Valery Gergiev & Mariinsky Orchestra to Play String of Concerts at Carnegie Hall, Begin. 10/10

Carnegie Hall celebrates the 60th birthday of acclaimed conductor Valery Gergiev with three October concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage by the Mariinsky Orchestra, each focusing on the music of a different Russian composer-Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and Rachmaninoff-with repertoire closely associated with Maestro Gergiev, who is also celebrating 25 years with St. Petersburg's legendary Mariinsky Theatre.

On Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m., the series kicks off with Stravinsky, featuring the music of the three Diaghilev ballets The Firebird, Pétrouchka (1911 version), and Le sacre du printemps. The following evening, on Friday, October 11 at 8:00 p.m., Mr. Gergiev conducts the orchestra in Shostakovich's Concerto for Piano, Trumpet, and Strings, Op. 35, featuring pianist Denis Matsuev and Mariinsky trumpeter Timur Martynov, as well as the composer's Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 65. On Tuesday, October 15 at 8:00 p.m., Mr. Matsuev returns to perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30, before Mr. Gergiev and the orchestra conclude with the composer's Symphonic Dances, Op. 45.

Pianist Denis Matsuev has become a fast-rising star on the international concert stage since his triumphant victory at the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1998 and has quickly established himself as one of the most sought-after pianists of his generation. He has collaborated with the world's leading orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Budapest Festival Orchestra, and Berliner Philharmoniker, among many others; he is continually engaged with the great Russian orchestras, including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mariinsky Orchestra. Over the past four years, Mr. Matsuev has collaborated with the Sergei Rachmaninoff Foundation and its president Alexander Rachmaninoff, the grandson of the composer. Mr. Matsuev was chosen by the Foundation to perform and record unknown pieces of Rachmaninoff on the composer's own piano at the Rachmaninoff house, Villa Senar, in Lucerne. Mr. Matsuev is Artistic Director of two important Russian Festivals: Stars on Baikal in Irkutsk, Siberia, and Crescendo, a series of events held in many different international cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tel Aviv, Kaliningrad, Paris, and New York. These festivals present a new generation of students from Russia's music schools by featuring gifted Russian soloists from around the world performing with the best Russian orchestras.

Now celebrating both his 60th birthday and 25 years with the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev has taken Mariinsky ballet, opera, and orchestra ensembles to more than 45 countries, garnishing universal acclaim. The Mariinsky Concert Hall opened in 2006 and the new Mariinsky II theatre opened in May 2013, alongside the historical Mariinsky Theatre. Mr. Gergiev will open the Metropolitan Opera's new season in September, leading performances of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. This past July, he led the debut international tour of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, an orchestra founded by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. Following tour preparation in Purchase, New York, Mr. Gergiev and the NYO-USA performed in Washington, DC, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and London, with Joshua Bell as violin soloist.

A prominent figure in all the world's major concert halls, Mr. Gergiev is the artistic and general director of the Mariinsky Theatre, founder and artistic director of the Stars of the White Nights Festival and New Horizons Festival in St. Petersburg, the Moscow Easter Festival, the Gergiev Rotterdam Festival, the Mikkeli International Festival, and the Red Sea Festival in Eilat, Israel, as well as principal conductor of the World Orchestra for Peace. Principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra since 2007, Mr. Gergiev performs with the LSO at the Barbican, the BBC Proms, and the Edinburgh Festival, as well as on extensive tours of Europe, North America, and Asia. In 2016, he assumes the post of principal conductor of the Münchner Philharmoniker.

Mr. Gergiev has led numerous composer-centered concert cycles in New York, London, and other international cities, including series focusing on Berlioz, Brahms, Dutilleux, Mahler, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky, as well as Wagner's Ring cycle, and he has introduced audiences around the world to several rarely performed Russian operas. Mr. Gergiev's many awards include the Dmitri Shostakovich Award, Netherland's Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion, Japan's Order of the Rising Sun, and the French Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur.

The Mariinsky Orchestra is one of the oldest in Russia. Its history dates back to the first orchestra of the St. Petersburg Imperial Opera Orchestra, covering a period of over two hundred years. The Mariinsky Orchestra has played a role in countless Russian premieres as well as the first Russian performances of European operas and ballets, including works by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Glinka, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rossini, Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, R. Strauss, and Meyerbeer, and ballets by Shostakovich and Khachaturian, among many others. In 1978, the Mariinsky Theatre (then still the Kirov) appointed Valery Gergiev conductor, making him Artistic and General Director in 1996. With Maestro Gergiev´s arrival, the Orchestra´s repertoire expanded significantly. In addition to operas, the orchestra´s repertoire has come to include symphonic works. The orchestra has performed every symphony by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Mahler, and Beethoven; the Requiems of Mozart and Verdi; and works by Shchedrin, Gubaidulina, Kancheli, and Karetnikov, among many others.

Tickets, priced $49 to $155, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org.

For all Carnegie Hall presentations taking place in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, a limited number of seats, priced at $10, will be available day-of-concert beginning at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon on Sunday until one hour before the performance or until supply lasts. The exceptions are Carnegie Hall Family Concerts and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer.

In addition, for all Carnegie Hall presentations in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, a limited number of partial view (seats with obstructed or limited sight lines or restricted leg room) will be sold for 50% of the full price. For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visitcarnegiehall.org/discounts.

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