Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow

The Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory is one of the largest and most significant concert venues in Russia and the world. Only the best singers, orchestras and ensembles are honored to perform on the stage of the Moscow Conservatory. One of the most famous concert halls in Europe, the Great Hall traditionally hosts the largest music contests and international festivals.
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Everything genius is simple, just like the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. On the one hand, there is the simplicity of classical design: calm tones and smooth lines; whereas on the other hand it provides impeccable acoustic properties. This concert hall is known all over the world, and its grand opening took place back in April 1901. The hall holds more than 1,700 people, and one of its distinctive features is the Cavaillé-Kohl Organ, justly recognized as one of the world’s best organs at the Paris World Exhibition in 1900.
On the stage of the Great Hall, there are regular performances of the Conservatory’s own orchestras, ensembles and performers, as well as other outstanding Russian and foreign music collectives and soloists. Various contests and festivals are held here every year.
The International Tchaikovsky Contest historically takes a special place among the events of the Great Hall. The recent years have yielded a big number of unforgettable concerts and meetings devoted to the grand jubilee of the Moscow Conservatory, which celebrated its 150^th anniversary in 2016.
The Great Hall was opened on April 7 (20), 1901, in a building designed by architect V.P. Zagorsky in 1895-1901. In 1901, a music organ created by master Aristide Kavaye-Kolle and donated to the conservatory by S.P. von Derviz was installed in the Great Hall. The opening concert was conducted by V.I. Safonov. Later on the leading Soviet, Russian and foreign soloists and classical music ensembles performed on the stage of the Great Hall of the Conservatory. The State Orchestra of the USSR gave their first concert here.
The Great Hall also hosts the largest music competitions and festivals, including the final auditions of the participants of the International Tchaikovsky Competition. In the 1920s and 1930s, the hall was also used as a cinema, and in 1940 it housed the 12th USSR Chess Championship. From the early 1950s till the late 1990s, Anna Chekhova was the permanent host of concerts in the Great Hall.
The grand hall is decorated with portraits of great composers, and its foyer has a fine stained-glass window with the image of Saint Cecilia, the patroness of sacred music. The work of art was lost during the war years and recreated again during the restoration of the Great Hall in 2010.
Where: The complex of buildings of the Moscow Conservatory, which includes the Great Hall, as well as three historical chamber stages – the Small Hall, Rachmaninov Hall and the Myaskovsky Hall – are located in the heart of Moscow at the address 13/6, Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street. The most convenient way to get to the Conservatory halls may be taking a stroll from the Arbatskaya, Lenin Library, or Okhotny Ryad metro stations.