St Petersburg's two great addresses for classical music stand a few blocks apart. The Philharmonia (Filarmoniya) means two halls: the Grand Hall on Mikhailovskaya Street, with its colonnade and organ, and the Small Hall on Nevsky Prospekt for chamber evenings. The Capella (Kapella) on the Moika embankment is the country's oldest musical institution, with a hall that was built to work like an instrument. In autumn both run a full season with concerts nearly every night, and in November tickets cost from 250 to 2,500 roubles unless you are going to hear a star.
Below: how they really differ, who each one suits and how an evening works. We checked programmes, prices and rules on the Philharmonia and Capella websites and on Yandex Afisha on 19 October 2026. The Capella uses dynamic pricing, so prices change as the hall fills up.
🎻 The Philharmonia's Grand Hall: columns, chandeliers and an organ
The Grand Hall at 2 Mikhailovskaya Street is the former hall of the Assembly of the Nobility and has been the centre of the city's musical life since the 1840s. The Philharmonia calls it one of the finest concert halls in Europe: almost 1,500 seats, white columns, crystal chandeliers and red velvet chairs. The historic interiors were restored during the 2007 reconstruction.
The Philharmonia's Grand Hall before a concert: stalls, colonnade and crystal chandeliers — Photo: Ingvar-fed, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
This is the city's main symphonic hall: the Philharmonia's own orchestras, visiting orchestras and organ recitals. In November 2026, for example: on 2 November Rubin Abdullin gives an organ recital marking 95 years of the Grand Hall organ (400–1,200 roubles); on 15 November the orchestra plays Saint-Saëns's Third "Organ" Symphony (600–1,500); on 29 November both Shostakovich piano concertos (750–3,000). Evening concerts usually start at 20:00.
🎹 The Small Hall on Nevsky: chamber music for 400
The Small Hall is at 30 Nevsky Prospekt, in the same building as the Griboyedov Canal exit of Nevsky Prospekt metro. It became a Philharmonia hall in 1949, but public concerts have been held here since 1802. It seats 400, has white walls with gilding and a big chandelier, and the stage is close to the audience.
The Philharmonia's Small Hall on Nevsky Prospekt — Photo: Aleksandrovy AG, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Expect string quartets, piano and violin recitals, chamber orchestras and some jazz. Concerts start at 19:00, with afternoon programmes at 14:00–15:00 at weekends. In November the hall hosts the Silver Lyre (Serebryanaya lira) chamber music festival, with tickets at 400–1,000 roubles; a regular subscription evening costs 700–2,000.
🎶 The Capella on the Moika: a hall built like a violin, for choir and organ
The Capella traces its history back to 1479 and the choir of Ivan III's court singers; in 1701 Peter the Great made it the Court Choir. Its concert hall at 20 Moika Embankment was built by Leonty Benois in 1889. To make the hall resonate, he designed the floor and ceiling on the principle of a violin's soundboard: the coffered wooden ceiling hangs from metal beams. It seats 789, about half as many as the Philharmonia's Grand Hall.
Choir and orchestra on the stage of the Capella concert hall, with the organ behind them — Photo: GAlexandrova, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Capella's Walcker organ was built in 1891 for the Dutch Reformed Church on Nevsky and moved here in 1927; the Capella says its case is the oldest surviving organ façade in Russia. Choral music is the heart of the programme: the Capella's own choir and symphony orchestra, and sacred music concerts. From 28 October to 7 November the hall hosts the Neva Choral Assemblies (Nevskie khorovye assamblei) festival for Bortnyansky's 275th anniversary. There is also a Chamber Hall with just 49 seats. Evening concerts start at 19:00.
💳 What an evening costs in November 2026
- Philharmonia Grand Hall: a regular symphony concert costs from 400–800 to 1,300–2,500 roubles. Star nights cost more: Nikolai Lugansky on 9 November, 3,000–6,000; "Three Tenors" on 27 November, 3,000–8,000.
- Philharmonia Small Hall: 400–2,000 roubles for most evenings.
- Capella: Neva Choral Assemblies concerts from 250 roubles; on 12 November the Governor's Symphony Orchestra plays Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto, 800–1,200; on 14 November Sviridov's "Poem in Memory of Sergei Yesenin" and "The Snowstorm", 900–1,500. Both evenings last about two hours, the 12 November one with an interval.
- Russia's "Pushkin Card" youth discount applies to some concerts, but it is only for young Russian citizens.
The Valaam Monastery Choir on 1 November at the Capella and some of the Philharmonia's November nights are already sold out, so don't wait too long.
🚶 Getting there and what's nearby
The Grand Hall is a three-minute walk from Nevsky Prospekt and Gostiny Dvor metro along Mikhailovskaya Street. The audience enters from Arts Square (Ploshchad Iskusstv) through entrance No. 1; the box office is at 2 Mikhailovskaya Street. The Small Hall is right by the metro exit onto the Griboyedov Canal. The Capella is at 20 Moika Embankment by the Singers' Bridge (Pevchesky most); the nearest stations are Admiralteyskaya, Nevsky Prospekt and Gostiny Dvor metro. The concert hall stands at the back of the courtyard, reached through a passage from the embankment.
The archway at 20 Moika Embankment leading into the Capella courtyard — Photo: Aleksandrovy AG, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
For dinner before the concert there is the Dvoryanskoye Sobraniye restaurant inside the Grand Hall building, open from 12:00 to 23:00; on concert days they advise booking a table. In November it gets dark at around half past four, so you will arrive in the dark and quite likely in the rain — umbrellas go to the cloakroom.
