Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia

The Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia was founded as a radio orchestra in 1931. During the blockade of Leningrad the orchestra performed as almost the only one of that city's cultural facilities available to the public. The first performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony "Leningrad" was given as part of a series of radio symphony concerts under Karl Eliasberg on August 9, 1942.
In 1953, the orchestra became a member of the Leningrad Philharmonic Society and withdrew from its radio function. Yury Temirkanov was principal conductor with the Academic Symphony Orchestra from1969 to 1976, and it was during this time that the orchestra began performing abroad. The Academic Symphony Orchestra has been invited to perform in successful concert series in all the largest cities in Europe, the USA, South America, Japan and Korea.