Valery Gergiev has completed a major tour of North and South America with the Mariinsky Orchestra and the Wiener Philharmoniker.
On 12 March Frutillar in Chile hosted the final concert of the tour by Valery Gergiev to North and South America. For the first time in history the Mariinsky Orchestra performed in Mexico and Cuba, while the Wiener Philharmoniker made its first appearance in Naples (Florida, USA).
From 1 to 3 March the Mariinsky Orchestra gave three concerts at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City (Mexico). Both audiences and critics lavished praise on the orchestra’s performances. “The Mariinsky Orchestra from St Petersburg justified its legendary reputation and enchanted the Mexican audiences with its perfect technique” (Ciudadanía Express). “It was a veritable festival of Russian music” (Proceso).
Pianist Behzod Abduraimov, who performed the solo in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 2 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, was also greatly feted by the Mexican press. “He enchanted the listeners and staggered us with the power of his interpretation” (La Razón). “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was played in the most heartfelt manner; full of intensity and colour, changing at the same pace and time as the rhythmical drawing” (Crónica).
The evening of 3 March was entirely dedicated to Sergei Prokofiev: “Valery Gergiev, it seemed, made the orchestra bend to his will, and the musicians, barely touching their instruments, created weightless and soft sounds” (Unomásuno). Ivan Karizna, who performed the solo in the Sinfonia concertante for cello and orchestra, demonstrated “technique, virtuoso skill and a high level of performance, winning the praise of the audience and drawing loud and lengthy applause” (Unomásuno). Additional praise came for works that the orchestra performed for its encore: “A true gift came at the end, when the orchestra under maestro Gergiev performed, it would appear, typical works from its repertoire – the overture from Verdi’s La forza del destino and highlights from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, which in itself – with the crystal clear sound – provided a magnificent end to the evening” (Proceso).
On 4 March the musicians performed at the largest arena of the Mexican capital – the Auditorio Nacional, which seats an audience of eight thousand. The hall was packed full. The portal Ciudadanía Express noted that the musicians provided the public with a “feast of music during which the audience and the orchestra were as one.” Sergei Redkin, who played Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, was memorable for his “musicality, the incredible speed of his fingers and the perfection of every musical phrase” (Proceso).
The tour continued in the capital of Cuba, where the Mariinsky Orchestra was also performing for the first time. “After almost three hours of first-class music, the eruption of emotions was inevitable, but the intensity of the ovations surpassed all expectations” (Agencia Cubana de Noticias). “Gergiev conducted so tempestuously that it appeared as if he was about to take flight. The musicians instantly understood him, at times freezing in reverential silence and at others almost exploding in the hall” (El Espectador).
The final tour concerts took place on 11 and 12 March in Chile at the Teatro del Lago, located on the shore of the picturesque Lake Llanquihue. The matinee concert on 11 March introduced young viewers to Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic tale Peter and the Wolf: “The some thousand children in the auditorium eagerly followed, laughed at and applauded each twist and turn in the plot of this vivid and merry tale” (La Tercera). The two evening concerts were also totally sold out. The audience gave the musicians standing ovations: “You had to hear the applause with which the orchestra and the conductor were rewarded for a concert that gave us the opportunity to enjoy the power and the beauty of classical music” (Crónica). “Frutillar has witnessed concerts that it will be hard to forget” (La Tercera).
At the same time, Valery Gergiev continued a series of performances with the Wiener Philharmoniker. On 1 and 2 March the orchestra appeared for the first time in history under the baton of the maestro in Naples, Florida. The musicians delighted American audiences: “In its two concerts, the Vienna Philharmonic gave a broader demonstration of superb orchestral performance” (The Wall Street Journal). “The Vienna Philharmonic has long been known for its unique sound. (This was) a concert powerful enough to leave vapor trails. A breathtaking display of virtuosity and precision” (Naples Daily News).
On 5 March the orchestra appeared in Bogotá (Columbia), where it presented highlights from Wagner’s opera Parsifal and Tchaikovsky’s Manfred symphony. “It is completely self-evident that a work like the Manfred symphony, which was enchantingly performed in the second half, was created for the Viennese orchestra and demands the presence of just such a conductor as Gergiev” (El Nuevo Siglo). “It was a concert of the highest calibre” (El Espectador).
The tour by the Wiener Philharmoniker concluded with two performances in Brazil on 8 and 9 March. At the Sala São Paulo the musicians performed a repertoire that “demonstrated the unique sound of the orchestra – well-rounded, warm and filled with the pulsation of life” (Estadao). “These concerts make one think about a great deal and certainly remain in the memory” (Folha De S.Paulo).
The tour to South America was a continuation of the tour to the USA, where the Mariinsky Orchestra presented a marathon including all of Sergei Prokofiev’s piano concerti at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, while the Mariinsky Ballet performed in both New York (at the Brooklyn Academy of Music) and Washington (at the Kennedy Center). For the Wiener Philharmoniker, the performances in the USA, Columbia and Brazil marked the continuation of a tour under Valery Gergiev that began this year in Germany and later proceeded in France, Austria and Hungary.
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