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© Olya Runyova Ⓘ
Altos

Elena Shestakova

In the choir since 2013

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THE WORLD OF MUSIC?
Music has surrounded me for as long as I can remember. My grandmother used to sing when doing the housework. My aunt — a professional pianist — set up music nights, and I constantly performed at various children’s events. However, I only felt the strong urge to take music seriously around the time I was at music college. That’s where I got introduced to all sorts of music — old, ethnic, modern. This sparked my love towards it.
WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU PREFER NOW?
My playlist has all sorts of music in it. I often take a more thoughtful re-listen to classical pieces by Tchaikovsky, Mahler and Beethoven. But sometimes I want to hear something completely different: say, Apocalyptica or even pop music.
WHAT DO YOU VALUE THE MOST IN WORKING WITH MUSICAETERNA?
First of all, it’s the opportunity to work with Teodor Currentzis. Maestro is one of the few people who are able to hear music differently — and to teach that. I have no idea how he manages to do that. “The composer has outlined all the nuances in the score,” he usually says. “Let’s just follow what’s written there.” But as a result, the piece sounds in a different way. For example, Maestro has re-introduced me to Mozart’s “Requiem”. It’s one of the most famous academic music pieces, and I had thought I knew every single note in it — but after a few rehearsals, I realized it was totally unfamiliar to me. By the way, Maestro’s magical ability extends to revealing people’s undiscovered talents as well.
WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?
Like any professional, I strive to get even better at my craft. I want to sing in a way that I find even more satisfying. When you feel that inner satisfaction, you know you’re on the right way.

musicAeterna choir events

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November 11, 20:00
St. Petersburg | Nevsky, 62
The musicAeterna Choir and Timofey Golberg
Choral concert

Samuel Barber (1910–1981)
Adagio for string orchestra in B-flat minor, Op. 11 (1936), arranged for choir by Sergei Anashkin

Giya Kancheli (1935–2019)
Lulling the Sun for mixed choir and percussion (2008)

Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998)
Three Sacred Hymns for a capella mixed choir (1984)

Hail Mary, Full of Grace
Lord Jesus Christ
Our Father

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)
Fragments from the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, op. 31 (1910)

Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Praise Ye the Name of the Lord in Heaven,
Our Father
Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

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December 9, 20:00
St. Petersburg | Great Hall of the Philharmonic
Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna. Tchemberdji, Wagner
Symphony concert

Katia Tchemberdji (b. 1960)
Nur zu weinen und zu singen…
Oratorio for orchestra, mixed choir and tenor solo set to the poems by Joseph Brodsky (2023). WORLD PREMIERE

I. Death alone gathers us
II. Clouds float over the grove
III. We want to be playing tag on the green
IV. But tell me, soul, what was the look of life
V. We won’t go up the hill anymore

Richard Wagner (1813–1883)
Der Ring Ohne Worte | The Ring Without Words
Symphonic suite based on the opera tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung by Lorin Maazel (1987)

I. Das Rheingold |The Rhinegold
II. Die Walküre | The Valkyrie
III. Siegfried
IV. Götterdämmerung | The Twilight of the Gods

The musicAeterna Orchestra
Conductor Teodor Currentzis