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The
MusicAeterna orchestra (with its associated choir) has been the primary vehicle for the expression of the orchestral ideas of unorthodox Greek-born Russian conductor
Teodor Currentzis.
Currentzis founded
MusicAeterna in 2004, while he was serving as principal conductor of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. The players were handpicked from around Russia, and persuaded to move to Siberia, where they underwent
Currentzis' grueling rehearsal and recording schedules: according to
James Rhodes of The London Guardian, "They live, eat and breathe there, and the majority of their waking moments are spent creating music."
During this period, the orchestra appeared on several
Currentzis recordings on the Alpha label, including one of his first departures from operatic repertory, his
2010 recording of the
Shostakovich Symphony No. 14, Op. 135. The following year,
Currentzis moved to the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre, and
MusicAeterna was reconstituted in that city, deep in Siberia, as
Currentzis began to forge distinctive, highly dramatic interpretations of music from the Baroque to the early 20th century.
MusicAeterna was signed to the Sony Classical label, releasing their first album there with
Currentzis,
a collection of arias by
Rameau, in 2013. Recordings of
Mozart operas on Sony Classical spread the orchestra's fame internationally (and in several cases garnered operatic direction awards for
Currentzis).
In 2017
Currentzis and
MusicAeterna released
a recording of
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 ("Pathétique"), on Sony Classical. By that time, the orchestra was in demand on the concert circuit apart from operatic productions.
Currentzis and
MusicAeterna have performed in Berlin, Paris, Lisbon, Athens, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Vienna, Amsterdam, London, and Baden-Baden, as well as in their home city of Perm. Their repertory ranges from Baroque choral music to Russian music and contemporary music, and they have toured with a concert version of
Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas. In 2016,
MusicAeterna became the first Russian orchestra to open the venerable Salzburg Festival.