On December 26, 2002, in Moscow, on Kosmodamianskaya Embankment, the House of Music, a grand new-generation concert complex, was opened, which was included in the Red Hills architectural ensemble .
Earlier in the Russian capital there were only two music centers: the Moscow Conservatory (Big Hall) and the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. The Conservatory had long been in need of major repairs, and it was clear that Moscow would soon be left without a main concert hall if urgent measures were not taken. Tchaikovsky Hall was also a cause for concern, since the room had been in operation without major repairs since 1941.
Start of construction
The Moscow government decided to build a new concert complex, and for this purpose the Red Hills society of shareholders was created, headed by the famous playwright Mikhail Filippovich Shatrov. Investors were attracted, financial resources received, and in September 2000, construction began. The house of music was built in record time, given the complexity of the architecture of a ten-story building with a three-story stylobate and two floors that go underground.
Complex opening
December 26, 2002, the opening of the International House of Music, the ceremony was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The architectural advantages of the new concert complex are undeniable, in 2003 the building received the highest award of the XI International Festival "Architecture 2003", the prize "Crystal Daedalus". The Moscow House of Music dominates the Kosmodamianskaya Embankment.
The complex of the Moscow International House of Music consists of three concert halls: Svetlanovsky, Chamber and Theater. All halls are built according to separate, independent projects and are not related to each other. In addition to concert halls, the House of Music has an exhibition gallery, a music summer terrace, a flower salon, a restaurant, and a recording studio.
Svetlanovsky Hall
The Svetlanov Hall of the House of Music is the largest concert venue of the complex. It is an organ hall of the philharmonic type, which received the name of the great Russian conductor of our time, Yevgeny Svetlanov, composer and pianist, laureate of the State and Lenin Prizes of the USSR, People's Artist of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor. Unfortunately, Svetlanov himself did not live to see the solemn date; he died on May 3, 2002, six months before the opening of the MMMD.
The layout of the Svetlanov Hall of the House of Music is an elliptical zone with the arrangement of the orchestra in the middle of the audience seats. In fact, the bulk of the audience is located in the stalls and amphitheater in front of the orchestra, as well as in the mezzanine rows.
Acoustics
The Svetlanov Hall of the House of Music is intended for concerts and competitions, music festivals, as well as anniversary concert events. Since the Svetlanov Hall was intended to become a concentration of musical art, it was supposed to have outstanding acoustic characteristics. The sound of an orchestra or even one instrument depends on the interaction of the sound wave with the surface of the walls, ceiling and floor. The project for the construction of such a complex facility, such as the Svetlanov Hall of the House of Music, provided for this factor. And therefore, already at the stage of wall erection, architects included specialists from the Melnikov Research Institute, who were entrusted with the creation of an acoustic zone covering the entire hall.
Siberian Larch
It was necessary to find a suitable material that reflects sound softly and without distortion. A unique solution was found using natural Siberian larch wood. The material is fine-fiber, heavy and durable. Larch products have been preserved for centuries; temperature and humidity are not affected by wood. The thickness and planar parameters of the cladding elements were determined experimentally, the material was prepared and dried. Then, when a characteristic ringing sound appeared when the hammer hit the workpiece, the larch entered mechanical processing. The entire Svetlanov Hall was lined with Siberian larch and, thus, received the desired acoustic sound.
Organ of six thousand pipes
Moscow House of Music (Svetlanov Hall) allows you to fully realize the advantages of a unique organ. It is part of an extensive concert venue. The organ was made by the German company Glatter-Gotz and the Klais musical instrument workshop. It is a traditional symphonic instrument of a romantic sense. The disposition of the organ and the conceptual component were developed by Philip Klais and Caspar von Glatter-Goetz with the direct participation of Russian expert Pavel Kravchun.
The tool has six thousand pipes made of special metal and wood, the longest of them - 12 meters, the shortest - only 10 millimeters. Metal pipes are cast from soft material - tin and lead. The tone and sound was achieved due to the proportions of the alloy. Wooden pipes are made from the condo wood of spruce and pear. Bass grind on special machines made of oak. The giant size of the organ required a special design in 3D format and with the task of three-dimensional design. Guided by the canons of organ acoustics, the Graham Tristram architect from Scotland brilliantly coped with the task. The engineering scheme of the Svetlanov Hall of the House of Music suggested placing the organ at the back wall, right behind the orchestra stage.
The body was disassembled into its components for transportation from Germany to Moscow, since its dimensions - 14 meters high, 10 meters wide and 3.5 meters deep - did not allow transporting the entire instrument. When the organ arrived in Moscow, a whole team of technicians assembled it for a month. And then the tuners worked on the tool for another six months.
Organ discovery
The organ in the Svetlanov Hall is composed of 84 registers, an even number of rows of pipes with the same timbre made it possible to place the blocks by the principle of symmetry and find the optimal position for each register. The organ sounded immediately after tuning, and no permutations were required. World-famous organists such as Winfried Boenig, Jean Guillau, Olivier Latry, Simon Preston and others visited the instrument panel. The musicians left only positive reviews.
In 2004, on December 21, the opening ceremony of the organ was held in the Svetlanov Hall. The organists sat at the instrument Vasily Dolinsky, a Russian musician, Clemens Schnorr from Germany and the Englishman Thomas Trotter.
Annually, starting in 2009, reporting concerts of the Bolshoi Children's Choir named after V. S. Popov are held in the Svetlanov Hall.
The President of the House of Music is the world-famous musician, permanent artistic director of the Moscow Virtuosi Orchestra, conductor and teacher, People's Artist of the USSR, Vladimir Teodorovich Spivakov.
Concerts in the Svetlanov Hall
The International House of Music (Svetlanov Hall) is a place where classical music concerts are constantly held, in which symphony orchestras, both Russian and foreign, instrumental soloists and folklore ensembles take part. International festivals and forums on the arts, evenings of famous musicians, holiday performances of musical groups and conferences are also organized.
The Svetlanov Hall of the House of Music, a photo of which is presented in this article, like the entire complex, is on state budget support. However, the administration has the right to arrange paid performances by invited orchestras and folklore groups. Tickets cost from one and a half to three thousand rubles, depending on the place in the stalls. The Svetlanov Hall of the House of Music, the poster of which with the program of concerts is updated daily, seats 1700 spectators, with additional chairs a little more. The commercial component is stable here. Almost always in the Svetlanov concert hall a full house.
Memorial busts
The entrance to the Svetlanov Hall of the House of Music is preceded by a foyer, the space of which was originally empty, but then in June 2005, Nina Svetlanova, widow of the conductor Evgeny Svetlanov, brought as a gift to the House of Music a bust of the late spouse by sculptor M. Anikushin. A bronze bust adorned the middle of the hall. This happened at the close of the 2005 concert season. And in 2007, a bust of composer Shostakovich was installed next to him.