Restoration of St. Petersburg Conservatory Completed

The large-scale restoration of the historic building of the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory has been completed. Work on this especially valuable cultural heritage site in the center of St. Petersburg has been ongoing since 2012. "The reconstruction of the conservatory began back in 2015," noted Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, "but due to several contractor changes, the building fell into a state of disrepair. If not for the direct order of Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene in this matter, we might have simply lost this beautiful historic building."

The St. Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory is the first higher music education institution in Russia. It was founded on September 8, 1862, by decree of the committee of directors of the Imperial Russian Musical Society. The current building for the institution was constructed in 1896 according to the design of the famous architect Vladimir Nicolas.

Let us recall the names of the most outstanding graduates of the conservatory. These include composers Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Georgy Sviridov, as well as conductors Yevgeny Mravinsky, Yuri Temirkanov, and Valery Gergiev. The conservatory takes pride in its graduates—pianists, instrumentalists, composers, and vocalists.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who inspected the restored facades and visited the renovated building of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, was given a tour by its rector, Alexei Vasilyev.

The head of state was shown the Alexander Glazunov Small Hall, which has retained its historic acoustic system. Here, restorers have recreated the paintings and gilding. During the Siege of Leningrad in 1942, a shell hit this hall, damaging the unique ceiling adorned with exquisite artwork. Now, everything has been restored to its original appearance. Interestingly, even the audience chairs were custom-made "to preserve the acoustics." Putin was also shown the restored House Church, which has regained the lost late-19th-century paintings by renowned artists Andrei Ryabushkin and Vasily Belyaev, as well as the grand staircase, reassembled using historical techniques.

The head of state examined the classrooms, inner courtyards, and the light-transparent domes with great interest. To conclude the tour, the president visited the Anton Rubinstein Grand Hall, seating 1,100 people, which is equipped with variable acoustics technology, allowing for performances of not only opera and symphonic music but also works of various genres. He also listened to performances by current students of the St. Petersburg Conservatory.