USSR State Symphony Orchestra
Evgeny Svetlanov, conductor
During a May Day celebration in the 1940s, as music echoed through Moscow’s loudspeakers, Evgeny Svetlanov suddenly heard an unfamiliar work that left him spellbound. Only later did he learn that the piece was Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, performed by the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra under Nikolai Golovanov. The discovery marked the beginning of a lifelong devotion to Rachmaninov’s music — a revelation that would shape Svetlanov’s artistic path forever.