Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre have triumphantly concluded a major European concert tour. The tour opened with a Moscow performance on February 4, and then the Mariinsky Orchestra and the Mariinsky Opera soloists took part in a series of concerts in the cities of Austria, Germany, Spain and Italy. The tour concluded in Munich with the third Valery Gergiev’s 360 Degrees festival held from February 22 to February 25. The Stradivarius Ensemble and the dancers of the Mariinsky Ballet also participated in the performances.
From February 5 to February 17, over thirteen days, Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra gave 20 concerts in Europe and each one was acclaimed by both the public and the music critics.
On February 5 the musicians gave a performance at Brucknerhaus in Linz: "The Mariinsky Orchestra followed its conductor with inspiration, demonstrating incredibly subtle nuances and frenzied power. The applause of the grateful public was no less furious", reported the portal Volksblatt. From February 6 to 11 Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra toured in Germany. The Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev performed together with Denis Matsuev, who played solo for Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No 3, at the Liederhalle (Stuttgart, February 6), the Meistersingerhalle (Nuremberg, February 7) and the Freiburg Konzerthaus (February 8). "Matsuev has already demonstrated how, thanks to his brilliant technique, he attains emotional depth. His virtuoso skill and sincerity, expressiveness and poetry all come together in this work. The audience in the packed auditorium applauded in elation, giving the musicians a standing ovation.
Maestro Gergiev provided just what they were expecting of him – absolute professionalism." – Nuernberger Zeitung. On February 10 the Mariinsky Opera soloists and the Mariinsky Choir gave a monumental concert performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's opera Iolanta at the Großer Saal of the Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg). "The art of opera in its finest form" was the heading of the reviewer of Die Welt. "In the first scene Irina Churilova was the full-voiced but vulnerable Iolanta. Brilliant vocal skills were shown by Roman Burdenko and Stanislav Trofimov. The incomparable Alexei Markov sang his aria beautifully and decisively." – Kreiszeitung. The German leg of the tour concluded on February 11 with a concert at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt with the participation of Alexei Volodin (piano).
Then Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra went to Spain, where they performed at major concert venues of Pamplona, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Alicante from February 12 to February 16. The performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at the Nacional Auditorio de Musica Madrid and L'Auditori de Barcelona on February 13 and February 14 received rave reviews: “Valery Gergiev and the wonderful musicians of the Mariinsky Theatre enjoy a reputation of being energetic and dramatic, but this time they outdid themselves.” – Platea Magazine. “The climax was impressively dramatic – the brass instruments gave a desperate cry and then the impeccable mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina joined in. Her colleague, soprano Anastasia Kalagina, demonstrated great accuracy and immaculate piano.” – La Razon.
On February 17, the tour continued with a concert at the Auditorium Giovanni Agnelli (Torino) with the participation of Varvara Nepomnyashchaya. “It was an unforgettable evening. From the first notes of the well-composed programme it became clear that we are going to be emotionally overwhelmed with a plethora of musical memories” – Il Corriere Musicale.
Having concluded the concert tour with the Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev went on to perform with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala in Milan (February 19), and then arrived in Munich, where 360 Degrees festival was held from February 22 to February 25. The festival’s diverse repertoire was dedicated to Igor Stravinsky. The participants of the festival included the Munich Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Mariinsky Stradivarius Ensemble and the ODEON-Jugendsinfonieorchester. The festival’s soloists – pianists Hélène Grimaud, Lucas and Arthur Jussen, Zarina Shimanskaya, Pavel Raikerus, Alexander Mogilevsky; violinists Kristóf Baráti and Lorenz Nasturica-Herschcowici; soprano Pelageya Kurennaya.
“When the musicians of the Philharmonic and the Mariinsky Stradivarius Ensemble appeared on stage, it became clear that the festival is actively building musical, if not political, bridges between Munich and St. Petersburg” – Нeimat Zeitung. “Piano pieces, including the Four Etudes and The Firebird suite interpreted by Pavel Raikerus and Zarina Shimanskaya, have shown how diverse Stravinsky’s music is, as one can hear both the Baroque notes and jazz elements. Brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen gave an inspirational performance of Le sacre du printemps, arranged for piano a quatre mains” – Ovb-online.
For the first time ever, the 2017/18 Mariinsky season premiere – Igor Stravinsky’s Pétrouchka choreographed by Vladimir Varnava – was performed at the 360 Degrees festival. The main part was performed by Vladimir Shklyarov. “Stravinsky’s Pétrouchka presents an ideal combination of top-notch dance and music. Vladimir Varnava’s choreography tells the elaborate story of a loser, who wants to be human in a cruel group of robotized artists. Varnava portrays the protagonist’s vicissitudes with humour, while combining the elements of classical dance with pantomime and acrobatics” – Нeimat Zeitung. “The melancholic protagonist’s tragedy comes to the forefront because of the grotesque acrobatic elements, which the young choreographer Vladimir Varnava, continuing the tradition of Michel Fokine, offers to the Mariinsky dancers” – Süddeutsche Zeitung.
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