At the Heart of Slavic, Klezmer and Gypsy Melodies

“I wanted to highlight the orchestra—its virtuosity and that of its instruments,” explains Richard Schmoucler. “It’s a festive, collective program built around the encounter between two orchestras.”

This anthology gathers essential Slavic tunes interwoven with the vibrant mix of traditional Romanian, Hungarian, Moldavian, and Gypsy music. Musical gems such as Les Yeux Noirs (Dark Eyes) and Le Temps du Muguet (The Time of the Lilacs) are revisited by the Sirba Octet, the orchestra, and the balalaika, which alternate and blend their voices in a festive, melancholic, and passionate atmosphere—a joyful expression of hope and forward-looking energy.

A Journey Beyond Borders

Sirba Orchestra! is a jubilant program featuring a Russian balalaika player and his magical instrument, showcased in several emblematic pieces.
The balalaika, a traditional Russian plucked-string instrument, was born in the villages and matured in the Tsars’ palaces—an instrument for both peasant and prince. It embodies the Russian soul in all its ardor and melancholy.

Sirba Orchestra! is an open window to a traditional, colorful, emotional, and festive music that spans every feeling—from joy to nostalgia, from love to Jewish humor. A journey through themes and variations from Moldova, Romania, Hungary, and Russia, arranged by Cyrille Lehn.

Created in 2015 with the Orchestre de Pau / Pays de Béarn, under the baton of Fayçal Karoui—a long-time collaborator of the Sirba Octet—this new program premiered at the Palais Beaumont in Pau and was broadcast live on Radio Classique.

An Album on Deutsche Grammophon

The Sirba Orchestra! program was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, conducted by Christian Arming, with Nicolas Kedroff on balalaika, for the Deutsche Grammophon label. Released in 2018, the album’s launch was celebrated with a concert at La Seine Musicale in Boulogne-Billancourt. Since then, the Sirba Octet has continued to bring this project to life with numerous symphony orchestras across France and abroad.

Sirba Orchestra! – A Meeting with Orchestras
– Orchestre de Pau / Pays de Béarn – Fayçal Karoui
– Orchestre de Bretagne – Rudolf Piehlmayer
– Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège – Christian Arming(Liège, Belgium / La Seine Musicale, France)
– National Symphony Orchestra of Tatarstan – Alexander Sladkovsky (La Folle Journée de Nantes & Tokyo)
– Orchestre Victor Hugo Franche-Comté – Jean-François Verdier
– Orchestre de Cannes – Benjamin Levy
– Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra – Kaspar Zehnder (Switzerland)
– Orchestre de la Suisse Romande – Benjamin Levy (Switzerland)
– Orchestre Symphonique de l’Aube – Gilles Millière
– Orchestre National de Lille – Alexandre Bloch (7-concert series, December 2021)
– WDR Funkhausorchester – Enrico Delamboye (Germany)
– Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen – Ariane Matiakh(Germany)
– Les Solistes Européens du Luxembourg – Christoph König (Luxembourg)
– Olten Philharmonic Orchestra – Murat Cem Orhan (Turkey)
– Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne – Joseph Bastian
– Gebirgsmusikkorps der Bundeswehr – Rudolf Piehlmayer(Germany)

In May 2026, the Sirba Octet will reunite with the Tonkünstler Orchestra, conducted by Fabien Gabel, for concerts at the Musikverein and in St. Pölten, Austria.