Firma Melodiya and the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with support of the All-Russian Non-governmental
Organization The Union of Russia’s Composers present the first release from the large-scale project Anthology of Contemporary Choral Music by Russian Composers performed by the Chamber Choir of the Moscow State Conservatory.

This unique choir was established in the mid-1990s as a choral laboratory of modern music. The MSC Chamber Choir led by the outstanding choirmaster Boris Tevlin was distinguished by the diversity of its programmes that comprised holy canticles to spirituals, bright theatrics of its performing style and supreme professional mastery. However, modern music has always been the choir’s particular focus of attention. The choir has numerous domestic and international premieres to its name. In addition, the MSC Chamber Choir is a regular participant of musical festivals and fora dedicated to composers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

In 2012, after maestro Tevlin’s passing, Alexander Soloviev, one of his students and followers, and now a professor of the Moscow Conservatory, took on leadership of the MSC Chamber Choir. The choir keeps expanding its repertoire, but its major direction remains the same – music of modern composers written in different styles and manners.

Anthology of Contemporary Choral Music by Russian Composers is a peculiar result of Alexander Soloviev’s five years with the choir. It is compiled from recordings of the choir’s live broadcasts from the Grand, Small and Rachmaninoff halls of the Moscow Conservatory.

The first disc comprises holy and secular pieces by Moscow composers of different generations – Rodion Shchedrin, Roman Ledenyov, Vladislav Agafonnikov, Valery Kikta, Yefrem Podgaits, Alexander Tchaikovsky, Kuzma Bodrov and others, as well as a work by Tajik composer Tolibkhon Shakhidi. The recordings feature pianist Ekaterina Mechetina, organist Evgenia Krivitskaya and other renowned Moscow musicians.