Few Norwegians have become so widely known or made such a profound impression as Grieg. The innate melodiousness and vitality of Grieg's music have won him the acclaim of generations of music lovers all over the world, and the music seems as fresh today as it did when it was first composed. Its strong appeal lies not only in its markedly national character but also in the universality of the human emotions expressed in his music. Thus, Grieg's art is an embodiment of his own artistic creed: "One must first be a human being. All true art grows out of that which is distinctively human."

Edvard Grieg (1843–1907), one of the most prominent representatives of Norwegian music school, a wizard of piano miniature, chamber and vocal music, became known to the world as the composer to Henrich Ibsen’s drama “Peer Gynt”. Having received a letter from the talented playwright and theatre worker in 1874 Grieg was greatly interested in the forthcoming work. The suggestion was very appealing as Grieg, according to his confession, highly estimated and loved Ibsen’s poetic works. The beauty of Norwegian nature deeply influenced the composer while he was working on the music to the drama in 1874–1875. Grieg interpreted the subject of the drama in his own way magnifying its lyrical features and introducing landscape descriptions.

Every item of Grieg’s music exposes this or that image / character of the drama, renders the heroes’ psychological situation. Peer Gynt’s life and destiny, is the main subject of the story. Being a daydreamer and visionary, he advances from a village simpleton to a Croesus. However, we witness the changes in his character, his spiritual degradation. Ibsen condemns destructive power of human selfishness through Peer Gynt’s image that incites people to many wrong doings.

The music to “Peer Gynt” won universal recognition as two orchestra suites. The numbers of the first suite (1888) introduce the contrasting images of the drama: the lyrical spirit of “Morning” goes along with dramatic “Aase's Death” (she was Peer Gynt’s mother); scherzo “Anitra's Dance” (an Arab girl) opposes the bright and dynamic sketch “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. The second suite is also composed on contrast (1896): the poetic centerpiece is '”Solveig's Song” that creates the loving peasant girl’s image who is waiting for Peer Gynt during all her life in a small hut in the mountain forest.

Grieg’s mastery of arrangement of music for orchestra is reflected in the suites. The Holberg Suite (1884–1885), vividly shows Grieg’s skill of composing for a string orchestra. It was a stylization of an old suite of Bach and Handel’s epoch. The suite was intended to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Scandinavian Moliere, the Norwegian playwright and enlightener Ludvig Holberg. Not only the names of the parts characteristic of the music of the 18^th century are used in the suite – Prelude, Saraband, Gavotte, Aria and Rigodon; the corresponding means of musical expressiveness is also used – the form of the parts, harmonic peculiarities, ways of orchestration, melody ornamentation. Originally the piece was written for piano, and only a year later Grieg orchestrated it.

Four piano miniatures from the Fifth Book of “Lyric Pieces” that were created during the composer’s whole life make up the so called “Lyric Suite for Orchestra”. Here one can find the sketch of the Northern landscape (“Little Shepherd”), the weird images from folklore (“The Dwarves’ March”) and the instant sketch of the frame of mind (“Nocturne”).

Gennady Rozhdestvensky’s name (1931) is widely known all over the world. He was brought up in the family of the famous musicians – Nicolai Anosov, the conductor, and Natalya Rozdestvenskaya, the singer. Studying in the Central Musical School at the Moscow Academy of Music and then in the Academy itself in the class of the talented pianist Leo Oborin, the lessons of conducting with his father brought him to the conductor’s desk of the Bolshoi Theatre. Within many years the gifted artist’s life has been inseparably bound with the Bolshoi Theatre: from 1951 to 1960 he worked as a ballet conductor, from 1978 to 1983 he was an opera conductor. He was the leading conductor for 15 years – from 1965 to 1970. In September 2000 Rozhdestvensky was appointed to the position of the Art Director General that he occupied during the following season.

The Maestro’s repertoire included about 40 opera and ballet productions. He was the first to stage the opera “The Human Voice” by F.Poulenc in the USSR (1965) and “Midsummer Night's Dream” by B.Britten (1965). For the 225^th anniversary of the Bolshoi Theatre Rozhdestvensky prepared the world premiere of the opera “Gambler” by S.Prokofiev in its second author’s version.

Besides his work in the Bolshoi Theatre Rozhdestvensky was the musical leading director of Moscow Chamber Music Theatre where he restored Dmitry Shostakovich’s opera “The Nose” and Stravinsky’s “The Rake Progress” to a new life.

Since the 1950ies Rozhdestvensky’s name has become well known not only to opera music lovers but to symphony music ones as well. Maestro Rozhdestvensky conducted practically all outstanding Russian and foreign symphonic orchestras during his creative life. In 1961–1974 he was the leading conductor and the art director of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra of the State Russian Broadcasting Company. By the middle of the 70ies Rozhdestvensky became one of the most authoritative and competent conductors of Europe. He was the leading conductor of Stockholm Symphony Orchestra in 1974–1977. Later, in 1978–1981 he headed BBC Symphony Orchestra and in 1980–1982 – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 1982 the conductor became the head of the State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR Ministry of Culture that was established not long before. During his leadership the orchestra performed such unique programmes as “Bruckner and His Time” and had all symphonies by Bruckner, Mahler, Glazunov and Shostakovich recorded.

As one of the most prominent interpreters of the 20^th century music Rozhdestvensky got his countrymen acquainted with unknown works of A.Bruckner, A.Schoenberg, P.Hindemith, B.Bartok, O.Messiaen, D.Milhaud, A.Honegger and I.Stravinsky. He conducted the orchestra at premiere performance of works of R.Schedrin, S.Slonimsky, A.Eshpai, B.Tishcenko, A.Shnitke, S.Gubaidullina, E.Denisov, J.Tavener.

Dmitry Kitaenko was born in 1940 in Leningrad, Saint Petersburg now. He belongs to the galaxy of the greatest conductors of our days. Kitaenko studied in Glinka Musical School and in Petersburg Academy of Music. Having graduated from the Academy, he continued his postgraduate studies in Moscow Academy of Music in Leo Ginsburg’s class. Then he was taught by Professors Ch. Swarovaki and C.Ostereiher.

In 1969 Dmitry Kitaenko was awarded with the second prize at Karajan International Conducting Contest in Berlin. His cooperation with the outstanding German opera stage director and professor B. Felsenstein became another significant event in his life. Their team work resulted in the historical performance of “Carmen Suite” by Bizet in Moscow and Berlin.

At the age of 29 Kitaenko was appointed the leading conductor of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre where he staged many opera productions. He toured Russia and abroad a lot. He worked at the desks of the best symphony orchestras of the world including Vienna, Berlin and Prague Philharmonic orchestras, and Philadelphia Orchestra.

Since 1976 till 1990 Kitaenko worked as a leading conductor of Moscow Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Under his leadership the orchestra toured much in Europe, the USA and Japan participating in many prestigious musical festivals. At the same time he managed to carry out the staging of “The Dame of Spades” by P.Tchaikovsky (1982) and M.Musorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” in Vienna Opera House.

Starting with 1990 Maestro worked abroad as a leading conductor of such orchestras as Frankfurt Radio Orchestra (1990–1996), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway (1990–1998) and Bern Symphony Orchestra in Switzerland. Besides, he tours with other famous symphony orchestras.

The most outstanding records that were made under his leadership are the collections of selected works by A.Scriabin, S.Rakhmaninov, I.Stravinsky, S.Prokofiev, E.Grieg and N.Rimsky-Korsakov. Kitaenko devotes much of his time and effort to education and support of young and talented musicians.

In 1999 Dmitry Kitaenko became the leading conductor of KBS Orchestra that plays an important role in Korean musical life. Maestro’s cooperation with this orchestra attracts a lot of appreciative audience to the concerts. In 2002 KBS Orchestra under Kitaenko’s conductorship successfully toured in Japan and China.