An ideal troika at Cadogan Hall

By Roy Westbrook, 05 March 2019

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“a hint of sorcery, a whiff of sulphur”

Reviewed at Cadogan Hall, London on 4 March 2019

Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake: excerpts

Tchaikovsky, Symphony no. 4 in F minor, Op.36

Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, Op.71: Trepak

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

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

Mark Pullinger, 8th October

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

***11

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

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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Roy Westbrook

Roy Westbrook gained a diploma in music history at London University (Morley College) and was for some years the head of music day schools at Oxford University, where he also led music summer schools. After some years leading the University's business school he has returned to music teaching and writing, and recently took part in the Arts in Residence courses on Bruckner, Mahler and Bach He is co-author (with Terry Barfoot) of a history of opera, and has taught day schools on Sibelius in Oxford and elsewhere.

An ideal troika at Cadogan Hall: Tchaikovsky, Gergiev and the Mariinsky