The Mariinsky Orchestra, led by Valery Gergiev, will return to Symphony Center on October 2 with an all-Stravinsky program, featuring The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring. The orchestra last performed at Symphony Center in 2010.
The Mariinsky Orchestra of St. Petersburg has a long history as one of the oldest musical organizations in Russia. Tchaikovsky conducted the Mariinsky orchestra on numerous occasions, and the orchestra premièred many works by Tchaikovsky and other Russian masters, including the suite from Stravinsky's Firebird. The ensemble was known as the Kirov Orchestra during the Soviet era.
The Mariinsky's October 2 program is a rare opportunity to hear the complete music to three of Stravinsky's most famous ballets in one evening. All of these ballets are based on Russian folk stories and motifs. The heroic Prince Ivan and his magical Firebird battle an evil sorcerer in The Firebird (1910); a clown-puppet comes to life to pursue a beautiful ballerina in Petrushka (1911); and The Rite of Spring imagines pagan rituals of ancient Russia, including human sacrifice.
2013 marks the 100th anniversary of Rite of Spring, Stravinsky's most controversial work.
Gergiev has been the Mariinsky's music director since 1988. He is also the artistic director of the Stars of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg and the Moscow Easter Festival, the honorary conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the former principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera. He will still find the time to conduct a few operas at the Met this season.
Gergiev recently announced his intention to step down from his post as principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, but this hardly dents his status as one of the most in-demand maestros in the world.
He is also one of the highest paid. Classicalite recently reported that Gergiev made $16.5 million in 2011-12, making him Russia's highest-paid musician.
More information about Gergiev's Symphony Center concert is available at cso.org.
The Mariinsky Orchestra's tour schedule includes stops in the following U.S. cities:
October 7: Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
October 8: Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
October 10, 11 and 15: Carnegie Hall, N.Y.
October 14: Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.
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