HSE Symphony Orchestra Performs for Full House at HSE Cultural Centre

© Mikhail Dmitriev/ HSE University

The concert, ‘Music of the Spirals of History’, which was held on February 20 at HSE’s Cultural Centre on Pokrovka, featured the HSE Symphony Orchestra  along with visual effects produced by the educational project ‘Classical Music in Focus’. The project aims to bring classical music to a new generation of music lovers. The sold-out musical event was open to the public.

For one evening, the HSE Cultural Centre became a real theater. The sounds of classical instrumental music and famous opera arias filled the auditorium, and audience members shouted ‘Bravo!’ and even presented flower bouquets to the soloists at the concert’s conclusion. The HSE Symphony Orchestra, together with the project ‘Classical Music in Focus’, provided campus community members and opera lovers alike a new look at the classics. During the Symphony’s performance, street artists from the collective DESARTE365 painted graffiti in real time.

© Mikhail Dmitriev/ HSE University

© Mikhail Dmitriev/ HSE University

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The concert programme offered a veritable feast for the ears and eyes. Audience members were transported to a range of different eras by instrumental and vocal performances of Bach, Mozart, Dvorak, Verdi, Piazzolla, and Bellini and the creations of visual artists working on the stage. The HSE musicians were joined not only by the team of street artists but by professional Moscow musicians, including Bolshoi Theater soloist Nikolai Efremov, Natalya Sats Musical Theater soloist Yulia Volkova, as well as students and graduates of the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory and the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music.

© Mikhail Dmitriev/ HSE University

© Mikhail Dmitriev/ HSE University

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‘It was certainly a bit of a challenge for us to accompany a Bolshoi Theater soloist, as well as current and former students of the Conservatory,’ said Vladimir Yatskevich, Artistic Director of the HSE Symphony Orchestra, in an interview.

The reaction of the audience, however, made it clear that the HSE Symphony Orchestra met the challenge with aplomb. The performance received praise from journalist and Orpheus Radio host Yossi Tavor. The music critic hosted the concert with HSE Vice-Rector Valeria Kasamara.

The HSE Symphony Orchestra was founded in the fall of 2016. The orchestra is comprised of HSE students and staff, as well as professional musicians and students of other music schools and universities. The orchestra’s repertoire includes both classical music and music by contemporary composers, including film soundtracks.