Valery Gergiev to perform Stravinsky in Munich

For three evenings – 18 to 20 December – Valery Gergiev and Mariinsky Theatre soloists will be performing with the Münchner Philharmoniker in the Bavarian capital. Readers will be aware that in January this year the Munich city authorities unanimously appointed maestro Gergiev the new head of the orchestra of Munich’s Philharmonie on the initiative of the ensemble’s musicians, concluding a contract with him until 2020. Valery Gergiev follows in the footsteps of Lorin Maazel, whose term in this position ends in 2015.

The history of maestro Gergiev’s collaboration with the Münchner Philharmoniker is rich in important cultural events, one of the most important of which was the performance of all of Dmitry Shostakovich’s symphonies in the 2012-2013 season. The December series of concerts marks the next stage of this creative collaboration. The programme for the three evenings includes undoubted masterpieces by Stravinsky – Symphonies of Wind Instruments, the Russian choreographic scenes for soloists, chorus, four pianos and percussion Les Noces, the cantata for male chorus and orchestra King of the Stars and a symphony music version of the ballet The Fire Bird. The concert will feature soloists of the Mariinsky Opera Irina Vasilieva, Olga Savova, Alexander Timchenko and Ilya Bannik as well as the chorus of Munich’s Philharmonie.