Where do you usually spend your leisure time: at home on the couch, in the company of TV? Plunging into the abyss of the passions of the next series at the computer? Maybe go to the movies or visit? Of course, there are theaters, exhibitions, museums. But why don't you spend your free evening at a classical music concert? Today, the Small Hall of the Conservatory can offer the same rich cultural program as other outstanding European halls.
A look into the past
Unfortunately, today a full house at a concert of classical music is a rarity, although earlier musical education was considered a prerequisite for the complete and harmonious development of a person. Piano stood in almost every more or less well-to-do family, and music lessons were part of the daily education program for children. Musicians still longingly remember the first competition to them. Tchaikovsky, when literally the whole country watched him on TV and radio. Now events in the world of classical music fragmentary reach us in the form of rare flashes of stretch marks over the road, and sometimes from the billboard in the subway we catch the stern look of a famous musician, most often from a very narrow list.
But in fact, going to the concert hall is an exciting and exciting action! Only there you can get emotions that you won’t get anywhere else by joining the mystery of Music.
Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory: History
The Moscow Conservatory was founded by Russian pianist Nikolai Rubintshtein, Anton’s brother, who, in turn, opened the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Initially, she was placed in the mansion of Baroness Cherkasova on Vozdvizhenka. She received her historical place at 13 Bolshaya Nikitskaya when the Russian Musical Society bought the house of Prince Vorontsov in 1878. Soon it was decided to build a new building for the conservatory on this site, and already in 1898 the grand opening of the Small Hall took place. The Great Hall was opened in 1901.
After the restoration of 2015
The purpose of the restoration, which lasted six months, was to restore the historic interiors of the small hall and its acoustics. The building was already almost in disrepair, so the foundation was first strengthened, then all the supporting structures. A huge amount of soil was taken out of the room manually. When work began on the restoration of the ceiling and the workers took off the whitewash, a panel of artist N. Egoriev appeared to their eyes. In Soviet times, they saw a religious motive in him, so they closed it.
After the work was completed, the Small Hall of the Conservatory began to look the same as in 1898, when it was just opened. The walls in the foyer, lined with wood paneling, again turned light green.
I. Antonenko, the leader of the restoration project, was most afraid of disturbing the acoustics of the hall and damaging the organ standing there. Since it is impossible to take out this tool, fine dust from work could settle on its pipes. Fortunately, the fears were not confirmed. Organists claim that he began to sound even better than before.
The small hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory has always been famous for its stunning acoustics, the finest pianissimo was heard in any of its corners. As many musicians who performed there after the restoration noted, this quality of the hall remained the same. To achieve even greater authenticity, new Viennese chairs were put on the ground . They damp out unnecessary vibrations and allow the sound to fly freely into the hall.
Conservatory, small hall: concert poster
The small hall of the conservatory seats about 500 people. The small size also dictates the nature of the concerts that take place there. Mostly chamber ensembles perform here, there are evenings of vocal music. Pianists love this room for their amazing acoustics and amazing, intimate atmosphere and often choose it for their solo concerts. Very often, the Small Hall of the Conservatory provides its stage for classrooms of MGK professors, where you can listen to the performances of young talents.
The unique acoustics, the ability to conduct Internet broadcasts around the world on-line for a long time have provided this hall with a place among the best European concert venues. A fairly affordable ticket price allows you to make it one of the regular places to spend the evening.