Valery Gergiev And The Mariinsky Orchestra Return To Carnegie Hall With Two Performances This Fall

This fall, Music Director and Conductor Valery Gergiev and St. Petersburg's legendary Mariinsky Orchestra return to Carnegie Hall with two performances in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. On Wednesday, October 31 at 8:00 p.m., the program features Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker (complete concert version). The following evening, Thursday, November 1 at 8:00 p.m., Mr. Gergiev conducts the Mariinsky in Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83, featuring pianist Nelson Freire, as well as Strauss's epic tone poem Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40.

About the Artists
Now celebrating 30 years with the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev has taken Mariinsky ballet, opera, and orchestra ensembles to more than 45 countries, garnishing universal acclaim. He is Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre, Principal Conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, Principal Conductor of the World Orchestra for Peace, Chair of the Organizational Committee of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, Honorary President of the Edinburgh International Festival and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at St. Petersburg State University.

As head of the Mariinsky Theatre, Gergiev has established and directs such international festivals as the Stars of the White Nights festival (St. Petersburg), the Moscow Easter Festival and the Gergiev Rotterdam Philharmonic Festival, Mikkeli Festival and the 360 Degrees festival in Munich.

He 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.

Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 2007-2015, Valery Gergiev has performed with the LSO and Mariinsky, and now with the Munich Philharmonic, on extensive tours of Europe, North America and Asia. He also collaborates with The Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and the orchestras of La Scala, New York, Munich, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam.

In 2013 and 2016, Mr. Gergiev led the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America on two European tours, including NYO-USA's inaugural concerts in Washington DC, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and at the Proms in London. He regularly appears with the youth orchestras of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the Verbier Festival and the Pacific Ocean Music Festival in Sapporo.

The Mariinsky Orchestra enjoys a long and distinguished history as one of the oldest musical institutions in Russia. Founded in the 18th century during the reign of Peter the Great and housed in St. Petersburg's famed Mariinsky Theatre since 1860, the Orchestra entered its "golden age" in the second half of the 19th century under the musical direction of Eduard Nápravník, whose leadership for more than a half century (1863-1916) secured its reputation as one of the finest in Europe.

Numerous internationally famed musicians have conducted the Orchestra, among them Hans von Bülow, Felix Mottl, Felix Weingartner, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Otto Nikisch, Willem Mengelberg, Otto Klemperer, Bruno Walter, Erich Kleiber, Hector Berlioz, Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schoenberg. Renamed the "Kirov" during the Soviet era, the Orchestra continued to maintain its high artistic standards under the leadership of Yevgeny Mravinsky and Yuri Temirkanov. The leadership of Valery Gergiev has enabled the Theatre to forge important relationships for the Mariinsky Ballet and Opera to appear in the world's greatest opera houses and theatres, among them the Metropolitan Opera, the Kennedy Center, the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, the San Francisco Opera, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Salzburg Festival and La Scala in Milan. Since 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.

Born in Boa Esperança, a small town in the interior of the state of Minas Gerais (Brazil), Nelson Freire is a universally acclaimed artist. He has received honors and decorations in numerous countries and performed with many of the world's major conductors, such as Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, Seiji Ozawa, Pierre Boulez, and Riccardo Chailly. He has appeared with the greatest orchestras: the philharmonics of Berlin, London, New York and Israel, and the orchestras of Munich, Paris, Tokyo, and St. Petersburg, including the Mariinsky, as well as Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

At the age of twelve, as finalist at the first International Piano Competition of Rio de Janeiro, Mr. Freire received a grant from Brazilian president Juscelino Kubitschek and went to study in Vienna under Bruno Seidlhofer, teacher of Friedrich Gulda. At age nineteen, he was awarded the Dinu Lipatti Medal in London and later won First Prize at the International Vianna da Motta Competition in Lisbon.

At the age of 23 for his London debut, he made a sensation when The Times called him "the young lion of the keyboard." The following year, after his New York debut performance with the New York Philharmonic, Time magazine hailed him as "one of the most exciting pianists of this or any age." Over the next five decades, Mr. Freire has performed in over 70 countries and become a star in the international music world. His recordings have been rewarded with the Diapason d'Or, Grand Prix du Disque, Victoire d'Honneur, Edison Award, Gramophone Award and a Latin Grammy Award for the album Nelson Freire Brasileiro in 2013.

Program Information
Wednesday, October 31, 2018 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
MARIINSKY ORCHESTRA
Valery Gergiev, Music Director and Conductor

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker (concert performance)

Tickets: $51-$185

The Mariinsky Orchestra Residency with Valery Gergiev at Carnegie Hall is made possible by a leadership gift from Mrs. Veronica Atkins.
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Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
MARIINSKY ORCHESTRA
Valery Gergiev, Music Director and Conductor
Nelson Freire, Piano

JOHANNES BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
Richard Strauss Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40

Tickets: $50-$165

The Mariinsky Orchestra Residency with Valery Gergiev at Carnegie Hall is made possible by a leadership gift from Mrs. Veronica Atkins.

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.
Ticket Information
Tickets 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 Carnegie Hall Corporation 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, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.