Two Symphonic Poems by Baruch Berliner Recorded in Moscow, Featuring Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra
On May 13 and 14, two symphonic poems by Baruch Berliner — Jacob’s Dream and The Binding of Isaac — were recorded in Moscow. The sessions featured one of Russia’s oldest and most esteemed ensembles, the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra (MSASO), conducted by Mikhail Kirchhoff.
The MSASO was founded in 1943 as the Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Regional Philharmonic, rising by the mid-1970s to become one of the largest and most prominent orchestras in the USSR. Maintaining collaborations with both renowned and emerging composers, the ensemble has toured nearly every corner of the globe. The orchestra has premiered works by a distinguished array of composers, such as Aram Khachaturian, Dmitri Shostakovich, Tikhon Khrennikov, Rodion Shchedrin, Andrei Eshpai, Tatyana Chudova, Alfred Schnittke, Elena Firsova, Zara Levina, and David Krivitsky, among others. The MSASO has collaborated with eminent conductors and soloists, including Evgeny Svetlanov, David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Emil Gilels, Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Maxim Vengerov, and many more. Owing to its varied programs and unwaveringly high artistic standards, the MSASO has garnered the admiration and loyalty of audiences both domestically and internationally. The orchestra gives annual concerts in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, accessible to holders of single-artist and multi-artist package tickets. The ensemble regularly performs in the Grand Hall of the Shostakovich Academic Philharmonic in St. Petersburg and on stages across other Russian cities. It also tours internationally—over the past twenty-five years, the MSASO has performed in over fifty countries, including the USA, the United Kingdom, Japan, Spain, Austria, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, France, South Korea, Australia, China, and Switzerland.
Mr. Kirchhoff serves as the conductor of the Kaliningrad State Symphony Orchestra, principal conductor of the Moscow Youth Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director and chief conductor of the Eurasian Stars Festival. From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Kirchhoff held the position of conductor at the Istanbul State Opera. Between 2012 and 2017, he led the Samsun State Opera. From 2018 to 2020, he was principal guest conductor of the “Academy of Soloists” State Symphony Orchestra in Kazakhstan. He has performed with various orchestras in Russia, Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Latvia, Malta, Turkey, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and the UAE.
The recording was made by Ilya Dontsov, a cum laude graduate of the Gnessins Russian Academy of Music with a major in Musical Sound Engineering. He also received additional training at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada. Mr. Dontsov’s portfolio comprises recordings with the Musica Viva Orchestra (conducted and artistically directed by Alexander Rudin), the MSASO (conducted by Mikhail Kirchhoff), the Tyumen Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Yuri Medyanik), the Academy of Russian Music (conducted by Ivan Nikiforchin), and the Russia Ensemble (featuring soloists Sergey Volchkov and Irina Krutova, and the Sretensky Monastery Choir, among others). He also collaborates with the Boris Tchaikovsky Society. Recordings produced under the Society’s auspices have been released by both Russian and international labels, including Naxos and Toccata Classics. Mr. Dontsov is the recipient of a first prize in the Miscellaneous category and a third prize in the Chamber Vocal Music category at the First International Sound Engineering Competition (2019). His recordings received high acclaim at the 2019 international Pure Sound Awards, garnering first prizes in Chamber Instrumental Music (Solo) and Chamber Instrumental Music (Ensemble), along with a second prize in the latter category. In addition to studio recordings, Mr. Dontsov is extensively engaged in live concert sound engineering as technical director and sound engineer for several ensembles, while also working on musical television projects. Notably, he has worked as a front-of-house sound engineer for major national television programs. For these projects, as well as televised concert productions featuring prominent Russian artists such as Filipp Kirkorov, Valeriya, and the Phonograph Orchestra, he has also worked as mixing and post-production engineer. Since 2020, Mr. Dontsov has been teaching courses in theoretical and practical sound engineering to students at the Institute of Contemporary Art, and since 2022, he has been leading a mixing course at the Gnessins Russian Academy of Music. In 2019, he was awarded a medal by the expert council of the European League of the Commonwealths of the Russian Federation for his contribution to the advancement of musical art.
Produced by Nachum Slutzker.