Biography

The chamber orchestra “Cantus firmus” (in Latin “leading voice”) was founded in Moscow in 1990. Alexander Khurgin, a composer, a conductor and a violinist, has been the founder and the art director of the Orchestra from the moment of its foundation.

The Orchestra’s voluminous concerto repertoire ranges from the music of the baroque to contemporary music.

During the whole period the Orchestra has performed around 900 concerts in Moscow and in big cities of Russia and the CIS (Vitebsk, Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Novorossiysk, Kostroma, Syktyvkar, Lipetsk, Tambov, Toliatti, Tula, etc.) as well as abroad (Spain, France, Tunis, Cyprus, China, Greece).

Many recognized Russian and foreign musicians have collaborated with the Orchestra. Among them are pianists A.Bahchiev, T.Mahmudova, A.Maykapar, V.Nosina, M.Kollontai–Yermolayev, W.Blankenheim (Germany), J.Silberkvit (USA); violinists V.Pikaizen, T.Feigin, M.Yashvili, I.Petrosyan (Germany); cellists S.Sudzilovsky, M.Chaikovsky; flautists A.Korneev, A.Daubauncur (France), K.Armani (Spain); clarinettists V.Sokolov, E.Petrov; guitarist A.Garin; singers O.Yuakunina (mezzo-soprano), K.Poplinsky (baritone).

In Russia the Orchestra was the first to play the Tikhon Khrennikov’s “Simphoniette”, Igor Iventiev’s piano concert, Salim Krymsky’s cantatas “Chapters from Ekkleziast”, the music of Bulgarian composers Lubomir Pipkov and Marin Goleminov. The Orchestra took part in musical festivals, among which are “Sheremetevskie sezony v Ostankine (Sheremetiev seasons in Ostankino” (1998-2006), festival named after S. Mikhoels (2000, 2002, 2004, 2005), festival named after Sakharov (Sarov, 2001), International Music festival in memory of Stanislav Neuhaus (Moscow, 2007).

The records of the Orchestra are frequently played by Russian TV and radio stations. The Orchestra has featured very well known movies of recent years “Shyrli-Myrli” and “The Kitten”.

Alexander Khurgin,
Art director and chief conductor

Alexander Khurgin, born in Kharkov in 1957, he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in the following specialities: violin (the class of the professor O. Krysa) and compositions (the class of the professor A. Leman). A.Khurgin taught at Kharkov School of Fine Arts. He was on tour in Russia, Transcaucasia republics, Middle Asia, Belorussia, Ukraine, Baltics, Spain, France, Greece, Yugoslavia, Germany, Mexico, China. In 1990 A.Khurgin founded the chamber orchestra “Cantus firmus”, and has been a conductor and a solo violinist (concerts of Vivaldi, Bakh, Gaidn, Mendelson, Shosson).

A.Khurgin is the author of “Simphoniette” for stringed instruments, the Vocal cycle on the Tyutchev’s poems, Sonata for clarinet and piano, stringed quartet, etc.

A.Khurgin conducts the orchestra class at the Academic musical college of Moscow Conservatory and the musical faculty of the Moscow State Pedagogical University.