MOSCOW CONCERVATORY
SMALL HALL
"F. SCHUBERT, F. MENDELSSOHN"

Jan. 30, 2019

On January 30, 2019, The Capital Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Gorbik, will give a concert in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. The Fourth ("Tragic") Symphony by Franz Schubert and the First Symphony by Felix Mendelssohn will be performed. This music, full of sublime lyricism and drama, is rarely performed in Russia.
Both symphonies were composed by young geniuses: Schubert was 19 when he penned his Fourth Symphony; Mendelssohn composed his First Symphony at the age of 15. These scores can be described by Pushkin's words: "What depth! What courage and what harmony!" The Symphony is distinguished by classical, almost Mozart-like purity, while filled with the freshness of romantic feeling.
More than 30 years passed between the composition and the first performance of Schubert's "Tragic" Symphony. It was never performed during the lifetime of its composer, who lived only 31 years. The life of Felix Mendelssohn, whose talent was revealed so early and appeared so mature already in the First Symphony, was also very short. The music of these composers combines the charm of youth, maturity of feeling and amazingly early sense of wisdom.
The Capital Symphony Orchestra is a young and promising group. It was founded in March 2017 and its musicianship immediately attracted the attention of the press, both in Russia and abroad.
"In its work, the orchestra prefers time-tested music and a traditional performance approach which seeks to evoke the deep spiritual awareness known in the composers’ times. Such an approach is not a common method in our present time, and when employed now, it carries great power in calling forth the spiritual heritage of times past." (Timur Musayev, "Musical Klondike").
Vladimir Gorbik is the founder, artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Moscow-based Capital Symphony Orchestra and its branch in New York City. He is also a member of The International Union of Musical Figures. Gorbik graduated from the Department of Symphonic and Choral Conducting of the Moscow Conservatory in 2000 in the class of Professor Igor Dronov. Vladimir Gorbik works with various symphony orchestras as a guest conductor and conducts master classes in Russia, the United States, Australia and Central Asia.
"…A man of rare devotion to the musical arts, fully immersed in meticulous, inspired work on the quality of performance and achieving good results." (Inessa Gulzarova, "News of Uzbekistan")
The concert of this young but already brightly noted group, under the leadership of its skilled conductor, promises to become a significant part of the cultural life of Moscow. The forthcoming concert offers a unique opportunity to enjoy beautiful examples of romantic symphonism, so rarely heard in Russia.
Marina Badmaeva