The building of the Nikolaevsky Palace in St. Petersburg will be restored for young musicians

After a major restoration, one of the buildings of the Nikolaevsky Palace in St. Petersburg will become a new venue for future world stars of classical music. The building will be restored to its historical appearance, and soon it will open its doors to students of the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory Music School. Maestro Sergey Roldugin personally oversees the progress of the work. Read about the complex that will unite the history and the future of art in the Izvestia article.

The crystal chandeliers are sparkling again, the historic parquet is shining, and the smallest details of the stucco molding have become visible. The interior of the Nikolaevsky Palace has not been seen so clean and bright since the last century, and this is only the beginning of a scientific restoration. The former residence of one of the emperor's sons is coming to life before our eyes.

"This room has been inaccessible to visitors for a century. The boudoir of Alexandra Petrovna, the wife of the Grand Duke. After the restoration dedusting, everything here shone, including this fireplace, one of the 70 in the Nikolaevsky Palace," said Natalia Oskerko, a correspondent for Izvestia.

One of the most magnificent architectural complexes in the Northern Capital, the pearl of architect Stackenschneider's work, is now part of the St. Petersburg House of Music. Young musicians from a ten-year-old school will study in this building. For many years, the premises were rented out, no one cared about their safety. The restorers had to study the archives, examine every inch of the mansion in order to draw up a project for its transformation.

"As you can see, there was a balcony in this part. Now it is sewn up with partitions, movie booths and so on, but according to the design of the device, we plan to embroider it all, to restore the appearance of the beginning of the 20th century. We will return the balcony, and here, in this hall, there will be a concert hall for students to perform," said Kirill Stepanov, head of the restoration workshop.

The Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory Special School is a forge of personnel for the world stage. Appropriate conditions are needed for such young talents.

"They will have their own amazing concert hall, which the acoustics are working on. In the same building there will be a boarding school for children who have come from far away, modern music classes, in which much is provided for the acoustics of the sound to be perfect," added Maria Khanko, Deputy General Director of the St. Petersburg House of Music.

This is now a real palace compared to the dilapidated building in which the children studied before, adjacent to the city music college. The president instructed to solve the problem, and the Ministry of Culture found a way out: to resettle two institutions. In order for young musicians to have a new building with an area of 12 thousand square meters in the city center, People's Artist Sergei Roldugin did a lot.

"People will be brought up here, who in the future, we hope, will carry their knowledge and their love of beauty to other generations. It is very important that these people are brought up in an atmosphere of beauty, in an atmosphere of achieving human genius. The children will be presented with the best achievements of architecture, construction, and today's technologies," said Sergey Roldugin, People's Artist of Russia, Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg House of Music.

The task is not just to restore the historical complex, but to preserve this great heritage for centuries, so each stage of the work here is treated with special trepidation. The design is already being completed.

"We have divided the facility into two stages. The first stage is the work that needs to be completed in 2027 and transferred to the House of Music for operation. Then we will take the second stage – all the remaining premises," said Karen Oganesyan, General Director of the United Customer in the Field of Construction.

After the renovation, the school will be able to accommodate even more students, and a unique complex will appear in St. Petersburg, combining both the history and the future of musical art.

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