TEHRAN – Renowned Iranian composer and conductor Ali Rahbari will conduct the Mariinsky Orchestra at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 19.

The event marks the fifth season of Rahbari’s collaboration with the Mariinsky Orchestra, as he will lead his 28th program as conductor, Honaronline reported.

At the concert, two major works by the famous German composer Johannes Brahms, namely the Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 1, will be performed.

About four decades ago, Ali Rahbari also recorded Brahms’ complete orchestral works for Naxos and released them on the global music market.

The soloist for this program will be Anna Savkina, a prominent Russian violinist. Considered one of the notable figures of the new generation of Russian musicians, she has so far won numerous awards in international music competitions.

Anna Savkina, 32, graduated from the Gnessin Moscow Special School of Music in 2013 and from the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory in 2018. She has also studied at the Folkwang Universität der Künste and improved her skills under the guidance of Eduard Wulfson in Switzerland.

Anna tours with recitals throughout Russia and abroad. She regularly plays at the Mariinsky Theater. She has made appearances at the Konzerthaus and the Musikverein in Vienna and at the Grand halls of the Moscow Conservatory and the St. Petersburg Philharmonia among numerous other venues.

She has collaborated with leading Russian and international orchestras, among them the Mariinsky Orchestra, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia, the State Symphony Orchestra Novaya Rossiya, and the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra.

Ali Rahbari, 78, embarked on his musical journey at the age of five, learning to play the violin. He graduated from the Vienna Academy of Music and Performing Arts in 1971, specializing in composition under the tutelage of Gottfried von Einem, and completed his conducting studies in 1974, guided by Hans Swarovsky. He is a laureate of international conducting competitions, securing the gold medal in Besançon, France (1977), and the silver medal in Geneva (1978).

He has conducted over 120 orchestras worldwide, including Orchestra della Svizzera Romanda, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, French Chamber Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and Prague Symphony Orchestra.

He has served as the principal guest conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, receiving the Dvořák Medal in 1985 for his collaboration with the ensemble, and also led the Belgrade Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Belgian Radio and Television Orchestra (later becoming its principal conductor from 1988 to 1996).

Rahbari was the principal conductor of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virtuosi di Praga chamber orchestra. From 2000 to 2004, he was the chief conductor and musical director of the Malaga Symphony Orchestra, Spain.

In 1997, Rahbari formed the Persian International Philharmonic Orchestra in Bregenz, Austria, by bringing together 60 Iranian musicians from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S.

In July 2022, Rahbari made his debut at the Mariinsky Theater, conducting Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony and Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic suite Scheherazade. Since then, he has been a regular on the Mariinsky stage.

He has released over 250 compact discs, with his recordings of operas by Verdi and Puccini under his direction gaining particular popularity.

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