Where’s Gergiev?

Where’s Gergiev?

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norman lebrecht

July 06, 2021

Not in Munich, where he’s meant to be conducting Rheingold at the opera and the Philharmonic at the open-air Klassik am Odeonsplatz.

Russians are having trouble entering Germany at the moment for Covid reasons.

So Gergiev is summering as usual in Finland, at the Mikkeli festival founded 29 years ago by our long-lamented friend Seppo Heikinheimo.


Exclusive photo from the Mikkeli Wooden Church by (c) Laura Luostarinen.

Comments

  • Elizabeth Owen says:

    Only for three concerts – 4th; 5th and 6th of July.

  • fflambeau says:

    That is the tiniest baton I’ve ever seen. I’m glad he usually uses his hands.

    • ICP says:

      Gergiev generally conducts with a toothpick.

    • John Kelly says:

      Is that what he’s doing? Usually the hands tremble and I for one have no idea where the upbeat is………….

      • alfred says:

        They used to make similar comments about Furtwangler’s beat, but as we all know between Furtwangler and Gergiev there is a gulf of both musicality and technique wider than the Atlantic and deeper than the Grand Canyon

        • Tamino says:

          “They” made and make always a lot of comments.
          Has it ever occurred to anyone, that maybe often Furtwängler didn’t want a precise entrance of all instruments at the same millisecond, but rather a slightly staggered entrance, which makes for a more natural, softer, beginning of an orchestral sound, which is an addition of many individual instruments?

          Furtwängler could very well beat precisely if he wanted to. But to create the sound he wanted, he intentionally often was blurry on the precise moment of where the beat or pulse is.

          Good orchestras then can sound marvellous. Bad orchestras will sound all over the place. Now Furtwängler conducted only very good orchestras. There you go…

      • Gustavo says:

        It’s the Petersburg school.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yRLSERLdiE

        • John Kelly says:

          Hmmm. Methinks that Mravinsky who taught most of those who followed him (e.g. Mariss Jansons) had a very clear upbeat and technique. Maybe that was the “Leningrad School?”

        • M2N2K says:

          Not really. For example, Semion Bychkov has no such problems.

      • BigSir says:

        upbeat appear to be in the left hand.

  • Concertgebouw79 says:

    I like so much the Odeonsplatz summer concert. Frequently gergiev at his best. I remember an superb edition with Juan Diego Florez.

  • Gustavo says:

    Salt mines?

  • Tiredofitall says:

    Who’s been asking?

  • Nev says:

    Lucky Germany!

  • corruption rules OK says:

    “Russians are having trouble entering Germany at the moment for Covid reasons.”

    This is complete nonsense. Where does your info come from?

    Russians with private planes have had no difficulty going wherever they please since the borders were closed more than a year ago.

    One rule for the global “elite” another for the plebs.
    In any case who is sorry that “corrupt trembler, who can’t rehearse an orchestra” is not in Germany?

    Anyone?

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