Persimfans

Persimfans was a conductorless orchestra in Moscow in the Soviet Union that was founded by Lev Tseitlin (or Zeitlin) and existed between 1922 and 1932. Its name is an abbreviation for ''Pervïy Simfonicheskiy Ansambl' bez Dirizhyora'' (First Symphony Ensemble without Conductor). Other orchestras were organized following its example, both in the USSR and abroad.

==Origins== Lev Zeitlin was concertmaster in Serge Koussevitzky’s orchestra (1908-1917); after this disbanded in 1920 he became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, also playing with colleagues at the Bolshoi Theater. In 1922, influenced by the Bolshevik idea of collective labour, he proposed the creation of an orchestra that would work without a conductor, relying on the creative initiative of each of the musicians. Rehearsals took place around the musicians’ full-time work – early in the morning, during lunch breaks, etc – and concerts on Mondays, because this was when the theatre was closed.