Gergiev to conduct for the Ayatollahs in Iran
OrchestrasThe Iranians have announced a forthcoming concert by Valery Gergiev, together with his Mariinsky guest conductor Alexander Ali Rahbari, who appears to be the middleman in the deal. Putin is also tying an ever closer knot with the drone-makers of Teheran.
Reminder to Gergiev: Don’t forget to rip those Israeli visas out of your passport.
And enjoy the public hangings.
So much more enjoyable when the victims are innocent.
What a shameful and disgusting end to what used to be an illustrious career.
Dear Norman,Maestro Gergiev and me , we are honoured to be invited by university of music in Teheran to work with wonderful Iranian youth orchestra in Teheran, and nothing else . Best wishes Ali Alexander Rahbari
“Maestro” Rahbari – you have sold your soul to Putin and one can just pity and despise you and your patron VG.
Things must really be seen through black and white glasses? It’s that simple?
There is no such thing as “and nothing else” when dealing with any organizational entity in Iran. If you and Gergiev believe any of it, you are both willing yourselves into naïveté or sticking your heads in the sand or choosing to look the other way. Choose your metaphor. What is not open to interpretation, however, is the fact that Iran is a sponsor of terrorism in the region and likely beyond. So, a sponsor of Hamas, Hezbollah, you name it. And we all know what that’s about.
You are a disgrace to our profession! There is nothing anyone can learn from both of you other than how to be murderous regimes lapdogs! Next stop North Korea!
Dear Maestro:
In 2005, conservatives in Iran accused you of promoting Western values by performing the Beethoven 9th in Tehran. You then resigned from the Tehran Symphony in protest.
What has changed your mind about conducting in your homeland?
“Maestro Gergiev and me”
…would be killed instantly in your shitty country if the world found out you two are lovers.
Dear Norman,This invitation is by no means governmental، and its primary purpose is only to help talented young people who badly need our help.
Grow up…
“This invitation is by no means governmental”…this is a flat out lie. There is no way a European ensemble would be given visas and entrance into Iran without the express invitation’ of that regime.
Oh Yes!! Yes!!
Now the Ayatollahs-loving triad is complete: KARAJAN — MUTI — GERGIEV!!
The first one was a member of the Nazi party, and was the ONLY conductor who conducted in the anti-Zionist nation (where they want to kill all the Jews) after the Revolution until, decades later …
… his worthy successor, Muti, took the Cherubini Orchestra there. Muti should be considered for the Nobel Prize for such a daring achievement. Recently Muti, in Sarajevo, confessed that he does not understand why the Israel Philharmonic is not called Palestinian Orchestra. Muti also is a proud recipient of an fantastical Putin award (the Order of Friendship) and a protector of the Great Putin Bass (Abdrazakov).
Now Gergiev completes the magic trio of Iran-loving conductors. He is a follower of the “new Hitler” (Putin) and was invited by Muti to conduct the Cherubini as well in Ravenna, like Abdrazakov was invited by Muti to sing there a few days ago.
All makes sense, as we have been writing for a while now.
This is slightly far-fetched. Gergiev conducting in the Ayatollahs’ Teheran might bear comparison to Karajan conducting in Nazi-occupied Paris. But that’s about as far as it can be stretched.
Great musicians are not necessarily great human beings. It is our moral obligation to discard such villains who tarnish the music they are playing. As to Muti – he is just a pompous clown who needs not be taken seriously.
Actually, Karajan’s concerts in Tehran were in 1975, so before the revolution. I’m not, incidentally, saying that there weren’t issues with Iran under the Shah, just correcting a factual inaccuracy.
I and hundreds of young Iranian music students are happy and surprised by the arrival of these two world maestros
Why not, Maestro Rahbari is the most famous and popular Iranian international musician and maestro Gergiev is his very good friend
Next Gergiev will be on tour with the Mariinsky Orchestra of Hungary, Turkey, Iran, North Korea and a rousing finale in China. In the words of Joseph Welch to Senator Joseph McCarthy, “Sir, have you no sense of decency?”
Wait up!! Doctrinaire muslims don’t like music, so what the hell is happening here??!!
Isn’t it time to free Iran?
Overrated clown
I wish that Mr.Alexander Rahbari would “enjoy” a little bit of politics to see with whom he deal with, and ask himself a question if this would take place if not a politics.
Maestro Gergiev and maestro Rahbari did never sanction any other Countries ,and why should they now sanction the young musicians in Iran or anywhere else ?
Leave Nabucco and Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves off the programme.
Wow.. thats totally a free, honest, thought through opinion and not just the vomit of US media. Your hate for these countries and the lack of contempt for your ‘civilised’ country and its allies is growing to be trully nauseating.
Apparently you have not even tried to look up the reason behind this trip. Yes 2 good conductors going to Teheran to help students is most definitely evil! Shame on them!!
Iran has never been closer to having nuclear weapons, and we are here debating whether conducting their orchestras is fine or not. Pure idiocy.
When you talk about humanity. What will you say about the Israelites these days?
Maestro Rahbari, recently in Iran a woman was whipped 74 times for not wearing hijab. Hangings , electric shocks and guillotined fingers, brutal punishments are meted out for even the pettiest of crimes. I wonder if “Ode to joy'” is in your program …
And the West, in decline and on the brink of moral collapse is still telling the rest of the world how to run their affairs.
Some mistake here. For ‘the West’, read ‘Putin’s Russia’.
The moral high ground is easy from safe distance. Enjoy your freedom and don’t be harsh to those who lack it.
Maestro Rahbari, it has been calculated that Gergiev conducted 300+ performances in 2023 (365 days). This can’t be anything other than sloppy work, in my opinion, to put it politely. If this is what you think will “help talented young people who badly need our help”, then it looks like a terribly misguided effort. Or there is another reason.
Next stop – North Korea.
Iran has recently been trying to improve their image. Rick Steves, the respected travel writer, recently made a trip there which was featured on WTTW in Chicago. Mark Wiens, a you tube foodie fanatic, also visited and did a video from there. Both of these visits were no doubt approved by the regime. I will leave it to others as to whether the human contact in these visits compensates for the terrible injustices of the regime.