Belarusian State Philharmonic
Concert house on Yakub Kolas Square, home of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Belarus.
The Philharmonic Society was founded on 25 April 1937 and gave its first season in a converted hall in the centre of Minsk. Work on a purpose-built concert house on Yakub Kolas Square ran from 1955 to 1963 to a design by the architect Heinrich Benediktov, and the 930-seat auditorium opened in April 1963. The building, with its colonnaded front and tall foyer, is listed as an architectural monument of republican significance.
A reconstruction completed in the 2000s reshaped the interiors, and the house now has a Great Hall of about 688 seats and the Ryhor Shyrma Small Hall of about 200. Resident groups include the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Belarus, the State Chamber Choir, the Klassik-Avangard ensemble of soloists, the National Academic Folk Orchestra and several chamber groups. The season runs from autumn to early summer and mixes symphonic, chamber, choral, organ and folk programmes.
Highlights
- Colonnaded 1963 concert house on Yakub Kolas Square
- Great Hall of about 688 seats and the Shyrma Small Hall
- Home of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Belarus
- Resident chamber, choral and folk-instrument ensembles
