Gergiev, Valery (Abissalovich)

Gergiev, Valery (Abissalovich), notable Russian conductor; b. Moscow, May 2, 1953. He received training in piano and conducting at the Ordzhoniskidze Coll. of Music, then pursued conducting studies with Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Cons, (graduated, 1977). In 1975 he won 1st prize in the All-Union Conductors 7 Competition in Moscow. In 1977 he captured 2nd prize in the Karajan competition in Berlin and was named asst. conductor at the Kirov Opera in Leningrad, where he made his debut conducting War and Peace in 1978; in 1979, was made permanent conductor there. He also served as chief conductor of the Armenian State Sym. Orch. in Yerevan (1981–85). In 1988 he was appointed artistic director and principal conductor of the Kirov Opera. From 1989 to 1992 he also was principal guest conductor of the Rotterdam Phil. He conducted the Kirov Opera on many tours abroad, including its first visit to the U.S. in 1992 when it appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. On March 21, 1994, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut conducting Otello. In the autumn of 1994 he made a concert tour of the U.S. conducting the Kirov Orch. In 1995 he became music director of the Rotterdam Phil. In 1997 he became principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, where on Dec. 19 he conducted the first perf. of Buketoff’s ed. of Boris Godunov. Gergiev’s interpretative insights, backed by an assured conducting technique, make him one of the most admired conductors of his generation. While his idiomatic performances of the Russian repertoire are particularly compelling, he has demonstrated skills in a broad operatic and symphonic repertoire well beyond the Russian tradition.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire