III International Scientific and Technical Conference «Light in Museum»

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The St. Petersburg Saxophone Orchestra is a new musical association of the Northern Capital of Russia, founded in 2019. In its entire history, Saint Petersburg / Leningrad / Saint Petersburg is the first wind orchestra to have only one saxophone: soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone.

The creation of the orchestra was initiated by Igor Kuznetsov, a graduate of the St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture (2017), winner of international competitions, guest soloist of the Honored Collective of Russia of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Mikhailovsky Theater, the Mariinsky Wind Orchestra, the State Academic Chapel, GASO, etc.

The St. Petersburg Saxophone Orchestra is a member of the Russian Music Union and an information partner of the Russian Creative Union of Cultural Workers. Creative and concert activities of the St. Petersburg Saxophone Orchestra include popularization of academic compositions by Russian and Soviet professionals. The ensemble's repertoire includes arrangements of chamber and symphonic compositions by P. I. Tchaikovsky, S. V. Rachmaninoff, G. V. Sviridov, D. D. Shostakovich, J. Gershwin, A. I. Khachaturian and other composers. The author of many arrangements is Igor Kuznetsov, the principal conductor and founder of the orchestra.

The orchestra is made up of graduates of the St Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire. The orchestra consists of graduates of the Rimsky-Korsakov St Petersburg State Conservatoire and the St Petersburg State Institute of Culture, as well as staff from higher music schools and children's art schools in St Petersburg.

In the commemorative book published to the anniversary of the Department of Wind and Percussion Instruments of the St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture, the founder and principal conductor of the saxophone orchestra, Igor Kuznetsov, is noted:

"...The orchestra created by Igor Alexandrovich is unique in its composition, the like of which has never been seen in the Northern Capital. The orchestra's artists are graduates of the Conservatoire and the Institute of Culture....".

The debut of the St Petersburg Saxophone Orchestra took place in 2019 at the International Conservatoire Week. In November 2019, the orchestra participated in the award ceremony of the All-Russian competition "Modern Heritage of Russia" in the framework of the VIII St. Petersburg Cultural International Forum. In 2023, the orchestra took part in the international festival Soul of the World, as well as in the socio-cultural project Theatre Museum to the Silver Generation.

The orchestra performs with great success in the Concert Hall of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the White Hall of the Sheremetev Palace, and the Small Hall of the Philharmonic Society. The orchestra's next performance will take place on 22 April 2024 as part of the III International Scientific and Practical Conference "Light in Museum" in the Atrium of the Main Staff of the State Hermitage Museum. The orchestra has been honored by the Government of St Petersburg, as well as Honored Artists of Russia.

In 2001, in St. Petersburg, on the historical site of the birthplace of Russian porcelain, a new site of the State Hermitage appeared - the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory. Together with the existing ancient enterprise, a unique complex of one of the oldest artistic attractions of the Northern capital has developed here.

The Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, founded at the court enterprise of the Russian monarchs, existed for many decades as a specialized production collection. In this capacity, together with the plant, the collections had to endure all the hardships and upheavals of the 20th century: wars and evacuations, changes in status and forms of ownership, transfers to different departments, changes of place. Despite historical trials, the museum collection was preserved, and in 2001 it became part of the departments of the State Hermitage, still located on the factory territory.

The Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory preserves not only the art of the first porcelain factory in Russia from its foundation in 1744 to the present, but also the history of the country, captured in the artistic images of many porcelain monuments.

In addition to products of imperial and Soviet production, the Imperial Porcelain Museum has valuable collections of foreign manufactories, as well as private factories in Russia. These are objects made of ceramics and glass, design graphics, photographs, library materials and documents of the 18th-21st centuries related to the history of the enterprise.

The exhibition of the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory presents porcelain items of unique artistic quality. By order of the Supreme Court of the Romanovs, “for the glory of Russia” items of ceremonial services were created, for decorating interiors, gifts presented during celebrations and most important ceremonies, exhibits of international exhibitions.

The Main Headquarters, erected in 1819 - 1829 by K.I. Rossi is a monument to Russia's victories in the wars with Napoleon.

The western wing of the architectural complex, facing Nevsky Prospekt with its side façade, was allocated to house the General Headquarters of the Russian Imperial Army. Currently, the building houses the headquarters of the Western Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. The eastern wing, overlooking Palace Square, Pevchesky Proezd and the embankment of the Moika River, was built for two of the most important departments of the empire - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.

The scale of the architectural project and the enormity of the buildings in the ensemble do not, however, evoke a feeling of overwhelming massiveness. The building is commensurate with the Winter Palace, the Admiralty and other monuments of the city center, and is in strict harmony with them. The complex, built by Rossi, held the world leadership in the length of facades for a century.

In the building of two ministries, until the revolution of 1917, the most important work for the state took place, history was made. Famous diplomats K.V. served and lived here in government apartments. Nesselrode, A.M. Gorchakov and S.D. Sazonov, Finance Ministers E.F. Kankrin, S.Yu. Witte and V.N. Kokovtsov. Among the ministry officials were the great poets F.I. Tyutchev and P.A. Vyazemsky, inventor P.L. Schilling, industrialist I.S. Maltsov, future director of the Imperial Hermitage I.A. Vsevolozhsky, future Soviet People's Commissar G.V. Chicherin and many other remarkable figures.

After 1917, the main police department of Leningrad was located in the former building of the ministries; a number of premises on the Moika embankment were occupied by design bureaus. In 1988, by decision of the city executive committee, the eastern wing of the General Staff ensemble was transferred to the State Hermitage. In 1999, the first exhibitions opened in the building: “French Art of the 20th Century. Pierre Bonnard and Maurice Denis" and "Under the Sign of the Eagle. Empire Art". To transform the huge building into a full-fledged museum complex, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out in 2006-2014, the completion of which coincided with the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Hermitage. From that moment on, the “General Staff” department became a museum and exhibition center, specializing, within the framework of the “Great Hermitage” concept, in exhibiting art of the last two centuries.

The permanent exhibitions located here are very diverse, covering all genres and many directions. On the 2nd floor of the building, applied art of the Art Nouveau era, an exhibition dedicated to the history of the Ministry of Finance, and tapestries of the 19th century are presented. The 3rd floor begins with the memorial halls of Carl Faberge, continues with a gallery of French paintings of the 1st half of the 19th century, the exhibition “Museum of the Russian Guard”, an exhibition of Empire art, located in the historical rooms of the official apartment of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the exhibition “St. Petersburg Century of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”, a collection of paintings from Germany, Italy, Holland and Belgium, including the most representative collection of paintings by the leader of German romanticism, Caspar Friedrich, outside Germany, as well as halls of contemporary art.

The 4th floor of the “General Staff” department opens with the “Artist’s Book Office” and rooms with paintings by French realists of the mid-19th century. Further, occupying almost the entire floor, there is a suite of exhibition spaces representing the huge Hermitage collection of art of impressionism, post-impressionism, the “Paris School of the 20th century” and a number of other schools and movements. Here visitors get acquainted with the works of C. Monet, O. Renoir, P. Cezanne, O. Rodin, P. Gauguin, V. Van Gogh, P. Bonnard, A. Maillol, P. Picasso, A. Matisse, V. Kandinsky and many other artists. This part of the building was named “Gallery in Memory of S.I. Shchukin and brothers I.A and M.A. Morozovs,” in honor of the remarkable patrons and collectors of the early 20th century, whose magnificent collections became part of the Hermitage and the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin in Moscow.

The Main Headquarters is a relatively new part of the State Hermitage, but over the years of its existence it has become its important, organic component, with its own personality and theme.

The Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre is the largest in Russia and one of the largest specialized structures in the world for the storage and restoration of museum objects, the uniqueness of which is made by its accessibility to visitors.

Construction of the complex began in 1990. In May 2003, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the grand opening of the first stage took place, in mid-December - the second, and currently construction of the third stage of the RCC buildings is underway.

Currently the Repository includes the Main Entrance Hall, Administrative, Fund, Restoration and Storage, Lecture and Exhibition, Laboratory and Technical, Laboratory, Technical buildings and a boiler room.

Specially designed museum equipment, the latest security, fire extinguishing and climate control systems with which the complex is equipped create optimal conditions for the storage and restoration of the collections housed in it. To ensure biological safety, a laboratory building was built, equipped with modern biological control devices.

On the territory of the complex there are laboratories for the scientific restoration of paintings, graphics, metal, ceramics, stained glass, sculpture and colored stone, furniture and carriages, fabrics, watches and musical mechanisms, and jewelry. On average, about 3,000 exhibits pass through the hands of restorers during the year. Today, the total area of storage facilities and laboratories is more than 25,000 sq.m.

The depository is also a cultural and educational center. In 2003, an “Open Storage Route” was developed for visitors, which currently includes about 20 storage facilities, which allows them to get a fairly complete picture of the wealth and diversity of the Hermitage collection, and see previously unexhibited items. These are icons and frescoes, paintings and sculpture, carriages and furniture, tapestries and costumes, watches, jewelry and weapons.

On 22-24 April 2024, the III International Scientific and Practical Conference "Light in Museum" was held in St Petersburg. The three-day conference, which took place in the Main Staff and the State Hermitage Storage Facility, was attended in person by 211 representatives of museums, lighting industry companies, scientific and research organizations, educational institutions, lighting design studios and architectural bureaus. A total of 350 people from 9 countries registered for the conference - including online participation.

The conference participants were greeted by General Director of the State Hermitage Museum M. Piotrovsky, Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Council "Svetotekhnika" G. Boos, Secretary General of the CIE International Commission on Illumination D. Wernisch.

Among the speakers of the conference are well-known Russian lighting designers, representatives of the State Hermitage Museum, the State Russian Museum, the State Historical Museum, the State Research Institute of Restoration, Russian and foreign companies involved in museum lighting, as well as experts from research and educational institutions – VNSI Russian Lighting Research named after S.I. Vavilov, National Research University MPEI, Saratov State Technical University named after Gagarin Y.A. , Moscow State Academy of Architecture MARKhI, Russian State University of Design and Applied Arts (Stroganov University), Stieglitz St. Petersburg State Academy of Fine Arts, Gomel State Technical University named after P.O. Sukhoi, Yashar University (Turkey), etc.

The programme included presentations by Russian and foreign experts on a wide variety of museum lighting issues: from individual examples of the use of LED technology and intelligent systems, to theoretical issues of searching for new forms in museum lighting compositions by lighting designers; they discussed the development of fiber-optic lighting systems, modernization of existing equipment in museums, development of special ultraviolet and infrared restoration lighting with the creation of relevant State Standards. A total of 39 speakers addressed the Conference participants in person and online.

The Conference paid special attention to the issues of education and activities of universities in the field of exposition lighting and media installations: on the second day of the event the section "Education and Lighting Design for Museums" was successfully held with the participation of teachers and students of the Department of Lighting Engineering of the National Research University "MPEI" and Russian State University of Design and Applied Arts (Stroganov University).

Also the participants were able to practice creating exposition light during the Master Class "Lighting effects for lighting artifacts" from Arlight brand and the sponsor SimpleLED company.

Traditionally, a wonderful cultural programme was offered to all participants. Thus, the first day of the conference ended with a concert of the St. Petersburg Saxophone Orchestra conducted by Igor Kuznetsov, and on the third day of the conference everyone could visit the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, the General Staff and the modern Restoration and Storage Centre of the State Hermitage.

The Conference was organized by the Russian National Committee of the International Commission on Illumination (CIE NC RU), the State Hermitage Museum, the Scientific and Technical Council of the Lighting Industry of Russia (NTC "Svetotekhnika"), VNISI named after S.I. Vavilov.

The conference was supported by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, the Federal Technical Regulation and Metrology Agency of RF, the Union of Museums of Russia, the Russian Committee of the International Council of Museums, the Russian Musical Association, Brightelec LLC, as well as sponsors - Tochka opory company, Arlight, Aledo, Zumtobel, Intiled, Saros and SimpleLED.