First Violins

Dmitry Chepiga

In the orchestra since 2017

Dmitry Chepiga was born in 1968 in Novosibirsk. He has been a member of musicAeterna since 2017.

Dmitry is a graduate of the Novosibirsk specialized music school (M.B. Liberman’s class) and the Moscow State Conservatory (classes of A.B. Korsakov and S.I. Kravchenko).

He has extensive experience in working at chamber orchestras: he spent 17 years as part of the “Moscow Virtuosos” orchestra and about 10 years at the USSR State Chamber Orchestra (currently known as the Russian State Chamber Orchestra).

DO YOU STILL FEEL ANXIOUS WHEN YOU GO UP ON STAGE?

I am more anxious about the task at hand: I always want to do the best I can. This is especially true when working with Teodor Currentzis. In fact, Maestro’s work — and I am not exaggerating — starts at the point where it ends for most musicians. Playing a piece in a way that is technically proficient and good-sounding is hard enough, and many conductors call it a day at this point. Maestro, however, only begins his work upon reaching this result. He has his own unique view of music, and he knows how to convey it to each performer. You are seemingly giving your 100% in terms of technique, emotion and effort — and then a single glance or gesture from Maestro gives you a second wind; you tap into your hidden resources, and it feels like extra illumination has been switched on in the hall, and everything has become even brighter. This is a truly cathartic experience.

WHAT PIECE DO YOU DREAM TO PLAY AS PART OF MUSICAETERNA?

To be frank, I am ready to play absolutely anything under Maestro’s guidance; even music that does not really appeal to me becomes a joy to play with him. In fact, I first met Teodor Currentzis when he came to “Moscow Virtuosi” in 2002 to conduct Symphony No.14 by Shostakovich. I do not really enjoy Shostakovich’s music but working together with Maestro was amazing: he managed to hear, feel and understand that piece way better than the author had actually done. I can say the same about performing Shostakovish’s Symphony No.7. I would love to perform, say, Brahms’s Symphony No.4 together with Maestro: if there is anyone who could create a large-scale soundscape that would thoroughly thrill musicians and listeners alike, it must be him.

ASIDE FROM MUSIC, WHAT ELSE BRINGS YOU JOY AND POSITIVE IMPRESSIONS?

My hobbies are quite conservative. I love reading, and I often go to museums. To me, it is always thrilling to enter a gallery and see the very picture I had seen on a school textbook cover, or to read Remarque’s “Arch of Triumph” and later visit the same locations. It is a touching experience, so I often take tours around iconic locations from literature. I barely have time for anything besides work, though: I really want to keep developing creatively so that I have the right and opportunity to keep working with Maestro.

musicAeterna orchestra events

October 11, 19:00

Moscow | Zaryadye Hall

Hændel. A Dedication Ceremony to George Frideric Handel

Georg Friedrich Handel (1685–1759)

Prelude

Augelletti, ruscelletti, the aria of Maria Kleopova from the oratorio La resurrezione, HWV 47 (1708)

Zadok the Priest, Coronation Anthem No. 1, HWV 258 (1727)

Disserratevi, o porte d’Averno, the aria of Angel from the oratorio La resurrezione, HWV 47 (1708)

Ah! Crudel nel pianto mio, the aria of Armida from the opera Rinaldo, HWV 78 (1711)

Overture to the opera Agrippina, HWV 6 (1709–1710)

As with Rosy Steps the Morn, the aria of Irina from the oratorio Theodora, HWV 68 (1750)

De torrente in via bibet, duet with chorus from the psalm Dixit Dominus, HWV 232 (1707)

Oh, Let the Merry Bells Ring Round, aria with chorus from the oratorio L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, HWV 55 (1740)

Pena tiranna, the aria of Dardano from the opera Amadigi di Gaula, HWV 11 (1715)

Eternal Source of Light Divine, fragment from the cantata Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, HWV 74 (1713)

Alla Hornpipe, No. 2 from the orchestral suite
The Water Music No. 2 in D Major, HWV 349 (1716–1717)

He Saw the Lovely Youth, chorus from the oratorio Theodora, HWV 68 (1750)

Piangerò la sorte mia, the aria of Cleopatra from the opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17 (1724)

Ah! Stigie larve — Vaghe pupille, the recitative and aria of Orlando from the opera Orlando, HWV 31 (1733)

O Love Divine, thou Source of Fame, chorus from the oratorio Theodora, HWV 68 (1750)

Sing Ye to the Lord, chorus with solo soprano from the oratorio Israel in Egypt, HWV 54 (1739)

Performers:

artists of the Anton Rubinstein Academy
Tatiana Bikmukhametova, soprano
Yulia Vakula, mezzo-soprano
Ksenia Dorodova, soprano
Diana Nosyreva, soprano
Iveta Simonyan, soprano
Sofia Tsygankova, soprano
Andrey Nemzer, countertenor, soloist and vocal coach of the Anton Rubinstein Academy
musicAeterna Choir and Orchestra
musicAeterna Dance troupe

Music Director and Conductor Teodor Currentzis
Stage Director Elizaveta Moroz
Choirmaster Vitaly Polonsky
Assistant Conductor Evgeny Vorobyov
Production Designer, Costume Designer Sergey Illarionov
Choreographer Valentina Lutsenko

Buy Ticket

October 15, 20:30

Thessaloniki | Thessaloniki Concert Hall