In January 2021, The Svetlanov Legacy Charity supported the initiative of the Evgeny Svetlanov State Symphony Orchestra of Russia to commission a new work from a contemporary composer.
Thanks to this support, British composer Benjamin Ellin, laureate of the 1st Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in 2007, wrote his Symphony No. 1 on Michail Lermontov lyrics, dedicated to the memory of Maestro Svetlanov. The work was premiered in Moscow at the Grand Hall of the Conservatory in 2021, conducted by Dmitri Jurowski.