Jacob’s Dream Concerto for Viola and Symphonic Orchestra: Video Release

A video of Baruch Berliner’s Jacob’s Dream concerto performed in Kaliningrad in fall 2025 is now available on the composer’s YouTube channel.

The concerto was inspired by the biblical story of Jacob, who dreamt of a ladder reaching to heaven and beheld the Lord promising blessings to him and his descendants.

Dr. Berliner’s work was performed by violist Andrei Gridchuk and the Kaliningrad Symphony Orchestra, led by Mikhail Kirchhoff.

The principal viola of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Mr. Gridchuk is the winner of the 1984 All-Union Viola Competition in the USSR and the 1989 Maurice Vieux International Viola Competition in Orléans. He has performed with orchestras such as the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphoniker Hamburg, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Oper Berlin Orchestra, Weimar Staatskapelle, and English Chamber Orchestra, among others.

His collaborations have included conductors such as Rudolf Barshai, Yuri Bashmet, Marco Boemi, Kent Nagano, Krzysztof Penderecki, Christian Thielemann, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Ulf Schirmer, Riccardo Chailly, Marek Janowski, and Roman Kofman.

A recipient of the Priznanie award, Mikhail Kirchhoff is the conductor of the Kaliningrad State Symphony Orchestra, chief conductor of the Moscow Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the artistic director and chief conductor of the Stars of Eurasia festival.

Produced by Nachum Slutzker, General Manager of Baruch Berliner’s Genesis International Project