Gergiev and his global vision for Mariinsky
Print Edition
WHEN Valery Gergiev raised his baton at the Shanghai Grand Theater last week for a performance of Russian classical music, it was really a feast for the ears.
During his one-week residency in Shanghai, Gergiev, who is in his 60s, still showed an inexhaustible energy for a diverse program in opera, symphony and ballet, including Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” and Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf.”
After thrilling the audience with performances of Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff last Friday, Gergiev and violinist Kristof Barati returned to the stage for three encores and extended the performance by nearly 40 minutes.
Gergiev — named by Forbes magazine as one of the top three celebrities in Russia — is known for his strong support of Russian art. He maintains a frantic schedule for himself and the Mariinsky Theater to keep the orchestra active on the international stage. He has been artistic director of the 200-year-old Mariinsky Theater for a long time.
A report in the New Yorker said Gergiev conducted no fewer than 261 shows in the 2012-13 season with Mariinsky, the London Symphony, of which he is the principal conductor since 2007, and other orchestras and opera houses in the US and Asia.
The pace has only increased with Gergiev picking up projects in developing countries.
The Russian conductor has big plans for China as well.
The Mariinsky opened a branch — Primorsky Stage — in Vladivostok, a port city in Russia that is only 50 minutes away from China’s northeastern city, Yanji, by air.
Gergiev says with that the number of performances in China’s big cities like Beijing and Shanghai would also see a substantial growth.
Notwithstanding the controversies that surround his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Gergiev says he was only focussed on investing his efforts in issues that concern music and the music industry.
And that includes working with young orchestras and artists, and performing for children.
That’s also one of the reasons why he picked one symphonic tale to conduct in Shanghai last week.
“If children are there in the hall, it is a very important concert. Because I don’t remember so well the thousands of concerts I conducted, but I remember my own first concerts as a listener.
“I remember in detail even the voice of the person who was announcing what we are going to hear,” Gergiev says.
The veteran conductor said activities that concern children gave him much bigger satisfaction than many other so-called successful projects.
That also explains why most of the performers in Mariinsky are those who studied with Gergiev in the formative years decades ago.
For the Shanghai concert, Gergiev was accompanied by two young soloists: 25-year-old Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov and Hungarian violinist Barati, winner of the 2010 International Paganini Violin Competition.
“Young orchestras have one very big advantage — they do not represent one group of musicians, they represent opportunities for young people to be chosen, and an opportunity to work together.
“Many leading musicians of our time would come and share with them their experiences and ideas on music in future,” Gergiev says.
The presence of Gergiev was a major attraction at this year’s Shanghai International Arts Festival. Mariinsky first toured Shanghai 17 years ago, and in Gergiev’s words, it underlines his belief for tighter ties in arts between neighboring countries, and broader cultural connections with Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.
“I was in a way aware that five countries represent a huge part of world’s population and a big part of the world’s economy and, even more importantly, a huge part of the world’s hope,” Gergiev said at an event held at the New Development Bank's office in Shanghai on why he thinks that the St Petersburg-based Mariinsky Theater should strive to associated with these countries as frequently as possible in the future.
“I am sure that these activities are already seen on a higher level that is only to be expected ... It has a fantastic potential to bring about positive changes,” he says.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
