St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra

The St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1967 by Nikolai Rabinovich, Edward Grikurov, and Karl Eliasberg, and until 1985 it was nicknamed the "Orchestra of Ancient and Modern Music," due to its concentration on early music and new works. Led for ten years by Edward Serov, the orchestra toured throughout the Soviet Union and internationally, and performed at many music festivals. In 1985, the ensemble was elevated to state orchestra status, under the leadership of Ravil Martynov. He toured with the orchestra in China, Japan, Germany, Austria, Spain, Finland, Norway, Sweden, France, Belgium, and Mexico. Vasily Petrenko was the chief conductor from 2004 to 2007, followed by Alexander Titov from 2007 to 2013. From 2008 to 2014, the principal guest conductor was Vladimir Lande, who took the orchestra on tour to the United States, Latin America, and South Korea. He was succeeded by Walter Proost in 2014. The orchestra has recorded for Marco Polo and Naxos.