Peter the Great & Hermitage Music Academy
International Masterclass for Conductors
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
Faculty: Maestro Ennio Nicotra, Italy/Russia and Maestro Alexander Polyanichko, Russia
August 12 Friday, arrival of the participants
August 13 - 16 Conducting class with two pianos
August 17 and 18 Symphony Orchestra, Repertoire A
August 19 and 20 Symphony Orchestra, Repertoire B
August 21st: Sunday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. FINAL CONCERTS with Symphony Orchestra (all participants conduct), from Repertoire A and B
Each participant is invited to conduct 2 pieces from Repertoire A:
Haydn Symphony Nr. 104
Beethoven Overture “Egmont”
Beethoven Symphony Nr. 7 in A major
Mozart Symphony in C major “Jupiter” K 551
Each participant is invited to conduct 2 pieces from Repertoire B:
Tchaikovsky Symphony Nr. 5 Prepare any one or two movts.
Tchaikovsky Italian Capriccio
Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliette
Rimsky-Korsakov Sheherezade Prepare any two or three movts.
Wagner Tannhäuser Overture
Debussy L´après-midi d´une Faune
Round Table Session
Venue – The National Library of Russia
Dates: August 13, 14 & 15
Time: 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Organizer – Vasilij Zvarijchuk, conductor, Saint-Petersburg
Schedule:
August, 13 “CONDUCTING AS THE ATTITUDE TO LIFE”
August 14th
“COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FAMOUS CONDUCTORS' INTERPRETATIONS”
Comparison of audio recordings: The participants are advised to compare the same short ( 6 min.) musical piece performed by five different world famous conductors. Each participant estimates these interpretations, ranges them and selects the best in accordance to personal preference.
August 15th:
Ilya Musin’s valuable contributions to conductor’s culture
I.A. Musin was a famous Russian musician and teacher of conductors, who became known as “maker of conductors”. He taught 90 pupils and his teaching activities lasted for 65 years. He was born in Kostroma and was educated at Leningrad State Conservatory (1925-1931), his teachers being N.A.Malko and A.V.Gauk.
He developed a theory of conducting which has become the perfect, universal conducting language. It gives conductors the ability to deal with complex performance problems, coupled with outstanding artistic expressiveness. The Musin conducting school can be thought of as a holistic system of conducting practice which touches all who study it.Participants are invited to fill in and return the application form below.
We can arrange single hotel rooms at USD 35 per night in the city centre.
For Application and Information please contact:
5th Predportovy pr. 8-IV, apt.88
196240 St.-Petersburg, Russia
Tel: +7 812 371 67 85
Fax: + 7 812 371 67 85 or + 7 812 122 21 86
e-mail: ekarts@peterlink.ru
Schedule and Repertoire may be subject to change.
Please obtain details of hotels by e-mailing the above address.
Peter the Great Music Academy. Application Form. 2005
Please type or print the information requested on this form and return to the above address, or send the information in the format below electronically to ekarts@peterlink.ru
1)
NAME___________________________________________________
Nationality_______________________________________________
Date & Place of Birth_______________________________________
Passport - Country & Number_________________________________
Address:_________________________________________________
Phone:___________________________________________________
Fax:_____________________________________________________
E-mail___________________________________________________
2)
I am applying as
Participant _____________________
Repeat Participant_______________
3) Training
4) Present conducting positions
5) Awards, Scholarships
6) Program choice ( 2-3 pieces)
Date Signature
Participants should bring with them two blank VHS120 videocassettes, or purchase these on arrival. Cassettes are currently around 100 rubles and are widely available in local stores.
During the two week course, participants will have free entrance to the world famous Hermitage Museum, as well as the opportunity to visit famous venues in and around St. Petersburg, at their own expense. It may also be possible to arrange for seats at concerts in St. Petersburg at the participant's expense.
The Faculty
Ennio Nicotra
Ennio Nicotra was born in Palermo in 1963. In 1989, after completing his studies in pianoforte, he travelled to St. Petersburg to study conducting with Ilya Musin, who taught many well-known conductors at his school, including Yury Temirkanov, Valery Gergiev, Semyon Bychcov & Rudolf Barshai.
Under Musin's tutelage he acquired a solid technique and a vast operatic and symphonic repertoire, and in a short time he was invited to conduct some of the most important Russian Orchestras, including, in St. Petersburg, the Philharmonic and the Radio and Television Orchestra. He also conducted the Moldovian Philarmonic (Kiscinov) and Orchestras in Kislovodsk, Essentukj, Ulianovsk, Ekaterinburg, Riga, amongst others. He has collaborated with such esteemed performers as Bruno Canino, Misha Maisky, Paul Badura-Skoda and Carlo Bergonzi. Between 1994-96 he taught as an assistant to Musin during the Siena Masterclasses at the Accademia Chigiana, and following the death of his mentor, at the renowned summer Giornate Musicali in Assisi.
For more information about Ennio Nicotra and Musin's conducting technique, please visit http://www.musinsociety.com
Alexander Polianichko
Formerly a violinist in the Leningrad (St Petersburg) Philharmonic Orchestra under Evgeny Mravinsky, Alexander Polianichko studied conducting with the legendary Professor Ilya Musin at the St Petersburg Conservatoire. In 1988 he was awarded first prize in the Sixth All-Union Conductors' Competition and the following year was appointed House Conductor at the Mariinsky (Kirov) Theatre where he still conducts on a regular basis.
In March 1994 he made his London debut conducting the English National Opera's production of Eugene Onegin, and later the same year conducted Puccini's La Bohème with the Norwegian Opera in Oslo. He subsequently returned to English National Opera in 1997 and 1998 to conduct Carmen and further performances of Eugene Onegin. In 1999 he made his debut with the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden and was immediately re-invited in the 2000/1 season.
1998 saw Lady Macbeth of Mstensk for the Stuttgart Opera resulting in invitations to return in future seasons to conduct Queen of Spades, Lady Macbeth of Mstensk, Tosca, Boris Godunov, Turandot and La Traviata. In the 1999/2000 season he conducted performances of La Traviata for Deutsche Oper Berlin and in 2001 he returned to the Opéra National de Paris to conduct a triple bill of Stravinsky Mavra, Prokofiev The Prodigal Son and Weill Seven Deadly Sins. In 1998 he made a very successful debut at La Scala conducting performances of the Mariinsky Opera's production of Khovanschina.
In 2002 Alexander Polianichko conducted Queen of Spades for Royal Danish Opera, Turandot for San Francisco Opera and Queen of Spades for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden with Placido Domingo. In 2003 he conducted the same opera for Gothenberg Opera and returned to San Francisco Opera in 2004 for a new production of Cunning Little Vixen and a revival of La Boheme. In 2004 he returned to Welsh National Opera for performances of Hänsel und Gretel, the Royal Danish Opera for The Love of Three Oranges and a very successful début with Opera de Lyon in Romeo et Juliette where he has immediately been reinvited for the 2005/6 season. Other future engagements this season include Boris Godonov for Gothenberg Opera and his début for Opera Australia conducting Carmen at the Sydney Opera House. In 2006 he returns to Welsh National Opera for a new production of Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa and makes his début with Opéra de Monte-Carlo in performances of Boris Godonov.
Alexander Polianichko is a distinguished symphonic conductor. In the UK he has recently conducted the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Opera North, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Halle Orchestra.
Elsewhere he has worked with Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, Bergen Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven Academie of Antwerp, St Petersburg Philharmonic and the Orchestra of the Royal Danish Opera. He has toured Australia with both the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras.
Future engagements include concerts with the Britten-Pears Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Royal Danish Opera, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic and the Halle Orchestra.
He has held the positions of Principal Conductor of the Minsk Chamber Orchestra and Bournemouth Sinfonietta.The Hermitage Orchestra
Maestro Saulius Sondeskis founded this splendid orchestra in 1989, selecting its members from students of the Leningrad Conservatory. On February 14, 1994 it was recognized as the resident orchestra of the State Hermitage. The Hermitage Orchestra has given about 700 concerts and recorded over 20 CDs for leading recording companies, including three CDs for Sony Classical. Since 1992 Andreas Sporri has been the First Guest Conductor of the Hermitage Orchestra. In the season 1999-2000 the orchestra participated in eight prestigious international music festivals in Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Japan and Andorra as well as in the local festivals "Stars of the White Nights" and "Musical Olympus".
Saint-Petersburg Hermitage Orchestra has performed with such prominent conductors as Mstislav Rostropovich, Maxim Schostakovich, Kazimicz Kord, Mats Lillefors and Alexandre Titov.
In the season 2000-2001 St.Petersburg Hermitage Orchestra performed a series of concerts entitled "All Beethoven Symphonies in the Hermitage" and "Only Mozart!". On 26th and 28th June 2001 Hermitage Orchestra launched an international music project called "Tuba mirum" patronized by Michail Piotrovsky (Director of the State Hermitage Museum) and Krszyztof Penderecki. The orchestra performed "Seven Gates of Jerusalem" Oratorio by Krszyztof Penderecki under the author's baton together with three orchestras and three choirs from Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Russia and Israel. The performance took place in the magnificent Court Yard of the Winter Palace. The Hermitage Orchestra also participated in "The Royal Box" and the "Hermitage Music Academy" weekly TV programes on All Russia (RTR) TV channel.
All rehearsals, whether for piano or orchestra, are held on the stage of the historic Hermitage Theatre, seen here from the outside.
The teacher, a professional conductor, guides participants through the works, which are played by two extremely experienced pianists who have spent years providing reductions of orchestral works for conducting classes. They will follow your every move.
In this picture, Alexander Polianichko, conductor at the Mariinsky Theatre, discusses technique with participants of the 2002 masterclass.
Then Alexander demonstrates a variety of techniques:
Every other day, participants put into practice the preparation of the previous day with the orchestra.
Here, Charles rehearses the Hermitage Symphony Orchestra, whilst Alexander assists with improving his conducting technique.
At the end of the course, a concert is presented in the magnificent Hermitage Theatre, with all the participants conducting the orchestra.
Here, Charles conducts the Hermitage Symphony Orchestra in J. Strauss's "Overture to Die Fledermaus" in the final concert:
After the concert, conductors Alexander Polianichko and Alexander Politschuk celebrate with the participants:
