Valery Gergiev

Gergiev at the 2010 Time 100 Gala

Valery Abisalovich Gergiev, PAR (Russian: Валерий Абисалович Гергиев; Russian pronunciation: [vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ɐbʲɪˈsaləvʲɪtɕ ˈɡʲɛrɡʲɪɪf]; Ossetian: Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly Fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal conductor of the Munich Philharmonic and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.

Early life

Gergiev, born in Moscow, is the son of Tamara Timofeevna Lagkueva and Abisal Zaurbekovich Gergiev.[1] He and his siblings were raised in Vladikavkaz in their native North Ossetia in the Caucasus. He had his first piano lessons in secondary school before going on to study at the Leningrad Conservatory from 1972 to 1977. His principal conducting teacher was Ilya Musin (Илья Мусин), one of the greatest conductor-makers in Russian musical history. His sister, Larissa Gergieva, is a pianist and director of the Mariinsky's singers' academy.[2]

Career

In 1978, he became assistant conductor at the Kirov Opera, now the Mariinsky Opera, under Yuri Temirkanov, where he made his debut conducting Sergei Prokofiev's War and Peace. He was chief conductor of the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra from 1981 to 1985 – the year he made his debut in the United Kingdom, along with pianist Evgeny Kissin and violinists Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin at the Lichfield Festival.

Gergiev in Brussels in 2007.

In 1991, for the first time, Gergiev conducted a western European opera company with the Bavarian State Opera in a performance of Modest Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in Munich. In the same year, he made his American début, performing War and Peace with the San Francisco Opera. Since then, he has conducted both operatic and orchestral repertoire across the world. He also participates in numerous music festivals, including the White Nights in St. Petersburg.

He became chief conductor and artistic director of the Mariinsky in 1988, and overall director of the company, appointed by the Russian government, in 1996. In addition to his artistic work with the Mariinsky, Gergiev has worked in fundraising for such projects as the recently built 1100-seat Mariinsky Hall, and intends to renovate the Mariinsky Theatre completely by 2010.[3]

From 1995 to 2008, Gergiev was principal conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1997, he became principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. His contract there ran until the 2007–2008 season, and his premieres included a new version of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, revised and reorchestrated by Igor Buketoff in a manner faithful to Mussorgsky's intentions (unlike the Rimsky-Korsakov revision mostly used for many years until the 1960s or 1970s). In 2002, he was featured in one scene in the film Russian Ark, directed by Alexander Sokurov and filmed at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

In 2003, he initiated and conducted at the Mariinsky Theatre the first complete cycle of Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung to be staged in Russia for over 90 years. The production's design and concept reflects many aspects of Ossetian culture. Gergiev conducted this production in Cardiff in 2006 at the Wales Millennium Centre, in Costa Mesa, California in October 2006 in the Orange County Performing Arts Center, and in July 2007 in Lincoln Center, New York City to great acclaim and completely sold-out houses.

In 1988, Gergiev guest-conducted the London Symphony Orchestra for the first time. In his next appearance with the LSO in 2004, he conducted the seven symphonies of Sergei Prokofiev.[4] This engagement led to his appointment in 2005 as the Orchestra's fifteenth principal conductor, succeeding Sir Colin Davis effective 1 January 2007.[5] Gergiev's initial contract with the LSO was for 3 years.[6] His first official concert as principal conductor of the LSO was on 23 January 2007; this was originally scheduled for 13 January, but was postponed due to Gergiev's illness.[7]

In June 2011, Gergiev joined the International Tchaikovsky Competition and introduced reforms to the organisation,[8] which included replacing academic judges with notable performers and introduced an openness to the process, arranging for all performances to be streamed live and free on the internet and for the judges to speak their minds in public as and whenever they wished.

Since 2015, Gergiev is chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic.[9][10]

On 5 May 2016, Gergiev competed at the Roman Theatre of Palmyra at a concert event called Praying for Palmyra – Music revives ancient ruins. It was devoted to the victims who died while liberating Palmyra from ISIS and should emphasize the state of the ancient city.[11]

Social and political involvement

Valery Gergiev's requiem concert in Tskhinvali. 21 August 2008.

In April 2007, Gergiev was one of eight conductors of British orchestras to endorse the 10-year classical music outreach manifesto, "Building on Excellence: Orchestras for the 21st century", to increase the presence of classical music in the UK, including giving free entry to all British schoolchildren to a classical music concert.[12]

After the 2004 Beslan school massacre, Gergiev appealed on television for calm and against revenge. He conducted concerts to commemorate the victims of the massacre.[13]

During the 2008 South Ossetia war, Gergiev accused the Georgian government of massacring ethnic Ossetians, triggering the conflict with Russia.[14] He came to Tskhinvali and conducted a concert near the ruined building of the South Ossetian Parliament as tribute to the victims of the war.[15]

Gergiev has been, according to Alex Ross in The New Yorker, "a prominent supporter of the current Russian regime. Last year, in a television ad for Putin's third Presidential campaign, he said, 'One needs to be able to hold oneself presidentially, so that people reckon with the country. I don't know if it's fear? Respect? Reckoning.'"[16]

In December 2012, Gergiev sided with the Putin administration against the members of Russian band Pussy Riot and suggested that their motivation was commercial. He told the British newspaper The Independent, "I don't think this is anything to do with artistic freedom....Why go to the Cathedral of Christ to make a political statement? Why with screaming and dancing? You don’t need to go to a place that is considered sacred by many people." He also said, "I am told by too many people that those girls are potentially a very good business proposition. Suppose that someone created all this in order to produce another touring group earning millions and millions? Anna Netrebko (acclaimed Russian soprano) didn't need to do something like this."[17] In The New Yorker, Alex Ross decried Gergiev's allegation by noting that "One member [of Pussy Riot] has been on a hunger strike in a prison camp."[16]

In New York City in 2013, the LGBT activist group Queer Nation interrupted performances by orchestras conducted by Gergiev at the Metropolitan Opera[18] and Carnegie Hall.[19] The activists cited Gergiev's support for Vladimir Putin, whose government had recently enacted a law that bans the distribution of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" to minors, as the reason for their actions.[19] In London, the veteran activist, Peter Tatchell, led anti-Gergiev demonstrations.[20]

In a public statement Gergiev replied, "It is wrong to suggest that I have ever supported anti-gay legislation and in all my work I have upheld equal rights for all people. I am an artist and have for over three decades worked with tens of thousands of people and many of them are indeed my friends."[20] This did not mollify all his critics; the novelist Philip Hensher tweeted: "Gergiev summarised: 'Some of my best friends are gay. I don't support institutional homophobia. I leave that up to my friend Putin.'"[20]

Writing in The Guardian, Mark Brown wrote, "Gergiev's case was not helped by comments he made to the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant on 10 September [2013]: 'In Russia we do everything we can to protect children from paedophiles. This law is not about homosexuality, it targets paedophilia. But I have too busy a schedule to explore this matter in detail.'"[20]

On 26 December 2013, the city of Munich made public a letter from Gergiev assuring them that he fully supports the city's anti-discrimination law and adding, "In my entire professional career as an artist, I have always and everywhere adhered to these principles and will do so in the future...All other allegations hurt me very much." [21]

In March 2014, Gergiev joined a host of other Russian arts and cultural figures in signing an open letter of support for Russia's military intervention in Ukraine and the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The letter was posted on the website of Russia's culture ministry on March 12, 2014. In the letter signatories stated that they "firmly state support for the position of the president of the Russian Federation" in the region.[22][23] However, in September 2015, as he became chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, Gergiev said that he did not really sign the letter to Putin, but only had a phone conversation about it with Vladimir Medinsky.[24] The New York Times reported that Russian artists may have been pushed by the Russian government to endorse the annexation of Crimea. The article specifically mentioned Gergiev, who faced protests in New York City while performing.[25] After Ukrainian public outcry, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture blacklisted Gergiev from performing in Ukraine.[25][26][27]

Personal life

In 1999, Gergiev married the musician Natalya Dzebisova, who is 27 years his junior and also a native Ossetian. They have three children, two boys and a girl. From time to time he has been reported to be a friend of Vladimir Putin, and they have been said to be godfathers to each other's children.[28] But in a letter to The Daily Telegraph, he rejected the notion that he and Putin were each other's children's godfathers.[29]  From his past relationship with the language teacher Lena Ostovich, he has a daughter, Natasha.[1]

Recordings

Gergiev has focused on recording Russian composers' works, both operatic and symphonic, including Mikhail Glinka, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Alexander Borodin, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky and Rodion Shchedrin. Most of his recordings, on the Philips label, are with the Kirov Orchestra, but he has also recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic. A recent undertaking, the complete Prokofiev symphonies, is with the London Symphony Orchestra.[30] He has also recorded the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler with the London Symphony Orchestra; all were recorded live in concert, issued on the London Symphony Orchestra Live label and made available on digital media. In 2009, Gergiev and the Mariinsky launched a Mariinsky Live record label (being distributed by London Symphony Orchestra Live), with the first two recordings featuring music by Dmitri Shostakovich.

Gergiev's recording of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet with London Symphony Orchestra on LSO live in 2010 was the winner of the Orchestral category and the Disc of the Year of the 2011 BBC Music Magazine Awards.[31]

Discography

Ballets

Album Orchestra Label Discs Release Year
PROKOFIEV: Romeo and Juliet (complete ballet) Kirov Philips 2 1991
PROKOFIEV: Romeo and Juliet (complete ballet) LSO LSO Live 2 2010
RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloé (complete ballet) (with Pavane pour une infante défunte and Boléro) LSO LSO Live 1 2010
STRAVINSKY: The Firebird (L'Oiseau de feu) (Complete ballet) Kirov Philips 1 1998
STRAVINSKY: The Rite of Spring (Le sacre du printemps) (with Scriabin's The Poem of Ecstasy) Kirov Philips 1 2001
TCHAIKOVSKY: The Sleeping Beauty (complete ballet) Kirov Philips 3 1993
TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker (complete ballet) Kirov Philips 1 1998
TCHAIKOVSKY: Swan Lake (complete ballet) (Highlights available separately) Mariinsky Decca 2 2007

Operas

Album Orchestra Label Discs Release Year
BARTÓK: Bluebeard's Castle LSO LSO Live 1 2009
BORODIN: Prince Igor Kirov Philips 3 1995
DONIZETTI: Lucia di Lammermoor Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 2 2011
GLINKA: Ruslan and Ludmila Kirov Philips 3 1997
MUSSORGSKY: Boris Godunov (1869 & 1872 version) Kirov Philips 5 1999
MUSSORGSKY: Khovanshchina Kirov Philips 3 1992
PROKOFIEV: The Love for Three Oranges Kirov Philips 2 2001
PROKOFIEV: Semyon Kotko Kirov Philips 2 2000
PROKOFIEV: The Gambler Kirov Philips 2 1999
PROKOFIEV: The Fiery Angel Kirov Philips 2 1995
PROKOFIEV: War and Peace Kirov Philips 3 1993
PROKOFIEV: Betrothal in a Monastery Kirov Philips 3 1998
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Sadko Kirov Philips 3 1994
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: The Maid of Pskov Kirov Philips 2 1997
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh Kirov Philips 3 1999
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Kashchey the Immortal Kirov Philips 1 1999
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: The Tsar's Bride Kirov Philips 2 1999
SHOSTAKOVICH: The Nose Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 2 2009
STRAVINSKY: Oedipus rex (Comes with Ballet Les noces) Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 1 2010
TCHAIKOVSKY: Pique Dame Kirov Philips 3 1993
TCHAIKOVSKY: Mazeppa Kirov Philips 3 1998
TCHAIKOVSKY: Iolanta Kirov Philips 2 1998
VERDI: La Forza del Destino (1862 original version) Kirov Philips 3 1997
WAGNER: Parsifal Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 4 2010

Orchestral works

Album Orchestra Label Discs Release Year
BERLIOZ: Symphonie Fantastique, La Mort de Cléopâtre (Soprano: Olga Borodina) VPO Philips 1 2003
BORODIN: Symphonies No. 1 & 2 RPhO Polygram 1 1991
DEBUSSY: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, La Mer, Jeux LSO LSO Live 1 2011
MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 LSO LSO Live 1 2008
MAHLER: Symphony Nos. 2 & 10 (Adagio) LSO LSO Live 2 2009
MAHLER:Symphony No. 3 LSO LSO Live 2 2008
MAHLER: Symphony No. 4 LSO LSO Live 1 2010
MAHLER: Symphony No. 5 LSO LSO Live 1 2011
MAHLER: Symphony No. 6 LSO LSO Live 1 2008
MAHLER: Symphony No. 7 LSO LSO Live 1 2008
MAHLER: Symphony No. 8 LSO LSO Live 1 2009
MAHLER: Symphony No. 9 LSO LSO Live 1 2011
MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition VPO Philips 1 2002
PROKOFIEV: Scythian Suite, Alexander Nevsky Kirov Philips 1 2003
PROKOFIEV: Completes Symphonies (No. 1–7) (No. 4: 1930 + 1947 Versions) LSO Philips 4 2006
RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 2 Kirov Philips 1 1994
RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 2 LSO LSO Live 1 2010
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Scheherazade,

BORODIN: In the Steppes of Central Asia, BALAKIREV: Islamey

 Kirov Philips 1 2001
SHOSTAKOVICH: The War Symphonies (No. 4–9)

Each one available separately

 Kirov Philips 5 2005
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphonies No. 1 & 15 Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 1 2009
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphonies No. 2 & 11 Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 1 2010
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphonies No. 3 & 10 Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 1 2011
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphonies No. 4, 5 & 6 Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 2 2014
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad" Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 1 2012
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 8 Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 1 2013
STRAVINSKY: The Firebird – SCRIABIN: Prometheus Kirov Philips 1 1998
STRAVINSKY: The Rite of Spring – SCRIABIN: The Poem of Ecstasy Kirov Philips 1 2001
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphonies No. 4, 5, 6Each one available separately VPO Philips 3 2005
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 VPO Philips 1 1999
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6, Francesca da Rimini, Romeo and Juliet Kirov Philips 1 2000
TCHAIKOVSKY: 1812 Overture and others Kirov Philips 1 1994
TCHAIKOVSKY: 1812 Overture, Moscow Cantata, Marche Slave, Coronation March, Danish Overture Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 1 2009

Orchestral works with soloists

ALBUM SOLOIST ORCHESTRA LABEL DISCS RELEASE YEAR
BRAHMS & KORNGOLD: Violin Concertos Nikolaj Znaider VPO RCA Red Seal 1 2009
Lang Lang: Liszt, My Piano Hero (LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 1) Lang Lang VPO Sony 1 2011
PROKOFIEV: Complete Piano Concertos (No. 1–5) Alexander Toradze Kirov Philips 2 1998
RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No.2, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Lang Lang Mariinsky DG 1 2003
RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No.3, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Denis Matsuev Mariinsky Mariinsky Live 1 2010
TCHAIKOVSKY & MIASKOVSKY: Violin Concertos Vadim Repin Mariinsky Philips 1 2003
TCHAIKOVSKY: Variation on a Rococo Theme, PROKOFIEV: Sinfonia Concertante Gautier Capuçon Mariinsky Virgin 1 2010

Vocal works

ALBUM SOLOIST ORCHESTRA LABEL DISCS RELEASE YEAR
Tchaikovsky & Verdi Arias Dmitri Hvorostovsky Kirov Philips 1 1990
Tchaikovsky & Verdi Arias Galina Gorchakova Kirov Philips 1 1996
Homage: The Age Of The Diva Renée Fleming Mariinsky Decca 1 2007
Russian Album Anna Netrebko Mariinsky DG 1 2006
PROKOFIEV: Ivan The Terrible Cantata RPhO Philips 1 1998
VERDI: Requiem Mariinsky Philips 2 2001

Videos

DVD

VHS

Honours and awards

Russian
Foreign awards
Religious awards
Community Awards
Titles
Awards

See also

References

  1. 1 2 John O'Mahony (1999-09-18). "Demon king of the pit". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  2. ↑ Jessica Duchen (19 January 2007). "Valery Gergiev: Light the red touchpaper, stand back". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  3. ↑ Geoffrey Norris (18 January 2007). "A Russian energy import". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  4. ↑ Tom Service (10 May 2004). "LSO/Gergiev". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  5. ↑ Richard Morrison (24 May 2005). "Lightning conductor". London: The Times. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  6. ↑ Charlotte Higgins (14 April 2006). "Russian maestro reveals his plans for the LSO". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  7. ↑ Tim Ashley (16 January 2007). "Gubaidulina". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  8. ↑ Tom Service (2011-09-20). "Everything to play for at the Tchaikovsky competition". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  9. ↑ "Valery Gergiev Chefdirigent der Münchner Philharmoniker ab 2015" (Press release). Landeshauptstadt München Kulturreferat. 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  10. ↑ Die Münchner Philharmoniker
  11. ↑ Praying for Palmyra: Russian maestro leads orchestra in ruins of ancient city
  12. ↑ Charlotte Higgins (26 April 2007). "Orchestras urge free concerts for children". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
  13. ↑ Tom Service (10 November 2004). "Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre/ Gergiev". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
  14. ↑ Tim Cornwell (16 August 2008). "'How many of my people were burned?'". Edinburgh: The Scotsman. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  15. ↑ The Times, LSO conductor Valery Gergiev leads defiant South Ossetia concert, 22.08.2008
  16. 1 2 Alex Ross, "Imperious: The problem with Valery Gergiev", The New Yorker, 4 November 2013
  17. ↑ Adam Sherwin, "London Symphony Orchestra director takes sides with Putin against Pussy Riot", The Independent, 12 December 2012
  18. ↑ Cooper, Michael (23 September 2013). "Gay Rights Protest Greets Opening Night at the Met". The New York Times.
  19. 1 2 Cooper, Michael (10 October 2013). "Gay Rights Protests Follow Gergiev to Carnegie Hall". The New York Times.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Mark Brown (2013-11-07). "Valery Gergiev concert picketed by gay rights supporters". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  21. ↑ Melissa Eddy, "Gergiev, With Eye on Munich Job, Responds to Antigay Accusations", New York Times, 27 December 2013
  22. ↑ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-putin-ukraine-crimea-valery-gergiev-20140312-story.html#axzz2vpUy0PAH
  23. ↑ http://mkrf.ru/press-tsentr/novosti/ministerstvo/deyateli-kultury-rossii-v-podderzhku-pozitsii-prezidenta-po-ukraine-i-krymu
  24. ↑ Valery Gergiyev: Sometimes people think they are holding a magic wand, interview with Gergiev by tass.ru.
  25. 1 2 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/arts/music/gustavo-dudamel-and-valery-gergiev-face-national-issues.html?ref=topics
  26. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/arts/music/lisa-batiashvili-on-violins-ukraine-and-valery-gergiev.html?ref=topics
  27. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/magazine/valery-gergiev-anyone-can-buy-a-ticket.html?ref=topics
  28. ↑ Susan Mansfield (15 August 2008). "Reaping the Russian whirlwind – Valery Gergiev". Edinburgh: The Scotsman. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  29. ↑ Valery Gergiev (August 2008). "Letters to the Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  30. ↑ Andrew Clements (23 June 2006). "Prokofiev: Symphonies 1–7, LSO/Gergiev". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  31. ↑ "BBC Music Magazine Awards". Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  32. ↑ "Putin Hands Out First Soviet-Style Awards". RIA Novosti. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  33. ↑ "Mariinsky news item". Mariinsky.ru. Retrieved 21 September 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valery Gergiev.
Cultural offices
Preceded by
David Khanjian		 Principal Conductor, Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
1981–1985 		Succeeded by
Rafael Mangassarian
Preceded by
Yuri Temirkanov		 Principal Conductor and Music Director, Kirov Opera
1988–present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by
Jeffrey Tate		 Principal Conductor, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
1995–2008 		Succeeded by
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
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