For the first time, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra performed at Wharton Center’s Cobb Great Hall last night, drawing a crowd of more than 1,000.
The orchestra, made up of more than 100 string, percussion, wind and brass players, was accompanied by their current director, Yuri Temirkanov. He has directed the group for more than 25 years.
The music of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra has been shared for 100-plus years. The group was originally founded in 1882.
The orchestra performed for Alexander III as the court’s music choir. It was under the rule of Nicholas II that they expanded into a full orchestra.
Ryonn Clute, marketing manager at Wharton Center, said seeing them perform together is “electric.”
“The energy between the director and the orchestra is so fluid and tight,” Clute said. “The strings sound out of this world.”
The ensemble performed three pieces during their show with an intermission between the first and second piece.
Their first performance was the “Overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia” from Gioacchino Rossini. The performers’ muscles were relaxed as they began to play the soft beginning melodies. As the piece went on and the notes grew sharper, their faces became tight with concentration.
Next, the orchestra took on Sergei Prokofiev’s “Violin Concerto No. 2” with their soloist, Vilde Frang. The piece was written by a Russian composer, something Clute said was a specialty of the orchestra.
As Frang stood beside her conductor and began her performances, her eyes closed drifted closed. Her body moved in time with the notes that flowed from her violin, her fingers moving precisely along the strings with unbreakable focus.
“They could write a book on performing the two Russian pieces,” Clute said.
The final performance was Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Symphony No. 2,” another Russian piece.
Wharton Center has been working to bring the orchestra to East Lansing for a few years.
However, the orchestra doesn’t tour in America every year, and they wanted to ensure they would be touring with Temirkanov.
Supply chain management sophomore William Woo said he had two reasons for attending the show: the conductor and his own passion for conducting.
“First of all, I came because the conductor is famous,” he said. “Secondly, I grew up learning conducting. Sadly, I’m not in the College of Music, but I still want to connect with music. This was a really good way to do that.”
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