Prokofievan Recordings

Valery Gergiev

Full Name: Valery Gergiev
Born: 1-May-1953, Moscow, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Home Page: http://www.valerygergiev.com
Discography: http://www.deccaclassics.com/artists/gergiev/discography.html

Biography

Valery Gergiev was born in Moscow in 1953. He actually grew up in the Caucasus region of southern Russia. He first studied piano and conducting in Orjonikidze, the Caucasian capital of Ossetia. Although he showed immense talent as a pianist, he concertrated on conducting in his teens. He went to the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Conservatory where he studied conducting with Ilya Mussin. While still a student, he won the All Union Conductors Competition in Moscow in 1975. The following year in 1976, he won the Herbert von Karajan Competition in Berlin. After graduating from the Leningrad Conservatory, he became assistant conductor to Yuri Temirkanov at the Kirov Theater in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg.) He served as music director of the Armenian State Orchestra from 1981-1985. In 1988, he was appointed musical director of the Kirov Theater.

Gergiev is currently Director of the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, home to the Kiorv Opera and the Kirov Theater Orchestra. He has made the Kirov Opera one of the pre-eminent opera companies in the world and he regularly tours the world's great opera and orchestra halls. He was also appointed principal conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (RPHO) in September 1995. He had served as guest conductor of the RPHO from 1989 to 1992.

Gergiev and Prokofiev

Gergiev has a special affinity for Prokofiev's ballets and operas. He is today's most prolific specialist in Prokofiev's operatic works, having recorded Betrothal in a Monastery, The Fiery Angel, The Gambler, War and Peace, Semyon Kotko, and The Love for Three Oranges. His recordings have won wide acclaim and he has performed Prokofiev's operas in the world's great opera houses including La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera (New York), and the San Francisco Opera. He has also recorded the complete score to the ballet Romeo and Juliet, as well as the complete piano concertos in a collaboration with Alexander Toradze.

	Prokofiev - Enfant Terrible - A 50th Anniversary Celebration Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Artist(s): Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano), Andrei Gavrilov (piano), Galina Gorchakova (soprano), Mischa Maisky (cello), Keith Puddy (clarinet), Sviatoslav Richter (piano), et al Conductor: André Previn, Seiji Ozawa, Claudio Abbado, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Valery Gergiev, et al. Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, et al. Label: London/Decca 473443 Release Date: April 8, 2003

	Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky, Scythian Suite / Gergiev, et al Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Artist(s): Olga Borodina (mezzo) Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theater Orchestra, Kirov Theater Chorus Label: Philips 473600 Release Date: April 8, 2003

	Prokofiev: Betrothal in a Monastery / Gergiev, Diadkova, etc Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Artist(s): Larissa Diadkova, Nikolai Gassiev, et al. Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theater Orchestra, Kirov Theater Chorus Label: Philips 462107 Release Date: April 14, 1998

	Prokofiev: Complete Symphonies Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra Label: Philips 475 7655 6 Release Date: May 9, 2006

	Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible / Gergiev, Sokolova, Putilin Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Artist(s): Nikolai Putilin, Liubov Sokolova Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theater Chorus, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Label: Philips 456645 Release Date: February 10, 1998

	Prokofiev: Love for Three Oranges / Gergiev, et al Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Artist(s): Evgeny Akimov, Zlata Bulycheva, et al. Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theater Chorus, Kirov Theater Orchestra Label: Philips 462913 Release Date: February 13, 2001

	Prokofiev: Piano Concertos no 2 & 5 / Toradze, Gergiev Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Artist(s): Alexander Toradze (piano) Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theater Orchestra Label: Philips 446719 Release Date: 9/16/97

	Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet - Highlights / Gergiev, Kirov Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theater Orchestra Label: Philips 32819 Release Date: November 10, 1992

	Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet / Gergiev, Kirov Orchestra Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theater Orchestra Label: Philips 432166-2 Release Date: November 12, 1991	PRKF Rating:

	Prokofiev: Semyon Kotko / Gergiev, Kirov Theatre Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theatre Orchestra, Kirov Theater Chorus Label: Philips 464 605-2 Release Date: August 8, 2000	PRKF Rating:

	Prokofiev: Symphony no 2; Scriabin / Gergiev, Fedoseyev Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev, Alexander Scriabin Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: USSR Radio/TV Large Symphony Orchestra Label: Audiophile Classics APL 101.517 Release Date: 6/1/96

	Prokofiev: The 5 Piano Concertos / Toradze, Gergiev Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Artist(s): Alexander Toradze (piano) Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theater Orchestra Label: Philips 462048 Release Date: March 17, 1998	PRKF Rating:

	Prokofiev: The Fiery Angel / Gergiev, Gorchakova, Leiferkus Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Artist(s): Sergei Leiferkus, Galina Gorchakova, et al. Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theater Chorus, Kirov Theater Orchestra Label: Philips 46078 Release Date: October 17, 1995

	Prokofiev: The Gambler / Gergiev, Galuzin, Kirov Opera Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Artist(s): Sergei Alexashkin, Vladimir Galusin, et al. Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theater Chorus, Kirov Theater Orchestra Label: Philips 454559 Release Date: August 10, 1999

	Prokofiev: War and Peace / Valery Gergiev, Kirov Opera Composer(s): Sergei Prokofiev Artist(s): Nicolai Okhotnikov, Alexander Gergalov, et al. Conductor: Valery Gergiev Orchestra/Ensemble: Kirov Theater Chorus, Kirov Theater Orchestra Label: Philips 34097 Release Date: September 14, 1993