Nizhny Novgorod, much like most other Russian cities, is home to a plethora of venues for music lovers. It should not come as a surprise to anyone that for a city with an extremely long winter, these precious indoor areas provide a much-needed escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life for those with an ear for good music. There are so many of them to list here, and a quick search on Google or Yandex Maps will show you all these and more. I will focus on a few that I hope will be enough to show the true extent of such venues in town. Without further ado, let us read on!
Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Philharmonic Orchestra – https://www.music-nn.ru
Nestled deep inside the Kremlin, one can find what is likely the single most professional venue to listen to some classical tunes in town. This wonderful venue is home to not only some local productions, but also offers its stage to some of the bigger names in the field as they occasionally make the three-hour journey from Moscow to bestow their skills upon the people of Nizhny. Prices vary wildly depending on when and for what do you go to there, but I am sure that anyone can find something fitting for their own budgetary concerns.
Glinka Nizhny Novgorod State Conservatoire – https://nnovcons.ru/afisha/
Alright, let us say that you are really having a hard time, and do not want to spend even a few hundred roubles to see a decent trio playing some nice jazzy tunes. Fear not, for Nizhny has you covered! The fine people at the state conservatoire (named after M. I. Glinka) sometimes offer free concerts for the people in a designated small hall. You can check their program using the link above but do know that those that play in such events are sometimes students, and some other times it is the teachers themselves. If you want something less academic and more polished, this may not be the venue for you.
Planetarium 1 in Switzerland Park – https://www.nn.planetarium.one
Planetarium? Music? Jazz? These seemingly random words actually do make quite a lot of sense in the context of Nizhny given the fact that the brilliant Planetarium 1 that is found inside the Switzerland Park holds these rather special but relatively rare Space Jazz nights. As the name suggests, what happens is that you enjoy some fine planetarium-related action (a.k.a. watching a dome full of stars) as you listen to some fine jazz on the side. It is best of both worlds, as you can enjoy a quirky activity whilst listening to good music. Do check out their upcoming schedule to see if you can make it to the next time Space Jazz is in town.
Cartel – https://cartelbar.ru
Classical music, huge bands, philharmonic orchestras, smooth jazz and so on. I can almost hear some of my fine readers shout “but what about the rest of us!?” Well, though I am not the person to talk about the likes of pop or rock (though to be fair, concerts etc. of these more popular genres are heavily advertised all around the city and are easy to find out anyways), I can share a rare gem with you all, a nightclub/bar to listen to some decent techno/house music. Those that are familiar with Russia knows that such “underground” and “unusual” genres of music are hard to come by in most nightclubs, which often focus on Russian and global dance hits above all else. Therefore, it is a real treat to find an establishment like Cartel in Nizhny Novgorod and it should satisfy at least some ravers out there.