What is tied up with this notion in the minds of
attentive audience? Since quite recently, for the last five years - Chamber
orchestra bearing this name.
...In the early spring of 1994 a number of young
musicians headed by Vladislav Bulakhov decided to form a new Chamber orchestra
which gave its first concert on March 27, 1994 in the Central Artist’s House.
Vladimir Lantsman (Canada) was invited as an artistic director and soloist. One
of the programs prepared under his patronage included four violin concerts by
A. Vivaldi "Seasons" which later became the name of the Orchestra -
The Seasons.
Since November 1994 the Orchestra is being
headed and conducted by Vladislav Bulakhov. "Seasons", he supposes,
"is a very wide notion both in life and in music. From the one side it
means a variety of impressions, themes and images, and from the other - a
universality of their realisation, eternal renovation in the endless flow of
time, as well as stability of life circles, dynamism of the present-day
attitudes and firmness of the 'foundations' of musical classics. Our creative
Credo is to find a harmony in the combination of these principles."
Today The Seasons Orchestra is represented by 20
musicians having highest musical education. Their average age is about thirty.
The exact knowledge by every musician of his
voice’s place in the score brings forth specific harmony, "ensemble
sounding" of the Orchestra. The emotional and non- formal mode of
performance is the result of frankly creative interaction of the musicians. The
Seasons Orchestra means the vivid spontaneous expressiveness. The orchestra
plays with unconcealed pleasure, and even more pleased the grateful audience
is.
The repertoire range of this musical group is
quite wide - from Baroque masters to modern composers. The Orchestra has
participated in the following festivals "Russian Winter" (1996),
"Russia’s Talents" (1997), First International Festival of Classical
Guitar (1994) and Music Festival Named after F. Schubert (1997). The Seasons
Orchestra has also performed in such thematic concerts as "Vienna
Evenings", "Golden Epoch of Bow Art", "Music of North
European Countries", as well as in concerts devoted to the memory of Yu.
Yankelevich, the 200th anniversary of Pushkin, and others.
Joint work with prominent soloists helps the
orchestra to raise the level of its creative objects. Among those soloists are
such outstanding persons as People's Artistes of Russia Prof. Naum Shtarkman
(piano) and Prof. Victor Pikaizen (violin), Honoured Artistes of Russia Prof.
Boris Petrushansky (piano). Prof. Henrietta Mirvis (piano), Prof. Zinaida
lgnatyeva (piano), Prof. Grigory Zhislin (violin, Great Britain) and young
promising musicians, winners of international contests including Antigoni Goni
(guitar, USA), Elena Voznesenskaya (soprano) Yevgeny Petrov (clarinet), Alexander
Trostyansky (violin), Irina Chukovskaya (piano) and Mikhail Lidsky (piano).
During the five years of its existence The
Seasons Orchestra has managed to win a worthy place in the musical life of
Moscow. It also has its own, basically young, audience thanks to which all its
concerts are held in a warm and homely atmosphere of a general celebration.
The orchestra concerts are often written about
in the mass media and periodical press and commented on the "Culture"
TV channel, Radio Russia and "Orpheus" Radio.
In the autumn of 1995 the Orchestra has
completed a successful concert tour to Germany and in March 1999 - to Taiwan.
Since 1999 The Seasons Orchestra has the status
of a state orchestra.
The collective that was born in a period of
lacking stability in this country and managed to survive and prove its worth
without having any objective conditions for it can be rightly called unique.