The Moscow Virtuosi

Launching artistic groups at an artist's initiative was by no means a common practice in the Soviet Union in those years. Only governmental bodies could authorize the establishment of professional theaters, orchestras and museums. It took Spivakov and his friends several years to prove to the authorities that the orchestra's professional level and potential were of an order of magnitude higher than those of a great majority of State orchestras that boasted of marvelous conductors and musicians able to glorify any European or US orchestra in the 70s and 80s.

Only in 1983 did the "Moscow Virtuosi" Orchestra gain the official status and the entailed governmental financial support for its performance activities.

The same years witnessed an arduous, but joyful consolidation of virtuosi musicians, each being a bright personality, into a world-class, finely-organized musical ensemble with its own performance style and a huge repertoire comprising Bach and Schnittke. The process is not completed up to now, but even in the mid-1980s the main performance and artistic features of the orchestra became evident.

A really European manner of ensemble performance, concern for tiny details and nuances, solicitous and creative interpretation of author's concepts, bright artistic talent and love both for the pieces performed and for the audience make the "Moscow Virtuosi" Orchestra so different from many other chamber orchestras. The orchestra stands away from aesthetic any snobbery and arrogant attitude to listeners, some of whom might have come to the concert quite by chance. To excite the audience emotionally and to enthrall intellectually every listener, even an ignorant one, to endow him with the pleasure of enjoining music masterpieces, to evoke the desire to come to chamber music concerts again are considered by the "Moscow Virtuosi" as the most important goals.

Ever since the chamber orchestra was founded, Vladimir Spivakov, an outstanding violinist and conductor, benefactor and prominent social figure, has been its artistic director, conductor and soloist. Thanks to Maestro Spivakov and the two decades of his activities for the sake of the orchestra, the "Moscow Virtuosi" is now undoubtedly within the best chamber orchestras of the world with their own grateful audiences everywhere and is enjoying a high reputation that has been acquired by years of persistent and hard work.

Since 2003 the "Moscow Virtuosi" Chamber Orchestra is permanently located and rehearses at the Moscow Performance Arts Centre which was recently built and opened on 26 of December 2002. Next year the "Moscow Virtuosi" Chamber Orchestra celebrated its 25th anniversary and held the world tour.

 

Tours

 

Every year the "Moscow Virtuosi" give over 100 concerts, mostly on tours. The geography of the tours is very extensive: it includes all regions of Russia, the former Soviet Union territory (which still remains the common cultural space of the now desintigrated country both for the orchestra and for the listeners), European countries, the United States of America and Japan. In all the countries the Virtuosi give their concerts not only in the best and most prestigious concert halls, such as "Concertgebouw" in Amsterdam, "Musikverrein" in Vienna, " Royal Festival Hall" and "Albert Hall" in London, "Pleyel" and "Champs Elysees Theatre" in Paris, "Carnegie Hall" and "Avery Fisher Hall" in New York, "Santory Hall" in Tokyo, but also in ordinary venues of small towns.

 

Festivals

 

Many a time the "Moscow Virtuosi" has participated in famous international music festivals in Salzburg (Austria), Edinburgh (Scotland), Florence and Pompei (Italy), Lucerne and Gstaad (Switzerland), Rheingau and Schleswig-Golstein (Germany) and many others. Special links connect the "Moscow Virtuosi" and the International Music Festival in Colmar (France), where Maestro Spivakov is Artistic Director. The orchestra had taken part in many Colmar Festivals since 1989 when the Festival was arranged for the first time.

 

Residency

 

The Moscow International Performance Arts Center on Red Hills is built under the initiative of the mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov and the world famous musician and public figure Vladimir Spivakov with the finance support of the Government of Moscow. Though Moscow is one of the biggest cultural centers of the world this center is the first concert hall for the classical music built in the city in the last 100 years.

On December 26, 2002 the ceremony of the opening of the MIPAC took place. At the Ceremony participated President of The Russian Federation Vladimir Putin who noted that "the Ceremony is a bright event not only in the cultural life of Moscow but for all the country".

The MIPAC is the central element of a large architectural ensemble situated on the Krasnokholmskaya Embankment of The Moscow-River. It has a beautiful view on the ancient Novospassky Monastery.

The cupola of the MIPAC is crowned with a treble clef performed by Zeretely. The height of the construction is 9, 5 meters. The clef weights about two tons and additional details — some four tons. The complex role mechanism allows the construction to rotate like a weathervane.

Finally the MIPAC is supposed to include not only three concert halls but also a first-class hotel, a restaurant, musical and flower shops and a saloon of the company "Bluttner".

The President of the Moscow International Performance Arts Center was appointed the national artist of the USSR, the laureate of the State premiums, the professor Vladimir Spivakov.