Valery Gergiev, Director of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, home to the Kirov Opera and Ballet, is also Principal Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera from 1997 – 2002.
Born in Moscow, Valery Gergiev studied conducting at the Leningrad Conservatoire and at age 23, won Berlin's "Herbert von Karajan Competition". He made his Kirov Opera debut in 1978 with War and Peace and in1988 was designated Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. In 1996, the Russian government appointed him Director of the Mariinsky Theatre. He has appeared with all the leading orchestras of the former Soviet Union and has guest conducted most of the world's major orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw, London's Royal Philharmonic, Rome's Santa Cecilia, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Tokyo's NHK Symphony, and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Maestro Gergiev is the organizer of St. Petersburg's annual “Stars of the White Nights” Festival and is the founder and artistic director of many international music festivals including “For Peace in the Caucasus” (Vladikavkaz), the Mikkeli Festival (Finland), the Red Sea Festival (Eilat), the Kirov Philharmonic (London), the Rotterdam Philharmonic-Gergiev Festival (Netherlands) and the Moscow Easter Festival.
His recordings on CD and video include The Maid of Pskov , Khovanshchina , Sadko , War and Peace , The Queen of Spades, Iolanta, Ruslan and Lyudmila, The Fiery Angel, Prince Igor, La Forza del Destino, several orchestral albums and recitals, and the complete ballets Romeo and Juliet and Sleeping Beauty . Recent releases include The Gambler, Mazeppa, Kashchei the Immortal, Betrothal in a Monastery and Ivan the Terrible.
Among Valery Gergiev's numerous international honors are Musical America's "Conductor of the Year" award, as well as Russia's Dmitri Shostakovich Award, Golden Mask Award, and "People's Artist of Russia," the country's highest cultural award.
Valery Gergiev appears in the following:
Valery Gergiev
Sunday, March 06, 2011
While conductor extraordinaire Valery Gergiev was in town last week to complete his Mahler Cycle with the London Symphony Orchestra, he stopped by to talk with Gilbert Kaplan, host of “Mad About Music.”
In Conversation: Valery Gergiev
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Valery Gergiev is the epitome of the jet-age conductor. Famous (or infamous) for an insane schedule that occasionally sees him conducting in two countries within a single day, Gergiev is one of the biggest names in classical music – and in Russia, where his friends include Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He joins us to talk about bringing Mahler’s music and the London Symphony Orchestra to New York.
Valery Gergiev on Prokofiev
Monday, November 10, 2008
Have You Heard the Word?
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Power of Music
Sunday, August 05, 2007
You won't want to miss this remarkable show on the power of classical music in the lives of 25 high-profile guests with riveting stories told to host Gilbert Kaplan by Condoleezza Rice, Jimmy Carter, Ehud Barak, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Patrick Stewart, Mike Nichols, Renee Fleming, Valery Gergiev, Philippe de Montebello and many others.
Maestros
Sunday, July 03, 2005
"Maestros" a Summer Special with three world-renown conductors: Valery Gergiev, Lorin Maazel and Pierre Boulez – who share the music they listen to when they're off the podium; the conductors who most influenced them; how they manage the tricky relationship with their orchestras and where they envision their place in history.
Valery Gergiev
Sunday, June 01, 2003
Few conductors have exploded on the global scene as Valery Gergiev has in the past 10 years. He has rebuilt his Kirov Opera and was appointed as principal guest conductor at the Met, where he introduced neglected Russian operas.
