THE ACADEMIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF THE ST. PETERSBURG PHILHARMONIA celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2021, and spent the last season under the sign of the 70th anniversary of its incorporation into the Philharmonia. The orchestra traces its history back to 1931, having started its activity as a concert ensemble and then as the Symphony orchestra of Leningrad Radio Committee. Working in live broadcast, the musicians mastered a diverse repertoire. The mobility of the orchestra, which had been led by H. Unger, then I. Alterman, was facilitated also by collaboration with many conductors: O. Fried, F. Stiedry, A. Gauk, V. Dranishnikov, N. Golovanov, E. Mravinsky, I. Musin, B. Khaikin, E. Grikurov, K. Eliasberg, N. Rabinovich, K. Kondrashin.

During the war, the Leningrad Radio Symphony was the only orchestra that remained in the besieged city. Despite the fact that in the first winter of the war the orchestra actually ceased to exist, nonetheless, thanks to heroic efforts, on 9 August 1942, headed by Karl Eliasberg, the orchestra performed the Leningrad premiere of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony. Critics argue that «the Orchestra performances are highly authentic: there is a feeling that the musicians have inherited the tradition of the “Leningrad Symphony” orchestral performance from the older generation » (Tianjin Daily, 2015). Altogether, the orchestra performed more than 300 times during the siege and most of the concerts, including the “Leningrad Symphony” premiere, were held at the Grand Philharmonic Hall.

Continuing to step out onto the famous stage, the orchestra received the status of a philharmonic orchestra in 1953. It was headed by N. Rabinovich, K. Eliasberg and A. Jansons, who took the orchestra on its first foreign tour (Finland, 1965). In 1962-1963, I. Stravinsky and B. Britten performed their own compositions with the orchestra. The orchestra also played under the batons of S. Baudo, I. Markevitch, K. Masur, L. Maazel, E. Svetlanov and R. Rozhdestvensky; V. Cliburn, S. Richter, E. Gilels, I. Stern, Y. Menuhin, D. Oistrakh, M. Rostropovich, D. Shostakovich were the soloists.

In 1968, the orchestra was headed by Yuri Temirkanov. The conductor initiated a rapid growth of the orchestra’s repertoire and played a crucial role in gaining its recognition abroad: the orchestra toured in Bulgaria, Scandinavian countries, The Netherlands (including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw), Japan and USA. «Leningrad – is a magnificent city, it deserves two great orchestras. And it has them…» (New York Post, 1977, after the concert at Carnegie Hall).

From April 1977 to June 2018 the orchestra was headed by Alexander Dmitriev. That period of the orchestra’s activity was marked by receiving of the “academic” title (1985); the biography and repertoire were supplemented by premiere performances of works by Handel, Mahler, R. Strauss, Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin, Schreker, Honegger, Tippet, Orff, Dutilleux, Pärt, Schnittke, Nono, Ligeti, Adams, Krum, Piazzolla and Leningrad-Petersburg composers, by recordings of all Beethoven and Schubert’s symphonies, of works by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Britten. Conductors N. Järvi, A. Katz, D. Kitaenko, Yu. Simonov, V. Fedoseev, A. Lazarev, E. Serov, R. Barshai, Y. Domarkas, R. Martynov, V. Ziva, E. Klas, P. Kogan, M. Shostakovich, V. Sinaisky, S. Sondeckis, A. Titov, M. Rostropovich, P. Berglund, M. Jurowski, J.-K. Casadesus, Y.-P. Tortelier, A. Buribayev, composer K. Penderecki, soloists G. Sokolov, N. Gutman, E. Virsaladze, Yu. Bashmet, V. Tretyakov, J. Lill, J. Ogdon, R. Hall, P. Donohoe and F. Kempf became the creative partners of the orchestra.

The orchestra participates in prestigious international festivals, tours in countries of Europe, Asia and America. Critics were always of high opinion: «The first-class Tchaikovsky and the impressive Shostakovich from the St. Petersburg Symphony » (Bachtrack, 2015); «The players irrefutably had a total grasp, understanding and love of the music of their homeland’s music. Tempo and dynamics were spot on and the playing was simply astonishing; artists in total control of every composition, ever bar and every note. They lived, breathed and played with exemplary musicianship, coaxed along by Dmitriev whose fluent, controlled conducting never deviated into unnecessary histrionics» (Bristol.сom, 2017); «Raw passion: Alexander Dmitriev brings dynamic taste of St. Petersburg to London» (Bachtrack, 2017).

Nikolay Alexeev has been successfully collaborating with the orchestra throughout the past six seasons. The season opening concerts and foreign tours have been held under his baton, last season highlighted the concert dedicated to the conductor-laureate Alexander Dmitriev’s 90th anniversary.

In the 2024/2025 season, Dimitris Botinis was appointed artistic director and chief conductor of the orchestra. In the current season, under his direction, the orchestra’s opening and closing concerts are held, along with performances at the “Arts Square” International Winter Festival, subscription series marking the 100th anniversary of M. Rostropovich and the 95th anniversary of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic, a monographic concert from the cycle dedicated to Beethoven, and performances in the “Philharmonic and House of Music”, “Popular Classics”, and “Classics. New” subscription series.

Under the baton of Vladimir Altshuler, who has served as the regular conductor of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic for over 40 years, the 2026/2027 season features musical evenings as part of the ensemble’s personal subscription series, the “Beethoven. Two Centuries of Immortality” subscription, the “Musical Collection” festival, and the “Yellow Stars” project, which the musician traditionally conducts.

In the previous season, the ensemble presented two world premieres: Korolev’s composition *≠* (Inequality), conducted by A. Rybalko; and Krasheninnikov’s “Symphony‑Requiem”, marking the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster (conductor – M. Alekseev). For the first time in Russia, the complete version of Shostakovich’s “The Human Comedy” was performed (conductor – D. Jurowski).Guest conductors feature – F. Korobov, A. Anikhanov, A. Solovyev, P. Bubelnikov, P. Baleff (Germany), D. Savić (Serbia), N. Krauze (France), V. Ovsyanikov.

The current season’s concert program also includes the world premiere of N. Mazhara’s Concerto for Orchestra, commissioned by the Philharmonic. Alongside well‑known works by Russian and foreign classical composers of the XIX and XX centuries, the orchestra’s programs feature pieces by Berg, Devienne, Korngold, B. Tchaikovsky, Boulez’s “Notations for Orchestra”, Dutilleux’s “Timbres, Espaces, Mouvements”, and the rarely performed cantata “After Reading the Psalm” by Taneyev.

Guest conductors feature – D. Jurowski, F. Korobov, V. Ovsyanikov, C.D. Jaimes (Argentina), C. Nonciaux (France), F. Beznosikov, P. Maximov, N. Tsinman, I. Rudin, P. Bubelnikov, P. Baleff (Germany), A. Anikhanov, M. Alexeev, A. Kolyasnikov, A. Nyaga, A. Rybalko, A. Solovyev. 

Soloists feature – violinists P. Milyakov, G. Kazazian, A. Baranov, N. Boriso-Glebsky; pianists E. Virsaladze, F. Kopachevsky, D. Golan (Israel), V. Kuleshov, L. Berlinskaya, A. Ancelle (France), E. Klyuchereva, A. Gindin, I. Papoyan, E. Izotov, B. Berezovsky, E. Ukrainskaya, E. Mechetina, A. Kashpurin; cellists M. Zaytseva, B. Andrianov, N. Hakhnazaryan (Armenia); P. Khudonogov, flute; A. Lobikov, trombone; F. Osver, oboe: S. Kolesov, saxophone; N. Pavlova, soprano, and others.

The 2026/2027 season includes a tour to Vietnam (November–December) and a concert at the Zaryadye Hall in Moscow (March).