Persimfans

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Persimfans was a conductorless orchestra in Moscow, founded in 1922 by Lev Zeitlin (also spelled Zeitlin). Its name stands for Perviy Simfonicheskiy Ansambl bez Dirizhyora, or the First Symphony Ensemble without a Conductor. The group reflected the Soviet idea of collective labor, with decisions made by committees and every musician expected to know the entire score.

How it worked
- Rehearsals took place around musicians’ full‑time work, often in short blocks like early mornings or lunch breaks.
- Concerts were usually on Mondays, when theatres were closed.
- The orchestra typically had about 90 players, though it could field more on special occasions (150 musicians for its 10th anniversary in 1932).
- Musicians sat in an ellipse: wind instruments in the center, strings at the front, basses at the back so they could be seen by everyone. The concertmaster gave cues to the whole group.
- There was no conductor, but the concertmaster and the score were used to keep the performance together.

First performances and repertoire
- The first concert took place on February 13, 1922, in Moscow’s House of Unions, with a repeat on February 20 at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
- The Beethoven program opened the season, including the Eroica Symphony, the Violin Concerto, and the Egmont Overture. The third concert featured Tchaikovsky, and the early schedule included many more concerts that month.
- Persimfans’ seasons quickly grew: the 1922–23 season had about 80 concerts; the next season surpassed 100; and a 1925–26 concert marked the 150th performance.
- In addition to familiar classics, the ensemble gradually included works by contemporary composers.
- They often performed in non-traditional venues—cafes, cinemas, cultural centers, factories, workers’ clubs, and even military units—to reach a broad, working-class audience. Programs sometimes included a single composer with a short sociopolitical introduction and audience discussion.

Reception and notable moments
- The group published a magazine from 1926 to 1929, sharing program notes and audience survey results, and outlining their philosophy: thorough study of a work, but a conductor is not essential once the music has been prepared.
- The conductorless approach was praised by many. Sabaneev, writing in Theatre Moscow, said the absence of a conductor highlighted the equal importance of all parts. Otto Klemperer joked that if Persimfans kept this up, conductors would have to change careers.
- Sergei Prokofiev returned from exile to play with Persimfans in January 1927; his accounts described rehearsals led by Zeitlin with the full score on the stand and musicians coordinating closely without a conductor.
- On April 2, 1928, Persimfans gave the premiere of Nikolai Myaskovsky’s 10th Symphony, though the composer was concerned about coordination within the orchestra.

Decline and legacy
- Lunacharsky, the minister responsible for education and culture, supported the ensemble in its early years. In 1927 Persimfans was honored as an Honoured Collective of the Republic.
- As political leadership shifted, Zeitlin stepped down as chairman in 1928, and Lunacharsky left his post in 1929. The new cultural policy favored centralized leadership, and a change in the working week disrupted rehearsals.
- The ensemble disbanded, commonly dated to 1932, though some sources cite a last concert in 1933.

Impact and revival
- Persimfans inspired other conductorless groups in the Soviet Union and abroad, though many lasted only a few years.
- The name entered Russian culture as a symbol of anarchy and inconsistency in some contexts, but it also left a positive mark on ideas about collective making of music.
- A modern revival began in 2008 by artists connected to the Moscow School of Dramatic Art’s Music Laboratory.
- In 2014, Persimfans received the Sergei Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Award for its influence and legacy.