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The Moscow State Academic Choir is one of the oldest and most famous of Russian choruses. The choir was founded in 1956 by the venerated conductor Vladislav Sokolov, a winner of the Glinka State Prize of the Russian Federation, and a People's Artist of the USSR. Already in 1957, the chorus took first prize at the 6th World Youth and Students Festival in Russia, and has maintained a high profile ever since. The chorus has toured regularly not only in Russia, but also in Western Europe and Asia. A great number of choral works by Russian composers were given their debut by the Moscow State Academic Choir, including Prokofiev's Ivan the Terrible and Dmitry Kabalevsky's Requiem. Within its broad repertory is a large number of Russian spiritual and patriotic works, the great choral scenes from various Russian operas, and choral versions of Russian and other folk melodies. In 1988, the baton of the Moscow State Choir was passed to Andrey Kozhevnikov, who had been Sokolov's assistant since 1970. |
