Valery Gergiev

Valery Gergiev serves as artistic director and principal conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, where he stands among the leading exponents of Russian opera in the present era. Beyond opera he maintains an active profile in the symphonic repertoire and has held the post of chief conductor with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra since 2015.

Born in Moscow on May 2, 1953, Gergiev traces his roots to Ossetia. During the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia concerning South Ossetia he voiced support for the Russian position; earlier, in 2003, he directed a production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle at the Mariinsky that incorporated numerous Ossetian cultural references. Displaying early musical promise, he committed himself to conducting while still a teenager. At the Leningrad Conservatory he trained under the noted teacher Ilya Musin, and in 1975, while enrolled there, he captured first prize in the All-Union Conductors’ Competition. The following year he added victory at the Herbert von Karajan Conductors’ Competition in Berlin. These successes brought his 1977 appointment as assistant conductor at the Kirov Opera under Yuri Temirkanov, where he drew notice for handling demanding scores such as Prokofiev’s War and Peace.

His symphonic work began in the 1980s when he assumed leadership of the Armenian State Orchestra. In 1988 he succeeded Temirkanov as chief conductor of the Kirov Opera; after the Soviet collapse the historic Mariinsky designations were restored to both the opera company and the theater. As general director of the entire Mariinsky complex Gergiev has also supervised major renovation projects.

His international reputation centers chiefly on his Mariinsky tenure. He has toured the company to numerous nations, among them France, where performances took place at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and the United States, where a production of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov appeared at the Metropolitan Opera. In 2009 he established the Mariinsky’s own recording label; its 2019 release of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 (“Pathétique”) earned a five-star review from Allmusic.com. Additional recordings have appeared on Philips and on the LSO Live imprint of the London Symphony Orchestra, whose chief conductor he became in 2005. Earlier he led the Rotterdam Philharmonic from 1995 to 2008, and since taking the Munich post he has made several symphonic recordings for that orchestra’s in-house label.

A consistent backer of President Vladimir Putin, Gergiev has encountered criticism for certain political statements, including his characterization of the dissident group Pussy Riot as publicity seekers and his endorsement of measures restricting LGBT rights. Activists have disrupted his New York appearances on that account. Upon assuming his Munich duties, however, he declared his backing for the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance.