An International Classical Music Award for the Mariinsky label

Today the winners of the prestigious International Classical Music Awards were officially announced. This is the only independent international classical music award, its jury comprising professional music critics from major music magazines, online services and radio broadcasters. The recording of Prokofiev’s opera The Gambler, released on the Mariinsky label on 3 June 2013, won in the category “DVD Performance”. It faced stern competition – this year there were two hundred and sixty-four audio and video recordings from ninety-four recording labels across the globe.

Sergei Prokofiev’s music is one of the Mariinsky Theatre and Valery Gergiev’s great mainstream fortes: “The Mariinsky Theatre’s musicians have long had Prokofiev in their blood, and the fact that the orchestra and the opera company have performed all of Sergei Sergeyevich’s symphonies, all his concerti and all his operas under the baton of Gergiev on more than one occasion is of incredible importance” (Kultura TV). It should be noted that the Mariinsky Theatre is the only opera house in the world whose repertoire includes all of Prokofiev’s operas.

In just half a year since the release of the Mariinsky’s The Gambler, the disc has managed to garner numerous rave reviews from the international press:

“Musically, this performance is very strong. Gergiev is on his home territory here, and he has the orchestra and singers eating out of his hand. The orchestra, in particular, plays brilliantly for him, illustrating every nuance of Prokofiev’s endlessly pictorial score with delicacy and virtuosity, and the conductor controls the opera’s unfolding structure with security and strength.” (Music Web International)

“It’s a fine work, too little known outside Russia; perhaps its lack of prettiness skews theatres against it. But the Mariinsky presents it with a world-class cast which gives it its very best chance of success, as does the excellent quality of picture and sound in this release (...) Terrific singing and acting.” (Sinfini Music)

“The direction is sensible and, happily for those of us watching it on screen, the acting is first class. (...) The singing is marvellous. (...) The orchestra under Gergiev is also superb.” (Limelight, Australia)