The National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay (OSN) is set to celebrate its 22nd anniversary. A special concert will feature the national premiere of Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5. The performance forms the sixth concert of the orchestra’s 2026 International Season. The event will take place this Thursday, 20 August, at 20:00 at the Ignacio A. Pane Municipal Theatre in Asunción. Admission is free of charge.
Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100, was composed in 1944 amid the final stages of the Second World War and stands as one of his most celebrated and frequently performed works. The composer himself described it as a symphony of the greatness of the human spirit, blending lyrical grandeur with rhythmic vitality in a triumphant four-movement structure.
Organised jointly by the OSN and the Russian Embassy in Paraguay, the 22nd anniversary celebration aims to strengthen cultural ties between the two nations through music. Paraguayan maestro Ernesto Estigarribia Mussi, principal guest conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra, will conduct the concert.
Programme highlights
The programme opens with Franz Joseph Haydn’s Oboe Concerto in C major, Hob. VIIg, with renowned Russian oboist Aleksei Utkin as soloist. This will be followed by Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100, widely regarded as one of the most significant symphonic works of the twentieth century and receiving its first performance in Paraguay.
Utkin, born in Moscow in 1957, brings an extensive international career as a soloist, conductor and teacher. He has appeared in major venues across Europe and the United States and currently serves as principal oboist, conductor and artistic director of the Russian State Academic Chamber Orchestra.
Conductor and leadership
Estigarribia Mussi is music director of the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra and the Mankato Symphony Orchestra in the United States. Since 2025 he has also held the position of principal guest conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay. The General Directorate of the OSN is headed by Mg. María Victoria Sosa Zárate.
With this concert, the orchestra seeks both to mark its anniversary with the public and to reaffirm its commitment to the dissemination of symphonic music and the enrichment of Paraguay’s cultural life.
Also read: Free “Made in Italy” Concert Turns Asunción Into An Italian Soundtrack.
