Can emotion be performed? Valery Gergiev has long been associated with the Mariinsky (formerly known as the Kirov) Orchestra – including 11 previous UMS appearances.

This program features Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which had its world premiere in 1913 in Paris, just 16 days after Hill Auditorium opened. The ballet, with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky, caused a scandal, yet it has had a tremendous impact on music for the past 100 years and is now considered a masterpiece of the 20th century.  This concert features the orchestral score.

The concert also features piano soloist Denis Matsuev, who made his UMS debut with the Mariinsky in October 2010 and returned for an equally stunning recital in January 2012. He returns as piano soloist for Shostakovich’s Concerto in c minor for Piano, Trumpet, and String Orchestra. “Ever since his triumph in the 1998 Tchaikovsky Competition, Denis Matsuev’s name has inspired awe and amazement in musical circles. And for once, the hype…is, if anything, low-pitched. For here is a virtuoso in the grandest of Russian traditions…” (Gramophon Magazine)

Program:
R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 (1898)
Shostakovich: Concerto in c minor for Piano, Trumpet, and String Orchestra, Op. 35 (1933)
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (1913)
Program Book [PDF]
Encore:
“Polonaise” from Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin

Also see:
Mariinsky Orchestra of St. Petersburg Website

The Mariinsky Orchestra is one of the oldest symphonies in Russia, with a history dating back over 200 years.  The group has undergone numerous name changes as part of regime changes, and recently changed its name to from Kirov to Mariinsky.  The orchestra has been conducted by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Mahler, among others.  It has premiered some of the most famous works in Russian music by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Shostakovich, and others.

Valery Gergiev graduated from the Leningrad State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in symphony conducting under Professor Ilya Musin. At the age of 23 he won the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition in Berlin and, while still a student at the Conservatoire, was invited to join the Kirov Theatre (now the Mariinsky). At the age of 35, Valery Gergiev was appointed Artistic Director of the Opera Company, and since 1996 he has been Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre.

This performance marks the Mariinsky’s 11th UMS appearance. The orchestra last performed at Hill Auditorium during the 2010-2011 season.

Performance trailer