Moscow State Symphony Orchestra

In 2018 the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra celebrated its 75th anniversary. In their evaluation of ancient dynasties, Chinese philosophers traced a direct link between the emotional and social conditions of the empire and contemporary music. This sort of correlation between music and the destiny of the people became very clear at the time the orchestra was born. It was established in 1943 when the country made a gigantic effort and forced the enemy to retreat. It was, perhaps, the glory of the forthcoming victory and faith in triumph that determined the destiny of this group of performers.

Lev Steinberg became the conductor of the new orchestra. From the very outset, he set the highest standards of performance – it is not for nothing that this outstanding conductor had been with the Bolshoi Orchestra for many years. Later, equally well-known masters joined the orchestra, such as Nikolai Anosov, Leo Ginzburg and Veronika Dudarova. In those years, the young orchestra began to include not only fundamental world classical music in its repertoire but also gave the first interpretation to many works by S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich, N. Miaskovsky and R. Glier.

Thanks to its stellar teachers, with the years MSSO became a world class ensemble. The orchestra’s creative potential was greatly enhanced by its performances with such outstanding soloists as David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Emil Gilels and Mstislav Rostropovich.

In May 1989 Pavel Kogan became the head of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra. The fact that this was in his own country was very important to Kogan. He took over the orchestra, and the orchestra took him in: the unanimous choice of the team was supported by the official appointment.
Pavel Kogan’s long friendship with many outstanding performers, both on a personal and artistic level, helped the orchestra to expand the list of soloists who have performed with the orchestra. Among them are Yu. Bashmet, V. Tretyakov, Y. Shtarker, V. Repin, M. Vengerov and many other excellent musicians. MSSO has been conducted by K. Kondrashin, G. Rozhdestvensky, E. Svetlanov, V. Gergiev and M. Yansons.

The tour itinerary of the orchestra does not cover the entire world map but gives one a good idea of the highlights of musical life on the planet. Ovations greeted their concerts from the British Isles to Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. Under Pavel Kogan’s leadership the orchestra represents Russia at major festivals in Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria (The Corinthian Summer Festival). The orchestra is a regular participant in Russian festivals, such as Moscow Stars and the Russian Winter Festival in Moscow, and the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg. The 2001-2002 season was marked by the orchestra’s triumphant tour of the United States which included 18 concerts in the most prestigious concert halls and became an important event in the cultural life of the U.S. And, certainly, the MSSO appearances in the best concert halls of Moscow – the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire and the Tchaikovsky Hall – are always a tremendous success. Among the orchestra musicians there are over 20 merited artists, national artists and laureates of international competitions.

In 1998 Pavel Kogan became the Principal Guest Conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra in Salt Lake City. This prestigious appointment and extensive tours with the U.S. orchestra did not in any way diminish his responsibility for his own team. The Maestro intends to celebrate the orchestra’s 60th birthday with large-scale tours and new additions to the orchestra’s repertoire.
The chief conductor Pavel Kogan had been involved in extensive educational work. His orchestra is the leader in sales of subscriptions and tickets to concerts of the Moscow Philharmonic Society.

When you hear the music performed by such virtuosos like those in MSSO conducted by such first-rate conductor as Pavel Kogan, you have no need to puzzle over innumerable components of their mastership – eternal tree of art arises in the heart of a listener in all its entirety.