Just in: Putin sends Gergiev to Beijing

Just in: Putin sends Gergiev to Beijing

News

norman lebrecht

March 24, 2023

Chinese media are reporting that Russia’s prize conductor is being sent to give concerts in Beijng and Shanghai next week as part  of the friendship deal cemented between presidents Putin and Xi.

Valery Gergiev always responds when Putin says ‘jump!’

From the Beijing organ Global Times:

Following friendly China-Russia talks in Moscow, Russia’s veteran conductor Valery Gergiev is set to perform in ­Beijing from March 27 to 29, the ­National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) announced on Monday.

The news has excited so many ­classic music lovers as the conductor is ­well-received in China during his past visits, winning him the nickname “brother-in-law” as the pronunciation of his Chinese name is similar to jiefu, brother-in-law.

Gergiev’s upcoming performance is seen as signal that more international artists will be on China’s stages as the country resumed accepting requests of overseas artists ever since March 20. Meanwhile, many experts see it as an attempt at cultural exchanges between Russia and China resulting from closer bilateral ties.

Gergiev and the Russian Mariinsky Orchestra, which he has worked with for over 50 years, will stage music pieces ranging from Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No.1 in D major, Op. 25, Classical, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade on the first day to Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and Gioachino Rossini’s William Tell Overture.
 

Comments

  • Gustavo says:

    On that note, what has become of the World Orchestra for Peace?

    Will we ever again experience such harmony?

    http://www.worldorchestraforpeace.com/

  • MacroV says:

    If the whole orchestra is going over, presumably this has been in the works for a while.

  • Peter Borich says:

    Now the Chinese can be exposed to his subpar orchestra performances

  • Adrian Hart says:

    I don’t suppose Gergiev has much choice. Rossini and Debussy though? Isn’t that unpatriotic? How about ‘The Thieving Magpie?’

  • Henry says:

    This is nothing new. Gergiev has been going to China regularly since 1998.

  • Roger Rocco says:

    He is an overrated conductor who conducts with a toothpick and always looks like he needs a shower and a shave. He sold his soul to the little man years ago. He will do nothing in China other than spend Russian propaganda. The maestro was willing to accept wealth from the West for decades until he was no longer wanted. Corrupt phony baloney! Good riddance!

    • MacroV says:

      To be fair, while I will never again go see Gergiev even if the opportunity arises, I have seen him conduct about a dozen times around the world over the past two decades, and it was always a memorable event.

    • Tom Phillips says:

      Not only “looks like” DOES! As I’ve had the misfortune to witness at first hand. And also sadly lacking the artistic talent at least possessed by such equally Stalinist predecessors as Elena Obratsova.

  • Aura Cacia says:

    Putin does not say “jump” and VG doesn’t.

  • Tom Phillips says:

    He should instead be sent to the military front lines in Ukraine where he would perform just as effectively as he does in Wagner and other non-Russian repertoire.

  • Edgar says:

    Well, that’s the job of an Imperial Reichsmusikdirektor, isn’t it?

    • Titus says:

      Eight million Russian soldiers died fighting Hitler’s Germany. This is your thanks? Maybe they should have stayed home.

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