Description of the attraction
The Philharmonic Hall was built in 1957 opposite the main entrance to the Lipki Park on Cathedral Square. The location of this building was not chosen by chance.
Saratov merchant G. V. Ochkin built a wooden circus building on Novo-Sobornaya Square in 1887, but eventually, unable to withstand competition from the Nikitin brothers (founders of the Russian circus), rebuilt the premises into a concert hall and named it "Renaissance". The merchant's property made it possible to arrange a garden next to the hall for public walks and to open a restaurant with a large stage for a pleasant pastime in the summer. The rumor about Ochkin's entertainment establishment spread throughout Russia. Writers and journalists of that time vividly described the Saratov institution with a choir, chanson singers, music, storytellers and coupletists.
In 1904, the founder's son, N. G. Ochkin, built a new building for the opera house next to the Renaissance in the eclectic style, designed by the famous architect. Opera performances were held in a large stone house with a three-tiered hall for nine hundred seats, excellent acoustics and a good stage. The new Renaissance opera house at that time was the most popular in Saratov. In 1920 the theater burned down, and until 1934 the NKVD club was located in its ruins.
From 1952 to 1957, on the former possessions of the Ochkins, the building of the Philharmonic is being built, which was previously located in the Lutheran Church on Radishcheva Street opposite the Conservatory (now the building of the Agrarian University stands on this place). In 2001, the Philharmonic was named after the famous composer Alfred Schnittke.
Over the past half century, the Philharmonic has become the main cultural center of the city. Major festivals and regular concerts of the symphony orchestra take place here.
