Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra

The roots of the orchestra date back to 1802, with the founding of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Society that year.

The orchestra was initially known as the Imperial Music Choir, and performed for the Court of Alexander III of Russia.

By the 1900s, the Orchestra started to give public performances at the Philharmonia and elsewhere in Russia.

Its guest conductors included Bruno Walter, Ernest Ansermet, and Hans Knappertsbusch.

Yuri Temirkanov has served as artistic director of the orchestra since 1988, and was its chief conductor from 1988, after the death of Mravinsky, until January 2022.