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Gergiev conducts Kirov Orchestra in Prokofiev


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This should be of interest:

LINCOLN CENTER GREAT PERFORMERS PRESENTS RUSSIAN DREAMS: THE MUSIC OF SERGEI PROKOFIEV

The Kirov Orchestra and Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre under Valery Gergiev will Perform Prokofiev’s Music for Stage and Film November 9-17, 2008

Gergiev to Lead the London Symphony Orchestra as Principal Conductor for the First Time in New York in Prokofiev’s Complete Symphonies March 23-30, 2009

Mark Morris’ Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare will Premiere in New York City May 14-17, 2009 in the Rose Theater

Russian Dreams: The Music of Sergei Prokofiev, a nine-part series examining the life and work of the brilliant 20th-century composer, will be the centerpiece of Lincoln Center’s 2008-09 Great Performers season. Acclaimed for being one of Prokofiev’s foremost interpreters, Valery Gergiev, will lead the renowned Kirov Orchestra and Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre in some of the composer’s most beloved work for ballet, theater, and film this November, including his masterpiece Romeo and Juliet, the commedia dell’arte-inspired opera The Love for Three Oranges, and scores for Sergei Eisenstein’s landmark films Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible. Gergiev will return in March 2009 for his first New York appearance as Principal Conductor of the incomparable London Symphony Orchestra in Prokofiev’s complete symphonies. The programs will also feature concertos highlighting three renowned Russian soloists–pianists Vladimir Feltsman and Alexei Volodin and violinist Vadim Repin. The Financial Times said of the LSO’s performance of the Prokofiev cycle in 2004, “No conductor today explains Prokofiev with such a complex mix of clarity and passion as Gergiev.”

Russian Dreams culminates in May 2009 with the New York City premiere of Mark Morris’ evening-length ballet Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare at the Rose Theater. Morris will use newly-discovered archival materials of Prokofiev’s original orchestrations, recently unearthed in Moscow by musicologist Simon Morrison, to create new choreography from music planned for never-staged scenes. He will also use the radical ending that Prokofiev abandoned when it was rejected by the Kirov Ballet in 1934 and then by the Bolshoi in 1935.

Tickets, priced at $35, $56, and $69, are available at the Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Hall box offices, Broadway at 65th Street, by calling CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, or by visiting Lincoln Center’s website at www.LincolnCenter.org.

Sergei Prokofiev, an accomplished pianist and masterful composer, had long-standing and tumultuous relationships with both the Kirov Orchestra and Ballet, as well as the London Symphony Orchestra throughout the early 1900s. A composer with remarkable talent and artistic range, Prokofiev was as celebrated for his chamber, piano, and symphonic music as for his ballets, operas, and film scores. A Russian native who studied with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, among many others at St. Petersburg Conservatory, Prokofiev toured and worked internationally in Paris and London, where he developed important collaborative relationships with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and Igor Stravinsky. He moved to the United States in 1918 and spent the next 18 years between the US and France, eventually returning to Russia in 1935, where he created some of his most inspired compositions and stayed until his death on March 5, 1953 – the same day that Stalin died. Although he was often subject to the censorship of Stalinist Russia, Prokofiev ultimately transcended political pressures and, in the end, created greater accessibility to music through his immense contributions to the art form.

Valery Gergiev

Valery Gergiev is currently Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra; Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, where he has conducted repertory productions of Prokofiev’s War and Peace and The Gambler; and Principal Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic. He spends about 250 days a year with the Mariinsky Opera and Ballet, which celebrated his 20th anniversary as Artistic Director and the company’s 225th season last year. In addition to working with the world’s major international orchestras and opera companies, Gergiev has set up numerous festivals, including Peace to the Caucasus, the Mikkeli in Finland, the Red Sea in Eilat, the Kirov-Philharmonia in London, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic-Gergiev Festival. The one festival that lies closest to his heart is St. Petersburg’s annual “Stars of the White Nights Festival,” which he set up in 1994 and of which he is Artistic Director.

Born to Ossetian parents in Moscow in 1953 and raised in the Caucasus, Valery Gergiev studied music in the Leningrad Conservatory under Ilya Musin. Having trained first as a pianist, at the age of 23 he was given his first passport to go to Berlin for the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition and two years later took up a conducting post at the Kirov. Gergiev was elected Artistic Director of the Mariinsky opera company in 1988 at the age of 35, and in 1996 the Russian government gave him complete control over the orchestra, opera, and ballet.

Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre

The Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre has a long and distinguished history as one of the oldest musical institutions in Russia. Founded in the 18th century during the reign of Peter the Great, it was known before the revolution as the Russian Imperial Opera Orchestra. Housed in St. Petersburg´s famed Mariinsky Theatre (named after Maria, the wife of Czar Alexander II) since 1860, the Orchestra entered its true golden age during the second half of the 19th century under the music direction of Eduard Nápravník.

The Mariinsky Theatre was also the birthplace of numerous operas and ballets which are regarded as masterpieces of the 19th and 20th centuries. World premiere performances include Glinka´s Life of a Tsar and Ruslan and Liudmila; Borodin´s Prince Igor; Musorgsky´s Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina; Rimsky-Korsakov´s Maid of Pskov, The Snow Maiden, and Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh; Tchaikovsky´s The Queen of Spades, Iolanta, Swan Lake, Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty; and Prokofiev´s The Duenna; as well as operas by Shostakovich and ballets by Khachaturian. Tchaikovsky was closely associated with the Mariinsky Theatre, not only conducting the Orchestra but also premiering his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies there. Sergei Rachmaninoff conducted the Orchestra on numerous occasions, including premieres of his Spring Cantata and symphonic poem The Bells. The Orchestra also premiered the music of the young Igor Stravinsky, including his Scherzo Fantastique and suite from The Firebird.

Renamed the Kirov Opera during the Soviet era, the Orchestra continued to maintain its high artistic standards under the leadership of Evgeny Mravinsky and Yuri Temirkanov. Soon after the city of Leningrad was renamed St. Petersburg, the Kirov Theatre reverted to its original title of the Mariinsky Theatre, home to the Kirov Opera, the Kirov Ballet, and the Kirov Orchestra. Under the leadership of Valery Gergiev, the Mariinsky Theatre has forged important relationships with the world’s greatest opera houses, among them the Metropolitan Opera, London´s Royal Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Théâtre Châtelet in Paris, and La Scala in Milan. Besides extensive touring of the opera and the ballet company, the Kirov Orchestra has performed throughout world.

Lincoln Center Great Performers Presents

Russian Dreams: The Music of Sergei Prokofiev

Sunday, November 9, 2008, from 1:00 to 2:30

Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse (Rose Building, 65th Street at Amsterdam, 10th Floor)

Panel Discussion

Stages of Life: Sergei Prokofiev's Music for Theatre and Cinema

Harlow Robinson, moderator, with Simon Morrison and Michael Pisani

Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 3:00

Avery Fisher Hall (Broadway at 65th Street)

Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre

Valery Gergiev, conductor

All-Prokofiev program: Music for Ballet

Scythian Suite, Op. 20

Suite from The Tale of the Buffoon, Op. 21bis

Selections from Cinderella, Op. 87

Suite from Le pas d’acier (“The Steel Step”), Op. 41bis

Monday, November 10, 2008 at 8:00

Avery Fisher Hall (Broadway at 65th Street)

Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre

Valery Gergiev, conductor

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 (complete)

Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 3:00

Avery Fisher Hall (Broadway at 65th Street)

Pre-concert lecture by Harlow Robinson at 1:45, Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse (Rose Building, 65th Street at Amsterdam, 10th Floor)

Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre

Kirov Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre

Valery Gergiev, conductor

Alexei Tanovitsky, King

Daniil Shtoda, Prince

Sergei Semishkur, Truffaldino

Alexej Markov, Leander

Anastasia Kalagina, Ninetta

All-Prokofiev program: Opera in Concert

The Love for Three Oranges, Op. 33

Monday, November 17, 2008 at 8:00

Avery Fisher Hall (Broadway at 65th Street)

Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre

Kirov Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre

Valery Gergiev, conductor

Kristina Kapustinskaya, mezzo-soprano

Alexei Tanovitsky, bass

All-Prokofiev program: Music for Film

Ivan the Terrible, Op. 116

Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78

Monday, March 23, 2009 at 8:00

Avery Fisher Hall (Broadway at 65th Street)

London Symphony Orchestra

Valery Gergiev, conductor

Vladimir Feltsman, piano

All-Prokofiev program

Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 (“Classical”)

Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16

Symphony No. 6 in E-flat minor, Op. 111

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 8:00

Avery Fisher Hall (Broadway at 65th Street)

Pre-concert lecture by Harlow Robinson at 6:45, Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse (Rose Building, 65th Street at Amsterdam, 10th Floor)

London Symphony Orchestra

Valery Gergiev, conductor

Vadim Repin, violin

All-Prokofiev program

Symphony No. 2 in D minor, Op. 40

Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19

Symphony No. 7 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131

Sunday, March 29, 2009, from 1:00 to 2:30

Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse (Rose Building, 65th Street at Amsterdam, 10th Floor)

Panel Discussion

20th-Century Master: Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphonic Legacy

Harlow Robinson, moderator

Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 3:00

Avery Fisher Hall (Broadway at 65th Street)

London Symphony Orchestra

Valery Gergiev, conductor

Alexei Volodin, piano

All-Prokofiev program

Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 44

Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 53

Symphony No. 4 in C major, Op. 112 (revised version)

Monday, March 30, 2009 at 8:00

Avery Fisher Hall (Broadway at 65th Street)

London Symphony Orchestra

Valery Gergiev, conductor

Vadim Repin, violin

All-Prokofiev program

Symphony No. 4 in C major, Op. 47 (original version)

Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 63

Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100

Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 8:00

Friday, May 15, 2009 at 8:00

Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 8:00

Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 3:00

Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center (Broadway at 60th Street)

Post-concert discussion with Mark Morris on May 15

Pre-concert lecture with Simon Morrison on May 16 at 6:45 in the Irene Diamond Education Center

Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare

Mark Morris Dance Group

Mark Morris, choreographer

Orchestra of St. Luke’s

Stefan Asbury, conductor

Allen Moyer, scenic design

Martin Pakledinaz, costume design

James F. Ingalls, lighting design

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet on Motifs of Shakespeare, Op. 64

Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet on Motifs of Shakespeare, restored by Simon Morrison, is performed by exclusive agreement with the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, Moscow. A Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College/Mark Morris Dance Group production in association with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; barbicanbite08, London; Cal Performances, Berkeley; Harris Theater for Music and Dance; Krannert Center for the Performing Arts; University of Illinois; and Virginia Arts Festival.

Tickets, priced at $35, $56, and $69, are available at the Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Hall box offices, Broadway at 65th Street, by calling CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, or by visiting Lincoln Center’s website at www.LincolnCenter.org.

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Thank you for this, Dale, even though I won't be there in New York. I will be attending a Prokofiev concert with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mr. Gergiev next week in Brussels. I don't know Prokofiev's music very well, but I'm working on it right now. :)

They will play these parts:

Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 (“Classical”)

Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19

Symphony No. 6 in E-flat minor, Op. 111

I have never been to a real concert before (other than those I played in myself), and, as I said before, I'm not very familiar with Prokofiev's music, but I'll tell you about it as well as I can. :)

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The "Classical Symphony" is a wonderful piece, one of his less gnarly and more accessible works.

Sadly, I neglected it for years: on the Leonard Bernstein recording, it was the flip side of Bizet's "Symphony in C", which I listened to at a ratio of about 1000:1 until I wore out the album.

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This thread reminded me that it's been way too long since I listened to Prokofiev's 6th symphony. When I first got it on CD, I had to listen to it 5 or 6 times before I could get into it. Now, it's one of my favorites. The "austere theme" that appears in both the first and last movements carries a lot of meaning for me. Unfortunately, no one in Denver will perform it :thumbsup:.

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Thanks for posting, Dale. The 'Classical Symphony' is a nice piece. Someone on another thread was mentioning that no ballet has been made to it yet.

Not true. Tudor's Gala Performance is set to Prokofiev's Classical Symphony. :thumbsup: Even aside from the Tudor, I'm sure other ballets have been set to it, just not on a major-league or highly visible level.

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In the Vaganova Academy's performance of last school year there was a dance to the Classical symphony as well - here. :wink:

edit: by the way, the concert was really amazing; it has actually convinced me to start taking violin lessons again. For the rest I can't say much about it, only that I enjoyed it very much.. :lol:

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