Rudolf Barshai: Symphonic Concert Programmes During the Soviet Period. Archival Findings. To the 100th Anniversary of His Birth

Abstract

A legendary musician of the second half of the twentieth century — Rudolf Borisovich Barshai (1924–2010) — violist, conductor, composer-orchestrator, and a brilliant representative of both Moscow and Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) schools. The Moscow Chamber Orchestra (MCO) under the direction of Barshai, its founder and permanent artistic director and conductor throughout 1955–1976, became a symbol of the musical legacy of the country. The MCO represented the highest possible standard of sound, mastery of performance, and interpretation of works of different styles and eras. Symphonic music occupied an equally important place in the maestro’s work, covering numerous leading orchestras, hundreds of concert programmes and recordings around the world. Archival findings recently discovered by the author of this paper allow us to assert that Rudolf Barshai’s interest in performing symphonic music began and actively developed in the mid-1960s, and not in the 1970s, as previously thought. The analysis and discussion of these subjects rely on previously unknown and little explored archival materials and publications.