On stage, they always sit in circle: face to face, with their backs to the audience. The stage lacks a podium for conductor. There’s no actual conductor at all, for every musician is important while each and every one is a virtuoso soloist.

The contemporary Persymphans is the ensemble recreated under the same moniker in 2008 by pianist/composer Petr Aidu as its predecessor, and like the early Soviet-times Persymphans it’s a conductor-free orchestra. That Persymphans was born five years after the October Revolution, and it advocated ideas of equality and brotherhood. The orchestra had no conductor – it was its basic principle – and it is still remembered as one of the most daring avant-garde projects ever.

Though the 21st century iteration of Persymphans is not the exact copy of 1920’s original version, it does follow the traditions laid by the predecessor: collective leadership instead of conductor’s dictatorship, unusual seating pattern (in circle, not in a row, in order to have eye contact), and repertoire that mixes classics with music of early 20th century composers.