"A philharmonic society is not a mere porter. To open doors for a soloist or an orchestra and switch on the light in the concert hall is not all it can do," Alexei Shalashov, Moscow Philharmonic Society Director, says. "We are to order the repertoire of the performers we host, and we are working for that goal."
Valery Polyansky's capella will offer a stage version of Igor Stravinsky's opera, "Oedipus Rex"-one of the festival's crucial events which the Society has ordered.
Nazar Kozhukhar's The Pocket Symphony, Tatiana Grindenko's Opus Posth., and Mark Pekarsky's percussion will appear on the program, The Russian Avant-garde and the New Academic Environment. The three known ensembles will appear with renditions of avant-garde music from the 1910s and 20s, Dmitry Shostakovich, Alfred Schnitke, and our young contemporaries' endeavors. Mr. Shalashov classifies them as belonging to "club culture." "To philharmonic societies, it offers an essential performing repertory that will come to audiences as a bridge from the club to the concert hall," he says.
The final festival concert, of January 11, will offer instrumental concertos by three 20th century Russian classics-Tikhon Khrennikov, Andrei Eshpai and Rodion Shchedrin.
