100 Years of Music for the Screen

On November 7, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory will host a gala concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Russian State Symphony Orchestra of Cinematography.

The renowned orchestra, led by its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, People’s Artist of Russia Sergey Skripka, will perform beloved melodies from some of the greatest Russian films.

The programme will feature music by Eduard Artemyev, Gennady Gladkov, Alexander Zatsepin, Isaac Schwartz, Alexandra Pakhmutova, Isaac and Maxim Dunayevsky, Mikael Tariverdiev, Alexey Rybnikov, and other celebrated composers.

Audiences will hear music from such iconic films as The Diamond Arm, Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears, We'll Live Till Monday, Gentlemen of Fortune, My Sweet and Tender Beast, At Home Among Strangers, a Stranger Among Our Own, An Ordinary Miracle, White Sun of the Desert, Seventeen Moments of Spring, and many others.

These compositions will be performed by the exceptional State Orchestra of Cinematography, which celebrated its centenary in October 2024.

The evening’s soloists will be renowned jazz singer Anna Buturlina and Vladislav Kosarev, Honored Artist of the Republic of Karelia and a distinguished baritone.

The concert is presented with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

100 Years of the Orchestra of Cinematography

The history of the Russian State Symphony Orchestra of Cinematography dates back to the era of the Great Silent Cinema. In September 1924, at the Ars Cinema on Tverskaya Street in Moscow, an orchestra took its place in front of the screen instead of the traditional pianist accompanying silent films.

The musical accompaniment proved a great success with audiences, and soon the ensemble, led by composer and conductor David Blok, began performing at other cinemas as well. From that moment on, the orchestra’s destiny became permanently intertwined with cinema.

In 1938, the orchestra, which until then had not had a permanent membership, became affiliated with the Soyuzdetfilm studio. In 1943, the Soyuzdetfilm orchestra and choir were established as an independent entity, and the ensemble was granted state status.

The orchestra played an important role in the creation of some of the finest films of the pre-war and wartime periods by outstanding directors including Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin, Grigori Aleksandrov, Grigori Kozintsev, and Ivan Pyryev.

The orchestra has collaborated with many of Russia’s greatest composers, including Isaac Dunayevsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Georgy Sviridov, Edison Denisov, Alfred Schnittke, Sofia Gubaidulina, Andrei Petrov, Rodion Shchedrin, Andrei Eshpai, Giya Kancheli, Eduard Artemyev, Gennady Gladkov, Vladimir Dashkevich, Evgeny Doga, and many others.