Mariinsky
Orchestra
The Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre enjoys a long and distinguished history
as one of the oldest musical institutions in Russia. Founded in the 18th
century during the reign of Peter the Great and housed in St. Petersburg’s
famed Mariinsky Theatre since 1860, the orchestra entered its “golden age” in
the second half of the 19th century under the musical direction of Eduard
Nápravník, whose leadership for more than a half-century (1863–1916) secured
its reputation as one of the finest in Europe.
Numerous internationally famed musicians have conducted the orchestra, among
them Hans von Bülow, Felix Mottl, Felix Weingartner, Alexander von Zemlinsky,
Otto Nikisch, Willem Mengelberg, Otto Klemperer, Bruno Walter, Erich Kleiber,
Hector Berlioz, Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler, and Arnold Schoenberg.
Renamed the Kirov during the Soviet era, the orchestra continued to maintain
its high artistic standards under the leadership of Yevgeny Mravinsky and Yuri
Temirkanov. The leadership of Valery Gergiev has enabled the Mariinsky Theatre
to forge important relationships for the Mariinsky Ballet and Opera to appear
in the world’s greatest opera houses and theaters, among them the Metropolitan
Opera; the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; the Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden; San Francisco Opera; Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; the Salzburg
Festival; and La Scala in Milan.
The success of the orchestra’s frequent tours has created the reputation of
what one journalist referred to as “the world’s first global orchestra.” Since its US
debut in 1992, the orchestra has made 15 tours of North America, including a
2006 celebration of the complete Shostakovich symphonies, a cycle of
Prokofiev’s stage works in 2008, major works of Hector Berlioz in February and
March 2010, and a centennial Mahler cycle at Carnegie Hall in October 2010. In
addition to opening Carnegie Hall’s 2011–2012 season, this month the orchestra
presents a cycle of Tchaikovsky symphonies on both the East and West coasts and
in Canada.
In 2009 and 2010, the new Mariinsky Label
released Shostakovich’s The Nose and symphonies
nos. 1 and 15, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Rhapsody on a Theme of
Paganini, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture,
Rodion Shchedrin’s The Enchanted Wanderer, and Stravinsky’s Les noces and Oedipus Rex.
Releases in 2011 include Shostakovich’s symphonies nos. 2 and 11, and
nos. 3 and 10; Wagner’s Parsifal;
Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor; and
a DVD/Blu-ray of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies nos. 4, 5, and 6, and Balanchine’s
ballet Jewels.
Valery Gergiev
Valery Gergiev’s inspired leadership as artistic and general director of the
Mariinsky Theatre since 1988 has taken Mariinsky ensembles to 45 countries and
has brought universal acclaim to this legendary institution, now in its 229th
season.
At home in St. Petersburg, Maestro
Gergiev’s leadership has resulted in the new and superb Mariinsky
Concert Hall, which opened in November 2006, and the Mariinsky record label,
which was launched in 2009. The new Mariinsky Theatre
is scheduled to open in 2012; in 2015, the original and classic Mariinsky Theatre
(currently celebrating its 151st anniversary) will be renovated to bring its
staging facilities up to 21st-century standards.
Presently principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and the World Orchestra for Peace, Maestro Gergiev is
also founder and artistic director of the Stars of the White Nights and
New Horizons festivals in St. Petersburg, the Moscow Easter Festival, the
Gergiev Rotterdam Festival, the Mikkeli International Festival, and the Red Sea
Festival in Eilat, Israel.
Maestro Gergiev is the recipient of a Grammy Award, the Dmitri Shostakovich
Award, Golden Mask Award, People’s Artist of Russia Award, the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award, Sweden’s Polar
Music Prize, the Netherlands’s Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion,
Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun, Valencia’s Silver Medal, the Herbert von
Karajan Music Prize, and France’s Ordre National de la Légion
d’honneur.
In addition to recording for the Mariinsky
and LSO Live labels, Maestro Gergiev has recorded extensively for Decca
(Universal Classics), and appears on the Philips and Deutsche Grammophon
labels.