The Russian Chamber Philharmonic St Petersburg
The Russian Chamber Philharmonic St Petersburg

The Lichfield Festival is once again set to have a Russian flavour.

The Russian Chamber Philarmonic St Petersburg will follow in the footsteps of conductor Valery Gergiev, pianist Evgeny Kissin, and violinists Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin, who all received their UK debuts at the Lichfield Festival.

Under the direction of their conductor Juri Gilbo and with violinist Michel Gershwin as soloist, the The Russian Chamber Philharmonic St Petersburg will play in Lichfield Cathedral on July 14. Their programme includes works by Grieg, Bach and that most Russian of composers, Tchaikovsky. Gershwin will be playing Bach’s Violin Concerto in E.

The chamber orchestra was founded in 1990 by graduates of the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatorium in St Petersburg. It impressively reflects the extent of the musical talent as well as the high standard of music education of its homeland.

The extraordinarily broad range of repertoire – from Baroque to Modern – has made the orchestra one of the most sought after chamber orchestras of Europe. The orchestra’s much admired virtuosity and particular sound quality has led to regular performances with international stars such as Mstislav Rostropowitsch, Igor Oistrach, and Mikis Theodorakis.

Frequent concerts tours throughout Europe by the Russian Chamber Philharmonic St Petersburg have taken place to great acclaim from both critics and audiences alike. Their new CD on Sony Classical features works by Carl Maria von Weber and was selected as Editor’s Choice, in Gramophone Magazine.

To book tickets for their July 14 performance visit www.lichfieldfestival.org.

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.