Yuri Temirkanov, conductor Nikolai Lugansky, piano

The Russian city of St. Petersburg boasts two world-class orchestras, and UMS has enjoyed a long relationship with each. The St. Petersburg Philharmonic has appeared in Ann Arbor six times, most under Yuri Temirkanov's leadership. With a history dating back more than 200 years, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic is embedded with musical history, performing the world première of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in 1824, as well as Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1, and many works by Shostakovich. Pianist Nikolai Lugansky, who won the 1994 Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, makes his UMS debut. A Russian newspaper said of his performance in the final round of competition: "It was like getting sunstroke, a musical shock. Nobody could imagine that the soul of this unpretentious, modest young man, with his ascetic, but also poetic appearance, held such a volcano inside with inspired and resolute control."

Program · Rachmaninoff : Piano Concerto No. 2 in c minor, Op. 18 (1900-01) · Rimsky-Korsakov : Scheherazade, Op. 35 (1888)