Valery Gergiev is a Russian conductor and the Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre. A distinguished representative of the St. Petersburg conducting school, he is a student of the legendary professor Ilya Musin.
While still a student at the Leningrad Conservatory, Gergiev won the Herbert von Karajan Competition in Berlin and the All-Union Conductors' Competition in Moscow, after which he was invited to the Kirov (now Mariinsky) Theatre as an assistant to the principal conductor. His conducting debut at the theatre on January 12, 1978, was S. Prokofiev's opera "War and Peace".
In 1988, Valery Gergiev was elected Music Director of the Mariinsky Theatre, and in 1996, he became its Artistic and General Director (assuming leadership of the orchestra, opera, and ballet companies). Under his leadership, the Mariinsky Theatre has transformed into a large-scale theatre and concert complex, and its orchestra has reached a new level, mastering not only new opera and ballet scores but also an extensive symphonic repertoire.
Gergiev's international career is equally prolific. After debuting in 1991 at the Bavarian State Opera ("Boris Godunov"), in 1993 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden ("Eugene Onegin"), and in 1994 at the Metropolitan Opera ("Otello" with Plácido Domingo in the title role), the conductor has continued to collaborate successfully with the world's leading opera houses. He works with the World Orchestra for Peace (which he has led since 1997, following the death of its founder, Georg Solti), the Berlin, Paris, Vienna, New York, and Los Angeles philharmonic orchestras, the Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam), and many other ensembles.
From 1995 to 2008, Valery Gergiev served as Principal Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and from 2007 to 2015, of the London Symphony Orchestra. Since 2015, he has been the Principal Conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and since 2018, of the Verbier Festival Orchestra.
Valery Gergiev is the founder and director of prestigious international festivals, including the "Stars of the White Nights" (since 1993), the Moscow Easter Festival (since 2002), the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam, the Mikkeli Music Festival, and "360 Grad" in Munich. Since 2011, he has chaired the organizing committee of the International Tchaikovsky Competition.
He is a laureate of three State Prizes of the Russian Federation (1993, 1998, 2015) and the Russian Ministry of Defence Award for Culture and Art (2017). He has been awarded the titles of People's Artist of the Russian Federation and Hero of Labour, and is a knight of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (III and IV class) and the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
While still a student at the Leningrad Conservatory, Gergiev won the Herbert von Karajan Competition in Berlin and the All-Union Conductors' Competition in Moscow, after which he was invited to the Kirov (now Mariinsky) Theatre as an assistant to the principal conductor. His conducting debut at the theatre on January 12, 1978, was S. Prokofiev's opera "War and Peace".
In 1988, Valery Gergiev was elected Music Director of the Mariinsky Theatre, and in 1996, he became its Artistic and General Director (assuming leadership of the orchestra, opera, and ballet companies). Under his leadership, the Mariinsky Theatre has transformed into a large-scale theatre and concert complex, and its orchestra has reached a new level, mastering not only new opera and ballet scores but also an extensive symphonic repertoire.
Gergiev's international career is equally prolific. After debuting in 1991 at the Bavarian State Opera ("Boris Godunov"), in 1993 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden ("Eugene Onegin"), and in 1994 at the Metropolitan Opera ("Otello" with Plácido Domingo in the title role), the conductor has continued to collaborate successfully with the world's leading opera houses. He works with the World Orchestra for Peace (which he has led since 1997, following the death of its founder, Georg Solti), the Berlin, Paris, Vienna, New York, and Los Angeles philharmonic orchestras, the Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam), and many other ensembles.
From 1995 to 2008, Valery Gergiev served as Principal Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and from 2007 to 2015, of the London Symphony Orchestra. Since 2015, he has been the Principal Conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and since 2018, of the Verbier Festival Orchestra.
Valery Gergiev is the founder and director of prestigious international festivals, including the "Stars of the White Nights" (since 1993), the Moscow Easter Festival (since 2002), the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam, the Mikkeli Music Festival, and "360 Grad" in Munich. Since 2011, he has chaired the organizing committee of the International Tchaikovsky Competition.
He is a laureate of three State Prizes of the Russian Federation (1993, 1998, 2015) and the Russian Ministry of Defence Award for Culture and Art (2017). He has been awarded the titles of People's Artist of the Russian Federation and Hero of Labour, and is a knight of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (III and IV class) and the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
