Tag Archives: Valery Gergiev

Prom 14: LSO’s tag-team Prokofiev triumphs in the five piano concertos

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Mark Pullinger

Prokofiev: LSO/Gergiev **** Royal Albert Hall, 28th July 2015 Last week, Leif Ove Andsnes performed all five Beethoven piano concertos over three evenings at the Proms. Valery Gergiev must chuckle at such lack of ambition! Instead, he and the London … Continue reading →

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Unwrapping an enigma: Gergiev’s electrifying Shostakovich 15

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Mark Pullinger

Balakirev, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich: LSO/Gergiev ***** Barbican Hall, 12th May 2015 “A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” That description could apply to Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony, with its impish musical quotations punctuating its dark brooding character. It would also … Continue reading →

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Gergiev’s earthy Pictures painted in rich oils

Posted on March 21, 2015 by Mark Pullinger

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Songs and Dances of Death; Night on Bare Mountain  The loudest noise I’ve ever experienced in the concert hall was courtesy of Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky (then Kirov) Orchestra. Admittedly, it was in the … Continue reading →

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A Russian heritage: Gergiev’s cataclysmic Rachmaninov with the LSO

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Mark Pullinger

Balakirev/Glazunov/Rachmaninov: LSO/ Gergiev *** Barbican Hall, 19th February 2015 With speculation mounting about the appointment of his successor as Principal Conductor, there has been little evaluation of Gergiev’s time at the helm of the LSO. Apart from an impulsive, erratic … Continue reading →

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Scorch marks: Searing Rachmaninov from Gergiev and the LSO

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Mark Pullinger

Rachmaninov: LSO/Gergiev **** Barbican, 11th November 2014 Fluttering fingers and jabbing a toothpick baton, it’s difficult see how an orchestra can follow the beat – any beat – indicated by Valery Gergiev. Yet the London Symphony Orchestra plays for him … Continue reading →

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