In Rimsky's Kitezh, Gergiev eventually weaves some Russian magic

By Mark Pullinger, 09 October 2019

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“fingers rippling across the keyboard as if stroking a kitten. The piano duly purred”

Reviewed at Cadogan Hall, London on 8 October 2019

Berlioz, Roméo et Juliette, choral symphony (excerpts)

Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto no. 1 in B flat minor, Op.23

Rimsky-Korsakov, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh: suite

Mao Fujita, Piano

Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra

Valery Gergiev, Conductor

Miraculous Russians: Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky in Florence

Elena Luporini, 11th December

Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra call in at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino for a programme of Prokofiev, Bartók and Stravinsky... and Gergiev picks up the keys to the city too.

****1

Alexandre Kantorow wows with the Mariinsky Orchestra in Antwerp

Marc Haegeman, 15th October

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

****1

Matvey Demin’s stellar UK debut flanked by an invigorated Gergiev

Young-Jin Hur, 7th October

Gergiev, Demin, and the Mariinsky Orchestra deliver a performance full of vitality, virtuosity, and determination.

****1

Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky bring a Russian programme to Lucerne

Edward Sava-Segal, 30th August

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

****1

An ideal troika at Cadogan Hall

Roy Westbrook, 4th March

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

****1

Devastating and dark Pathétique from Gergiev and the Mariinsky

Marc Haegeman, 18th November

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.

*****

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.