Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Valery Gergiev

"Is the Vienna Philharmonic coming or not?" This had been the talk of town amongst classical music fans in Japan since September, when its concert scene regained some semblance of normality.

Beethoven à la Gergiev is measured and classically elegant, with precise playing from a thoughtful Beatrice Rana.

François Girard’s production presents the moody, stormy atmosphere of Norwegian seascapes with stunning visuals, but offers few fresh ideas on the doomed love between the Dutchman and Senta.

Valery Gergiev and the Munich Philharmonic deliver a dark, satisfying rendition of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony. 

Abduraimov's Tchaikovsky was less a display of power and agility and more about lyricism and subtlety, without ever sliding into sentimentality.

Think of a poet irresistibly teasing your senses by his creative use of rhythm, his unpredictable style of speech and his unfailing imagination.

In Gergiev's late, late show, Mao Fujita impresses in Tchaikovsky, but episodes from Berlioz' Roméo et Juliette are given a Shakespearean speed read. 

The very talented Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov is an artist whose musicality transcends the mere virtuosic prowess.

Yesterday, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, where devotees of Richard Wagner converge annually from all over the world, opened its doors again for this year’s festival. Traditionally presented on the first evening, the new production for this season was Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg (to use the opera’s full name), presented to a capacity audience.

Young musicians and experienced stars combine for a thrilling Frau in its centenary year

Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra return to Cadogan Hall for the second of their Petipa/Tchaikovsky tributes. 

In Khovanshchina, even more so than in Boris Godunov, the chorus is the chief protagonist and the La Scala chorus was truly astonishing.

Deeply moving and often terrifyingly dark, Gergiev and the Mariinsky took us on a devastating ride towards the abyss which eventually left me grabbing for a rope.

It was the finale which delivered the stomach punch, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Gergiev and Abduraimov create magic in a dazzling Rachmaninov Rhapsody.

A night of big names: Valery Gergiev, Denis Matsuev, The Mariinsky Orchestra, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov. 

In this second Mariinsky concert Kristóf Baráti was a fine but miscast soloist in Stravinsky’s violin concerto, with rich narrative pickings from Rimsky-Korsakov and his illustrious pupil.

Under the indefatigable Valery Gergiev, the Mariinsky Orchestra took to the Cadogan Hall stage for the first of two colourful programmes pairing Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov with his pupil, Igor Stravinsky.

“Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing.” In the Soviet Union, composers quickly learnt when to toe the Party line.

Side by side, the combined forces of the RSNO and the Mariinsky under Gergiev recall the Western première of Shostakovich Fourth symphony at the 1962 Edinburgh Festival.

Rodion Shchedrin's opera mixes singing, choreography and storytelling to lend a potent sacred and mystic overlay to Nikolai Leskov's folk tale.

Isabelle Patriot-Pieri's new production is a quirky mix of traditional and the opposite; Netrebko shows her star quality; Eyvasov impresses.

Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra celebrate Stravinsky with a gala that closes with an outstanding Firebird; young talent blooms in A Soldier's Tale

Valery Gergiev's partnership with the Munich Phiharmonic is still a very young one and their common path can lead in many directions.

Gergiev and the Mariinsky excel in Act III of Tristan und Isolde with the help of star singing from Vekua, Westbroek and Nikitin; George Li shows promise in Liszt.

At the Concertgebouw, the three soloist headed by Christine Goerke’s Brünnhilde’s lift the performance of Act III of Die Walküre conducted by Valery Gergiev to the Valhalla of music.

Valery Gergiev recently toured with the superb Mariinsky Orchestra, offering the Zurich audience a programme marked by startling contrasts.

Valery Gergiev is the most committed advocate for Prokofiev, so it is no surprise that in this 125th anniversary year, he is leading the celebrations, programming the symphonies and three string concertos too. Too much?

The second instalment of Valery Gergiev’s Prokofiev symphony-fest at the Cadogan Hall was something a mixed bag. 

 Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra gave a searching examination of Prokofiev's first three symphonies and the Violin Concerto no. 1, each half showing us the contrast between light and shade, airiness and density.

Valery Gergiev conducts the Mariinsky Opera in a vocally strong Das Rheingold, a promising beginning to Edinburgh International Festival’s Ring in concert over the coming years.

A journey of emotions with the Munich Philharmonic under Gergiev resplendent in Ravel and Richard Strauss, thought-provoking in Ustvolskaya, and Behzod Abduraimov electrifying in Rachmaninov.

Ratmansky's Concerto DSCH proves the perfect show opener, before the Mariinsky Ballet reclaims Sasha Waltz's Sacre.

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Maestro Gergiev, showed off their brilliant versitility, and gave us a taste of Wagner's Ring.

Valery Gergiev led an athletic pilgrimage through composer-pianist Sergei Prokofiev’s five Piano Concerti, in numerical order, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

A solidly brazen night from the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Valery Gergiev that ultimately lacked sincerity and depth thanks to its quick-fire delivery.

Gergiev bows out of his tenure with the London Symphony Orchestra with a scrumptious programme of Stravinsky and Bartók.

As Valery Gergiev's tenure comes to an end, the LSO presented a concert of the repertoire he is most a home in, to thrilling results. 

Valery Gergiev has drilled the Prokofiev idiom into the LSO to great acclaim. His Mariinsky Orchestra has it running through their veins.

Gergiev and the LSO in an explosive, primeval Rite of Spring.

What on paper might have looked like a circus act – wheeling out three pianists to plough through Prokofiev’s five piano concertos – turned out to be a fascinating opportunity to compare and contrast.

“A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”. That description could apply to Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony. It would also describe Valery Gergiev’s conducting.

A superlative performance of Shostakovich first violin concerto by Kavakos and lush textures in Gergiev's Wagner turned tonight's concert in a highpoint of the RCO's season.

This evening’s programme could have been designed to play to Valery Gergiev's strengths in Russian repertoire… yet also displayed characteristic flaws.

The Met's première of Iolanta and Bluebeard's Castle, delayed by snow, opened with powerful singing and deeply effective staging. Iolanta showcased beautiful singing from the principals, while Bluebeard's Castle showed off brilliant playing by the Met Orchestra.

Shchedrin’s opera The Enchanted Wanderer is the complete opposite of shocking and director Alexei Stepanyuk’s staging alongside Valery Gergiev’s command over the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra revealed something of a translucid daydream.

Valery Gergiev doesn’t aim for technical perfection or for unimpeachable execution: he conducts with almost mystical enthusiasm, drawing all the orchestra with uncontrollable ardour in this magnificent music, so deeply Russian. 

The London Symphony Orchestra’s first tour in Australia in more than 30 years has stirred an almost unprecedented interest.

Fluttering fingers and jabbing a toothpick baton, it’s difficult see how an orchestra can follow the beat – any beat – indicated by Valery Gergiev.