Karelian Philharmonic Orchestra is a cultural heritage of the Republic of Karelia and is the largest orchestra in the Russian North-west.
In the past the orchestra was conducted by Leopold Teplitsky, Konstantin Semenov, Karl Eliasberg, Iurii Aranovich, Vitalii Kataev, Aleksandr Dmitriev, Fedor Glushenko, Edvard Chizhvel Oleg Soldatov, Marius Stravinsky. Orchestra played with such eminent musicians as Sviatoslav Rikhter, Emil Gilels, Nikolai Petrov, Naum Shtarkman, Vladimir Krainev, Mstislav Rostropovich, Igor Oistrakh, Dmitrii Bashkirov, Mikhail Pletnev, Alexei Liubimov, Denis Matsuev, Nikolai Luganskii, Vadim Kholodenko, Vladimir Spivakov, Sergei Stadler, Tatiana Grindenko, Dora Shvartsberg, Aleksandr Rudin, Natalia Shakhovskaia, Iurii Bashmet, Boris Andrianov, Arkadii Shilkloper, Ilia Gringolts and many others.
The orchestra repertoire includes plays that belong to different world music styles and genres. Along with the well-known symphony masterpieces the orchestra often performs the music of the 20th-21st centuries. Not once the orchestra was trusted to play the Russian and world premieres of the contemporary compositions.
Annual season tickets and festivals show the active artistic life of the orchestra, the breadth and diversity of its interests. Symphonic concerts are attended by listeners of all ages. Great attention is paid to working with child audience. In order to attract a new audience Orchestra performs pop and rock music, popular classics, is involved in educational projects.
The orchestra performs in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, in the Republic of Karelia and other Russian regions. The touring map includes Germany, Poland, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. The orchestra has good relations with partners from Finland and other Scandinavian countries.
Anatolii Rybalko, an Honoured artist of Karelia is an art director and a principal conductor of the Karelia Philharmonic Orchestra (since 2013).
He graduated from the St.Petersburg State Conservatory as a choral conductor and opera and symphonic conductor. Anatolii studied from legendary teachers - professors Kudriavtseva and Martynov.
Since 2002 he has been working as a conductor in Saint-Petersburg state children’s musical theatre Zazerkalie. At the same time, he teaches at the Department of Opera and Symphony Conducting of the St. Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory and the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov College.
Anatolii Rybalko cooperates with the St.Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the St.Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, the State Hermitage Orchestra and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra.
Anatolii Rybalko toured around the cities in Russia, Europe, Japan. He was recorded at Sony Pictures Classics label.
Kirill Zharovin is a baritone opera singer, laureate of international competitions, Mariinsky Theatre artist. He is a graduate of the Mariinsky Academy of Young Opera Singers, trained at the Bolshoi Theatre in Belarus, has taken part in various master classes and academies, and since 2016 has studied with the famous coach and longstanding musical director of the Metropolitan Opera Craig Rutenberg.
Elena Miliaeva is an opera singer, soprano. Laureate of international competitions, an artist of the St. Petersburg Theatre Zazerkalye. Graduate of the country's oldest theatre school, the St. Petersburg Academy of Theatre Arts (class of Cherkasova). She has performed at the Bolshoi Theatre, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, the Shostakovich St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic, the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella, the Hermitage Theatre, the Alexandrinsky Theatre-Kazan Opera House named after Jalil and the Karelian Philharmonic. Since 2018 she has been actively collaborating with the St. Petersburg Concert Orchestra conducted by People's Artist of Russia Sergey Stadler. She is also a soloist of the Zazerkalye children's musical theatre under the direction of Aleksandr Petrov and Pavel Bubelnikov.
Karen Shakhgaldian (violin; Armenia) - one of the most noticeable musicians of modern Russia. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Pr. Viktor Tretyakov and finished graduate study as Maya Glesarova’s student. He participated in master classes of Yehudi Menuhin, Vladimir Spivakov, Grigori Zhislin. For several years he was an artist of the Moscow Virtuosi orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Spivakov.
He visited with concerts more than 200 cities in such countries as the USA, China, Germany, Austria, Japan, Australia, Great Britain, South Korea, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia and Russia.
Since 2006 he has been the violinist of the Khachaturian Trio as well as the artistic director of the International Arts Festival in Yerevan.