Putin turns today to Valery Gergiev

Some time today, Russia’s most powerful musician will take a call from the Kremlin.

Valery Gergiev turns 70 on May 2 and Vladimir Putin never forgets a birthday.

The pair have been close since 1992 when KGM man Putin was deputy mayor of St Petersburg and Gergiev, penniless head of the Mariinsky Theatre, was in desperate need of a friend in power.

The alliance has worked well. Putin knows that Gergiev will never refuse a request, whether it’s to rescue the Tchaikovsky Competition or celebrate his military adventures in Chechnya, Syria and Ukraine. Gergiev has become richer than oligarchs and can do whatever he likes with the cream of Russia’s musical resources. No musician has ever wielded such clout in any of the Russian empires.

His only drawback is the war. Gergiev has lost his international career, probably for decades if not forever. He used to relish acclaim in London, Munich, Rotterdam, Carnegie Hall and the Musikverein. All gone. He used to enjoy genuine friendships abroad. No more.

His 70th birthday will be toasted in Russia, ignored elsewhere.

As one who was counted among his friends for twenty years, I regret his isolation and feel a twinge of human pity for a complex man who has done much human good behind the scenes. But Gergiev has made his choices and, at 70, he must now live with the consequences.

Happy birthday, Valery. Whatever you do today, don’t forget to answer the phone.