Gergiev’s new protégé is … his nephew

Valery Gergiev is giving a Conductors Masterclass in Amsterdam from 10 am tomorrow with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Focusing on Richard Strauss’s Don Juan and Claude Debussy’s La mer, he will be sharing his knowledge with three talented young conductors: Ben Gernon from the UK, Zaurbek Gugkaev from North Ossetia and Joshua Weilerstein from the US (says the media release).

Gernon and Weilerstein are bright young talents who have won conducting positions on merit.

Zaurbek Gugkaev is new to us. He is listed on the Mariinsky website as a staff conductor.

What is not listed in his c.v. is that his father Tamerlan Gugkaev is executive director of the Mariinsky concert hall.

Tamerlan is married to Gergiev’s sister (and former assistant), Svetlana.

A second sister, Larisa, is Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers and Artistic Director of the State Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Northern Ossetia-Alania (Vladikavkaz).

So much talent in one small family.