The interior, including seats, chandeliers and pillars, will be touched up, while new sound engineering equipment will be implemented. Lighting, heating and electricity systems will also be modernized. The 1957 repairs were widely criticized for allegedly worsening acoustics in the Grand Hall, according to the paper.

The Shostakovich Philharmonic Grand Hall is due to reopen in May, while the Glinka Philharmonic Chamber Hall is scheduled to re-open in January.

The St. Petersburg Philharmonic, which performs in the hall, often led by chief conductor Yuri Termirkanov, has decamped to the State Academic Capella and the Hermitage Museum for the duration of the renovations.

The Philharmonic's local concerts have been reduced as a result, but the orchestra will be touring more extensively both in Russia and abroad during the renovation.