Small Hall of the Conservatory: one of the best halls in Europe

Where do you usually spend your leisure: at home on the couch, in the company with the TV? Plunging into the abyss of the passions of the next series at the computer? Maybe go to the cinema or visit? Of course, there are also theaters, exhibitions, museums. But why do not you spend a free evening at a concert of classical music? Today, the Small Hall of the Conservatory can offer the same rich cultural program as other outstanding European halls.

A look into the past

Unfortunately, today a full house at a concert of classical music is a rarity, although earlier music education was considered an indispensable condition for the complete and harmonious development of the personality. The piano was in almost every family well-to-do, and music lessons were part of the daily curriculum for children. Musicians still remember with sadness the First competition. Tchaikovsky, when literally the whole country watched him on TV and radio. Now the events in the world of classical music are sparingly reported to us in the form of rare flashes of stretch marks above the road, and sometimes from the billboard in the metro we catch the stern glance of a famous musician, most often from a very narrow list.

But in fact the trip to the concert hall is an exciting and exciting action! Only there you can get emotions that you will not get anywhere else, by joining the sacrament of Music.

Small hall of the Moscow Conservatory: history

The Moscow Conservatory was founded by the Russian pianist Nikolai Rubinstein, Anton's brother, who, in turn, opened the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Initially, it was located in the mansion of Baroness Cherkasova on Vozdvizhenka. His historic place at Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 13, she received, when the Russian Musical Society bought the house of Prince Vorontsov in 1878. Soon it was decided to build a new building for the Conservatory on this site, and in 1898 the solemn opening of the Small Hall took place. The Great Hall was opened in 1901.

After the restoration of 2015

The purpose of the restoration, which lasted six months, was to restore the historic interiors of the small hall and its acoustics. The building was already almost in an emergency condition, so first of all the foundation was consolidated, then all load-bearing structures. A huge amount of soil was taken out of the hall by hand. When work began on the restoration of the ceiling and the workers took off the whitewash, their views were presented by the panel of the artist N. Egoriev. In Soviet times, it saw a religious motive, so they closed it.

After the end of the works, the Small Hall of the Conservatory began to look the same as in 1898, when it was just opened. The walls in the foyer, lined with wooden panels, again became light green.

I. Antonenko, the head of the restoration project, was most afraid of disturbing the acoustics of the hall and damaging the organ standing there. Since it is impossible to bear this instrument, small dust from the works could settle on its pipes. Fortunately, the fears were not confirmed. Organists say that it sounded even better than before.

The small hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory was always famous for its amazing acoustics, in every corner of it was heard the subtle pianissimo. As noted by many musicians who performed there after the restoration, this hall quality remained the same. To achieve even greater authenticity, the stalls were replaced with new Viennese chairs. They extinguish unnecessary vibrations and allow sound to fly freely into the hall.

Conservatory, small hall: concert poster

The small hall of the conservatory accommodates about 500 people. Small sizes dictate and the nature of the concerts that are held there. Mostly there are chamber ensembles, there are evenings of vocal music. Pianists love this room for its amazing acoustics and an amazing, intimate atmosphere and often choose it for their solo concerts. Very often the Small Hall of the Conservatory provides its stage for conducting class evenings for professors of the Moscow State Conservatory, where you can listen to performances of young talents.

The unique acoustics, the ability to conduct Internet broadcasts around the world online have long provided this venue with the best European concert venues. And rather democratic ticket prices make it one of the permanent places for the evening.