# Valery Gergiev



## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I wonder how others rate Gergiev as a conductor and what qualities and characteristics they find in his music making. I feel he has made quite a number of extraordinarily good recordings, mostly but not entirely of Russian music, but he has also made a number of rather routine ones. Much that he recorded with the LSO he also recorded with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and the latter often seemed to be much better. Some of his work with the Vienna Philharmonic has also been really great. Even taking account of all his best work, and forgiving him the less than good, I am still a little unsure how to characterise his music making style.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

I appreciate him for being one of the few modern conductors who is unafraid to have an individual, risk-taking style. Thus, both his successes and his misfires are more pronounced than your standard “play everything safe and by the book” approach, but I think in several ways he carries on the tradition of raw Russian passion exemplified by Mravinsky, Kondrashin, et al. He is helped in his Mariinsky/Kirov recordings by having an orchestra that retains a local flavor to the sound and playing style with piercing brass, woodwind vibrato, and a highly expressive way of phrasing. My favorite things of his that I’ve heard are his Scheherazade, which is possibly my favorite version of that warhorse - it sounds like the orchestra is making up the music on the spot! - and his Rite of Spring, which is controversial but is just downright incendiary. I also like what I’ve heard of his Tchaikovsky (his dynamic violin concerto with Repin is the only recording of that work I’ve heard that has convinced me of its greatness) and his Russian opera recordings. However, his Mahler with the LSO is just remarkably nondescript and unmemorable, like he did the full cycle just to fulfill a recording contract. Either that or he’s losing his interpretive personality as he ages.

Oh yes, and his Prokofiev symphony cycle has IMO so much more personality than the often-praised Järvi cycle.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

I just got his Nutcracker with the Kirov. Damn fine recording! Don't know anything else about Gergiev.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Like any conductor he has his hits and misses. The above mentioned Scheherazade and Rite of Spring are terrific. I like some of the LSO Mahler, but the recorded sound was a major let down. Some of work on Philips was excellent: his Prokofieff symphony cycle is quite good. But what I like him most for: those Russian operas! Where else would you hear them played and sung so expertly and guided by a conductor who really knows and loves the music. My only regret is that the Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofieff and others weren't put on video in Blu Ray. Gergiev is also a noisy conductor and it's clearly audible in some of his recordings; annoying.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

mbhaub said:


> Gergiev is also a noisy conductor and it's clearly audible in some of his recordings; annoying.


He smells funny too.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

I'm a huge fan of the great man. Seen him with the LSO in London in the 2000s, including the entire Mahler traversal. The most spellbinding 6 I've ever witnessed (the resultant CD does not do justice). His DSCH and Prokofiev is spellbinding and that's to say nothing of his Tchaikovsky. The accusation that he smells is scurrilous. I had several tickets near the front and can vouch that the man is no stranger to the laundrette and uses Imperial Leather. Although he may occasionally grunt and huff, he does not fart during performances, unlike some conductors I could mention (which is distracting for the audience and very unfair to the principals clustered around the podium).


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

He conducts Russian operas and ballets very nicely.


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

Russian music is best played by Russians.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

I too like his music and enjoy the Mahler cycle he did with the LSO.
I wonder if his reputation may be tarnished over time given he close links with the Russian leadership in the way Karjan was always dogged by his past Nazi associations


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

HenryPenfold said:


> I'm a huge fan of the great man. Seen him with the LSO in London in the 2000s, including the entire Mahler traversal. The most spellbinding 6 I've ever witnessed (the resultant CD does not do justice). His DSCH and Prokofiev is spellbinding and that's to say nothing of his Tchaikovsky. The accusation that he smells is scurrilous. I had several tickets near the front and can vouch that the man is no stranger to the laundrette and uses Imperial Leather. Although he may occasionally grunt and huff, he does not fart during performances, unlike some conductors I could mention (which is distracting for the audience and very unfair to the principals clustered around the podium).


I did wonder about his Mahlers and his LSO work in general. The recordings do sound dull. The other day I was watching a video on Sky Arts (via Freeview) of Gergiev and the LSO doing the Symphonie Fantastique and thought it surprisingly good. I had wondered if he just didn't get on with the orchestra. That's why I started this thread.

I agree with those who have singled out his Scheherazade and his Rite. His Pictures at an Exhibition is also one of the best and his Vienna Tchaik 5 is great. Perhaps more surprisingly his Mariinsky Parcifal is excellent, too. I'll be trying some of the other recommendations in this thread ... so keep them coming.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Radames said:


> Russian music is best played by Russians.


You'd think so, but it's not really true for reasons I can't explain. Gergiev does a lot of great Russian music, but we've still not heard him on recording doing Balakirev, Kalinnikov, or Glazunov. What Tchaikovsky has he done? The Russian opera series was terrific, but then what do we have to compare it to?

When I go through my Russian stuff (and there's an awful lot of it), the best recordings are, by and large, not by Russians. Dorati, Solti, Reiner, Bernstein, Ormandy, Previn, Jarvi, Rodzinski, Toscanini, Karajan, Slatkin, Szell, Chailly and others all do first-rate Russian and there isn't a single Russian conductor who is any better. Svetlanov? Rostropovich? Mravinsky turned out some iconic Tchaikovsky symphonies, but they're not everyone's first choice. From Gergiev have we had any first-choice Shostakovich? Kabalevsky? Schnittke? Weinberg? And one of the worst conductors of Russian music is Russian Vladimir Fedoseyev.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

^ What Tchaikovsky has he done? The symphonies (several times for the later ones), the ballets, The Queen of Spades, Eugene Onegin and the concertos are among his recordings. I don't necessarily hold to the view that a conductor or orchestra need to be Russian to play Russian music but Gergiev is among the most respected exponents for quite a lot of that repertoire.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Enthusiast said:


> I did wonder about his Mahlers and his LSO work in general. The recordings do sound dull. The other day I was watching a video on Sky Arts (via Freeview) of Gergiev and the LSO doing the Symphonie Fantastique and thought it surprisingly good. I had wondered if he just didn't get on with the orchestra. That's why I started this thread.
> 
> I agree with those who have singled out his Scheherazade and his Rite. His Pictures at an Exhibition is also one of the best and his Vienna Tchaik 5 is great. Perhaps more surprisingly his Mariinsky Parcifal is excellent, too. I'll be trying some of the other recommendations in this thread ... so keep them coming.


I'd totally forgotten about his Rite. It is near the top, if not _the_ top, of my faves.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

mbhaub said:


> You'd think so, but it's not really true for reasons I can't explain. Gergiev does a lot of great Russian music, but we've still not heard him on recording doing Balakirev, Kalinnikov, or Glazunov. What Tchaikovsky has he done? The Russian opera series was terrific, but then what do we have to compare it to?
> 
> When I go th rough my Russian stuff (and there's an awful lot of it), the best recordings are, by and large, not by Russians. Dorati, Solti, Reiner, Bernstein, Ormandy, Previn, Jarvi, Rodzinski, Toscanini, Karajan, Slatkin, Szell, Chailly and others all do first-rate Russian and there isn't a single Russian conductor who is any better. Svetlanov? Rostropovich? Mravinsky turned out some iconic Tchaikovsky symphonies, but they're not everyone's first choice. From Gergiev have we had any first-choice Shostakovich? Kabalevsky? Schnittke? Weinberg? And one of the worst conductors of Russian music is Russian Vladimir Fedoseyev.


Gergiev did conduct Glazunov's The Seasons about a year ago (with a couple of small cuts) and his Second Piano Concerto at the 2013 BBC Proms. But yes, I would like to see him record Raymonda, his symphonies, and so forth. You're right in regards to both Balakirev and Kalinnikov: he has yet to record their music.


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

mbhaub said:


> You'd think so, but it's not really true for reasons I can't explain. Gergiev does a lot of great Russian music, but we've still not heard him on recording doing Balakirev, Kalinnikov, or Glazunov. What Tchaikovsky has he done? The Russian opera series was terrific, but then what do we have to compare it to?
> 
> When I go through my Russian stuff (and there's an awful lot of it), the best recordings are, by and large, not by Russians. Dorati, Solti, Reiner, Bernstein, Ormandy, Previn, Jarvi, Rodzinski, Toscanini, Karajan, Slatkin, Szell, Chailly and others all do first-rate Russian and there isn't a single Russian conductor who is any better. Svetlanov? Rostropovich? Mravinsky turned out some iconic Tchaikovsky symphonies, but they're not everyone's first choice. From Gergiev have we had any first-choice Shostakovich? Kabalevsky? Schnittke? Weinberg? And one of the worst conductors of Russian music is Russian Vladimir Fedoseyev.


The problem with the Russian recordings was the sound. The passion is there though. It really comes through in live performances. I always check out the Russian orchestras when they come around. Best Tchaikovsky 4th was a Russian Orchestra at UCONN one night. I saw Gergiev conduct Tchaikovsky in Montreal. If they come to your town don't miss them.


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## 6Strings (Feb 16, 2021)

EdwardBast said:


> He smells funny too.


I met him once--he had no detectable odor.


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## Subutai (Feb 28, 2021)

Haydn man said:


> I too like his music and enjoy the Mahler cycle he did with the LSO.
> I wonder if his reputation may be tarnished over time given he close links with the Russian leadership in the way Karjan was always dogged by his past Nazi associations


I've NEVER understood why his close links to the PRESIDENT of his country tarnishes his reputation! Most mortals would welcome just having said hello to their leader. Most of what we read in the West regarding anyone we don't like is pure propaganda. What anyone does in their own backyard is their business.
It's the same with footballer Mezut Erzil. How dare he invite the President of Turkey (the birthplace of his parents) to his wedding!?! A pathetic argument.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Subutai said:


> I've NEVER understood why his close links to the PRESIDENT of his country tarnishes his reputation! Most mortals would welcome just having said hello to their leader. Most of what we read in the West regarding anyone we don't like is pure propaganda. What anyone does in their own backyard is their business.
> It's the same with footballer Mezut Erzil. How dare he invite the President of Turkey (the birthplace of his parents) to his wedding!?! A pathetic argument.


Justifying or explaining Gergiev's and Ozil's reasons does not help, the merit of what they have done is irrelevant - and whether Putin and Tayyip are anti-democratic, anti-human rights dictators or not, is also irrelevant. Just watch/listen and play music and football ......


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

I was a fan when first came on the scene in the 90s, but judging by recordings at least not so much after that. Some of the LSO recordings are kind of slapdash, and the sound is terrible (not Gergiev fault). I haven’t heard his Munich recordings


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

HenryPenfold said:


> Justifying or explaining Gergiev's and Erzil's reasons does not help, the merit of what they have done is irrelevant - and whether Putin and Tayyip are anti-democratic, anti-human rights dictators or not, is also irrelevant. Just watch/listen and play music and football ......


There have been times when placing all that emanates from people governed by a repressive regime outside of what can be accepted has (arguably) been useful and necessary. I am thinking particularly of the battles concerning whether England should play cricket or rugby with South Africa during the apartheid era. It may have been that the actual players held acceptable views but it was also the case that the South African teams reflected the regime's policies and, in any case, isolating South Africa sent a powerful message to many South African whites who were otherwise apolitical: they were beyond the pale.


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## EnescuCvartet (Dec 16, 2016)

I've watched his Bolero video several times. I'm always amused at his conducting the work with a toothpick. The camera close-ups on the delicate maneuvering of the miniature mock-baton are too much to recall without a feeling of good cheer.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

This Firebird, especially the last couple minutes, is also an absolute hoot.


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## Simon23 (Dec 8, 2020)

You're right. This is a rather strange stereotype, which is far from reality. This is especially true of symphonic music. Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Stravinsky-almost all the best recordings for me were made by non-Russian conductors. 

P.S. I consider Koussevitzky the best Russian conductor.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

I find the Gergiev/Mariinsky recordings of the Russian operatic repertoire indispensable. If these were the only ones he'd made, he'd have my eternal thanks.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Simon23 said:


> You're right. This is a rather strange stereotype, which is far from reality. This is especially true of symphonic music. Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Stravinsky-almost all the best recordings for me were made by non-Russian conductors.
> 
> P.S. I consider Koussevitzky the best Russian conductor.


This may be a product of using the concept "the best", but I find it very surprising as I can think of very strong Russian contenders for most of Tchaikovsky and Scriabin ... and IMO few non-Russians who can contend with them!

Stravinsky, though, was Russian in a very different way. He was strongly influenced by Russian folk music, Rimsky-Korsakov's tonal world, Orthodox Church music and thinking etc but was essentially much more of a cosmopolitan composer, and probably the greater for it. It rarely does to put too "Russian" a slant on his music even if the best interpreters understand deeply where he was coming from.


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## ThankYouKiwi (May 2, 2021)

I'll always be grateful for his recordings of the Prokofiev operas and other repetoire that basically no one else has done, but I'd never really seek him out for pieces recorded by others.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I bought my first Gergiev disc on (1) my interest in the music, but also (2) for the cover photo, with an intense conductor Gergiev depicted.









The musical performances satisfied. And the intensity of the conductor seems not to have waned. On subsequent albums I added to my collection, Gergiev always seemed one to reckon with, one who took seriously what he was doing.

















I currently have well over a dozen Gergiev discs on hand, including his Mahler recordings. On those album jackets the intense face of the conductor was replaced by lightning bolts, as on this disc:









On his LSO Live Bartók disc of _Bluebeard's Castle_, the lightning bolt is replaced with the stark brilliant light of what appears to be the sun.









I suspect that when on an album cover only lightning bolts or the sun can replace the conductor's features to provoke a sense of the intensity one's conducted music supplies, such conductor is in good steads.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

6Strings said:


> I met him once--he had no detectable odor.


You must have caught him after his weekly shower.



Radames said:


> Russian music is best played by Russians.


But apparently best proofread by others. Gergiev came to the Metropolitan Opera in New York to conduct Tchaikovsky's Opera _Mazeppa_. The parts, from the library of the Kirov, were the original, hand-copied ones from the 19thc. The Met library got them a couple of months in advance. There were hundreds of errors, including whole harmonic changes missing, which required at least one hundred hours of work to correct. Gergiev was surprised to hear the score as it was intended.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

ThankYouKiwi said:


> I'll always be grateful for his recordings of the Prokofiev operas and other repetoire that basically no one else has done, but I'd never really seek him out for pieces recorded by others.


That was my position (apart from a couple of records) but more recently I have found quite a number of recordings of quite varied repertoire (including Berlioz, Wagner and many Russians) that are as good as any and also unique and distinctive (as all really good performances are). Maybe you could explore his work further.


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## SearsPoncho (Sep 23, 2020)

I don't have any of his recordings. I did attend a concert where he conducted the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra in Shostakovich's 1st and Tchaikovsky's 5th and it was excellent.


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