02/09/12

Story by Diane Carroll

Tschaikowski St. Petersburg State Orchestra

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The Tschaikowski St. Petersburg State Orchestra, which is on its inaugural tour of the United States, will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 4, in Yardley Hall at Johnson County Community College.

Tickets, which are $45 and $35, are available through the college box office at 913-469-4445 or at jccc.edu/TheSeries.

Roman Leontiev, widely regarded as one of the preeminent Russian conductors of his generation, has been leading the orchestra as its music director since 2002. He also is its chief conductor. Leontiev's career has been accented by distinguished engagements in Russia and Western Europe.

The concert at JCCC will feature includes Wagner's Prelude and Liebestod from the opera Tristan und Isolde, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and the Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 "Turkish." Violinist Alexander Anisimov will perform as a soloist for the Mozart piece.

Anisimov was born in Orenburg, Russia, in 1975 into a musical family. He began his musical studies at the age of 6 and graduated from the Russian State Music Academy. He has been performing regularly as a soloist since 2000 with various orchestras in Russia, including ones in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Many of Russia's most distinguished soloists and conductors have worked with the orchestra. They have included Monstserrat Caballe, Sviatoslav Richter and Elena Obrastsva.

###