June 4, 2018 - MSO is an institution of exceptional social importance formed within the broadly established activity of the Music Center of Montenegro. The Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra was founded in the year when Montenegro retrieved its independence. Today, this ensemble is fundamentally similar to numerous professional institutions of this type in the world. The Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra is a leading institution in the overall music life of Montenegro, in qualitative terms, and is a representative body of Montenegrin culture that puts Podgorica and Montenegro on the cultural map of Europe.
The first conductor of the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra was young Russian artist Alexei Shatski, who came to Montenegro as an assistant of the legendary Vladimir Fedoseyev. During the first five seasons, along with numerous guest conductors, he laid the foundations on which our young ensemble is developing today. Since this season, the head of the MSO tis Grigoriy Krasko, an artist with strong individuality and considerable experience, who, as a concert-master and leader of the Montenegrin Strings ensemble, has already made a remarkable contribution to the first accomplishments and successes of the band. The first performances of the MSO under his administration show the successful efforts of the orchestra to new performance challenges and professional standards.
The repertoire of the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra includes works of various stylistic characteristics from Baroque music to contemporary creation. We are witnessing the premiere performances of many epochal works of world music, whose performances represent historical moments in Montenegrin music life. Apart from successful performances in the standard composition, the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra occasionally grows into a powerful ensemble with a large number of performers on stage (the so-called orchestra a third), which is a novelty in the perception of the live sound of our audience. With such an ensemble it is possible to perform those works of the world music heritage, primarily the works of late romanticism that require a hypertrophied performing ensemble whose performances, until a few years ago in Montenegro, could not even be imagined. More than a hundred concerts in all cities of Montenegro, excellent reception of the audience and affirmative critics, confirm the high professional level of the ensemble. In particular, the names and impressions of prominent domestic and foreign artists and artists collaborating with the MSO are proof of this.
