from 3,000 to 15,000 rubles. To see a performance, especially a premiere or popular one, one has to buy tickets well in advance. Since 2011, ticket buyers must show a passport to make a purchase. The Bolshoi's ticket offices are located in the New Stage, Administration, and Main Stage buildings.
Founding of the Bolshoi Theater
The Bolshoi Theater's history started in the 18th century. Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Urusov had a reputation as a passionate theater-lover and owned a small theater on Znamenka Street. He worked with his partner, Michael Maddox, an English theatrical entrepreneur, engineer, watchmaker, mathematician, and illusionist, who had been invited to Russia by Catherine the Great to serve as a mathematics and physics teacher for her son and future emperor Paul. [Source: Russian Tourism Official Website]
In 1780, the wooden Znamensky Theater suddenly caught fire and burned down due to the negligence of the staff. The prince was so depressed by the incident he left the business, transferring it over to Maddox. On the right bank of the Neglinka river, the Englishman erected a stone building for a new theater named the Bolshoi Petrovsky, because of its location on Petrovka Street. The theater was built in a record five months, and its first performance — the prologue to A. Ablesimov's operetta “The Wanderers” with music by the Russian composer E. Fomin — was triumphantly given on December 30, 1780. Later, concert and masquerade halls were added to the theater building. The auditorium could seat around 1,000 people, making it one of the largest theaters in the world at that time. Originally, the troupe was small, but it constantly added new people, both free and bonded actors.
This was a public theater, open for everyone, where operas, ballets, and plays were produced. In 1805, a cloakroom attendant caused a fire to break out, when he forget to extinguish lit candles. The fire started just before the start of a performance and the theater was completely destroyed. It was replaced by a wooden theater built on Gogolevsky Boulevard, but it was also ruined by a fire in 1812.
In 1821, construction began on the stately, imperial-style building designed by Joseph Bové and dedicated to the Russian victory in the War of 1812. The building of the new theater, which opened its doors in January 1825, was decorated by a statue of Apollo on a chariot with three horses and a heavy portico with eight columns. This building was much more spacious, solid, and comfortable than the old Petrovsky theater. The auditorium could seat over 2,000 people, and had more space for additional resting areas and coat rooms. In addition to plays, the operas of Donizetti, Rossini, Meyerbeer, Verdi, and Glinka, as well as ballets were staged.
History of the Bolshoi Theater
In 1853, a fire struck the building again. The architect Albert Cavos led the reconstruction of the replacement theater. An the eve of Alexander II's coronation in 1856, the Bolshoi Theater was opened in grand fashion with a performance of Bellini's opera “The Puritans.” The exterior of the building was slightly changed: a second pediment with bas-relief was added, Apollo's trio of horses was turned into a bronze quadriga, and the column caps were changed. Special attention was paid to the interior design.
The Bolshoi Theater's acoustics were considered among in the world's best in the second half of the 19th century. Anterooms were added, and the Tsar's luxuriant box, with cantilevers in the form of bent atlantes, was pushed slightly outward. Everything boggled the minds of contemporaries: the gilding and crimson dorsal on the balconies, the stucco work, the ornate cut-glass chandeliers, and the specially-designed Italian curtains In the second half of the 19th century, the theater's ballet-master was the outstanding Marius Petipa, who staged “Don Quixote” at the Bolshoi. From 1899, the great Shalyapin sang at the Bolshoi.
In 1917, after the October Revolution, the Imperial Bolshoi Theater became the State Bolshoi Theater. The new Communist government adapted the theater building to its own needs, and at one point considered closing the theater. In 1921, a special commission declared that the state of the building was catastrophic. Renovations began — some rooms were redesigned. The stage was completely overhauled in 1938.
During World War II, the theater was half-deserted, though some actors remained behind and continued performing. In 1941, a bomb hit the building, made a hole in the facade, and ruined the entrance hall. Despite the war, renovations were not halted. In 1943, the Bolshoi opened the season with Glinka's opera “A Life for the Tsar,” renamed “Ivan Susanin.” In The Soviet era, the repertoire was revised. In the 1930s, Stalin ordered the creation of “Soviet classical opera music”. The staging of works by foreigners was mostly prohibited. Among the permitted ones were the works of I. Dzerzhinsky, B. Asafiev, and R. Glier. Many old plays were edited.
In the 1990s, the Bolshoi was badly in need of repairs. The collapse of state funding after the break up of the Soviet Union created severe financial problems. By the mid 1990s carpets were tattered, bathrooms fixtures were broken, the facade was crumbling, the foundations were sinking, the backstage machinery periodically froze up and plaster was crumbling off the walls. In 1996, a 10-centimeter gap in a theater wall appeared. There were worries that the building might hurt somebody.
The opulent, neo-classical facade was restored with a UNESCO grant in advance of Moscow's 850th anniversary in 1997. The Bolshoi didn't change all that much in the 1990s. Many of its 3,000 employees in 2000 worked at the theater in the Soviet era. Since 1995, the Bolshoi ballet and opera has been headed the internationally-known artistic directory Vladimir Vasiliev. Under Yeltsin the theater was financed from of the president's personal budget. In 2001, it was put under the control of the Culture Ministry.
Concert Halls and Music in Moscow
Moscow is home to several dozen concert halls and places that host musical performances. Classical Music and Opera Venues include the State Kremlin Palace, Ostankino Palace and Sheremetov Palace at Kuskovo. Concerts also held in old mansions, church and universities throughout Moscow. There are also featured at festivals and special events. The vibrancy, talent and number of production emerging from Moscow's small opera scene is perhaps equaled only in Berlin. Popular folk dance groups include the Igor Moissev Folk Ensemble, the Osipov Russian Folk Orchestra and the Pynatitsky Russian Folk Chorus. Hotels and tourist agencies often host fol dancing performances. Pop Music Venue include the Lenin Stadium, the Central Concert Hall and even the State Kremlin Theater for big name Western and Russian acts. There are also a number small halls and clubs that handles smaller rock and pop acts. It is best to check entertainment magazines and posters around town for information on this,
Helikon Theater (Bolshaya Nikitsakaya 19) is regarded by many as the most beautiful theater in Russia and is the home of a highly praised opera.. Housed in an 18th century mansion, the theater is a ballroom-size venue with a small stage and seats for 250 people and a 50-piece orchestra. The repertoire of “Helikon” includes more than 50 unique performances. Theatre always tries to depart from “convenient”. It is one of the most interesting and visited theatres in Moscow. The company of the Helikon has grown from seven persons to more than 350 artists today. It includes soloists, a symphonic orchestra and choir. The theater has won many awards, including eight “Gold masks”. Many recordings of the theater’s performances have been released. In April 2010, the theater celebrated it twentieth anniversary. The same year it gave performances of “Love to Three Oranges” and “Rasputin” on a tour with the Opera de Massy from France
Moscow Operetta Theater (Bolshaya Dmitrovka ul. 6) features operettas and musicals. It is one of the leading operetta theaters not only in Russia but also in Europe. Dozens of outstanding artists work in the theater. Its repertoire combines classical and modern operettas as well as musicals and shows. Interesting musical material, alternative approaches and modern technical, lighting and sound are all hallmarks of the theater.
Novaya Opera (New Opera) (in the Hermitage Gardens was completed in just two and half years and was supposed to give to the stodgy Bolshoi a run for its money. Its productions have been praised for their creativity and vigor. The Novaya Opera Theatre was founded in 1991 by Yevgeny Kolobov (1946-2003). The repertoire of the theatre includes 70 opera and concert genre productions. Among these are numerous masterpieces of classical opera as well as performances based on original music by Kolobov. The high level performances and originality of theatrical priductions has won theatre deserved fame. The new building in the garden of the “Hermitage” ballroom has 660 seats and is equipped with modern lighting facilities and stage mechanisms that allow complicated stage effects.
National Theater Folk Music and Songs "Golden Ring" (northern Moscow) was opened in 2005 and is housed in a striking building, surrounded by a well-groomed park. Previously, this building housed a cinema "Relay" 1965 buildings. The founders of the "Golden Ring" Hope Kadysheva and Alexander Kostyuk turned the old building into a full theater with 512 seats designed so that all of them offer good views of the action on stage and good acoustics.
Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and Halls of the Moscow Conservatory
Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (Triumphalnaya pl. 4/31, near Mayakovsky Square) specializes in classical music and is the home of the famous Moscow Philharmonic Society (formerly the State Symphony Orchestra).. It hosts concerts several times a week and has seats for 1,600 people. The Tchaikovsky Concert Hall is one of the largest concert halls of Moscow. Approximately 300 concert per year take place in the hall. The Moscow Philharmonic Society performs a wide range programs and festivals, which become larger and more diverse each year. Among the festivals that take place here are “Russian Winter”, “Guitar Virtuosos” , and “Nine Centuries of the Organ”. The music programs include “Opera Masterpieces”, “Great Oratorios”, “European Virtuosos in Moscow” and “World Opera Stars in Moscow”. The Tchaikovsky Concert Hall stages performances geared for young audience.
Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory (Bolshaya Niitskaya 13) is a magnificent 19th century concert hall featuring talented Russian classical musicians performing almost nightly before sellout crowds. It has a big hall and small hall and is the home of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory,
Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory is one of the most famous concert venues not only in Moscow and Russia but in the world thanks to its wonderful decor, comfortable location and excellent acoustics. Opened in 1901 and is Moscow’s favorite music hall, the building was designed by the architect V. Zagorsky. The Hall’s famous façade was is from a building that previously occupied the location — a house of Russian princess Ekaterina Dashkova built at the end of the 18th century. Much of the furniture and carpets as well as the organ are from Paris The А. Cavaille-Coll” company, founded in 1899, is presently based in the Hall. The hall’s organ was named one of the best organ in the world during the Paris exhibition of 1900. The hall has long history. During World War I, it housed a hospital, From 1924 to 1933, it was a popular movie theatre during the day. In 1940 the Conservatory was named after Tchaikovsky, and in 1954 the monument to him was opened in front of the Great Hall. The best soloists, orchestras and ensembles of the world perform concerts here. A number of international festival and competitions take place at the Great Hall. Among them is the most famous in the world — the Tchaikovsky Competition.
Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory was opened in 1898 with "Musical Morning Sacred to Memory of Tchaikovsky", a concert staged five years of death of the Great Russian composer. The organ of master Friedrich Ladegast, presented to the Conservatory in 1886, was placed in the Small Hall in 1959. In 2006, the hall was named after the composer S.I. Taneyev but is still widely known as the Small Hall. This venue is famous for its chamber music evenings and attracts sophisticated fans who love unique music. Different concerts and festivals (including P. I. Tchaikovsky Contest events), as well as classical music evenings, are performed in this hall. Seating 436 people, it is regarded as the most intimate major music hall in Moscow.
Conservatory Rachmaninov Hall is housed is large hall used by Synodal singing college (initially a four years of religious school) from 1886 to 1918. The hall was used choirs and has good acoustics. In 1968, the building was attached to the conservatory. After years spent on the restoration it was opened in 1983 as a beautiful blue and white concert hall and was named in 1986 after the outstanding Russian composer and pianist S. Rachmaninoff, whose life was strongly linked to the Synodal School. The hall hosts chamber music and choral concerts.
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation (official Russia tourism website russiatourism.ru ), Russian government websites, UNESCO, Wikipedia, Lonely Planet guides, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Yomiuri Shimbun and various books and other publications.
Updated in September 2020