On 21 November the Marble Palace runs an unusual museum evening: "Mysteries of the Marble Palace". You choose your own tour, then everyone meets for a piano recital in the White Hall. Tours start at 16:00, the concert at 17:00 — those two times are the whole plan.
The choice matters. One route walks the state rooms; the other opens rooms no ordinary ticket can reach. The recital is shared, so decide before you buy.
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Pick your tour first
The general tour covers the state rooms and the story of the palace's name; for a first visit, this is the clear choice.
The second goes into the private rooms of Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov, opened for this evening for the first time. They serve as open storage and admit visitors only with a museum researcher. Only 15 tickets exist, so speed matters as much as curiosity. Both tours finish in the White Hall.
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What happens in the White Hall
The recital follows the tradition of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna's salons and brings together Chopin, Schubert, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. Performers are laureates of international competitions studying with professor Tatyana Zagorovskaya of the St Petersburg Conservatory. Johann Strauss gave his first concert in this hall in 1856.
The concert follows the tours. Eat before the tour or after the concert — not in the gap — and keep the evening otherwise clear.
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