Valery Gergiev conducts Shchedrin, Hartmann and Prokofiev – With Alexei Volodin, Pelageya Kurennaya and the Mariinsky Orchestra

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The Mariinsky Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev, invites two soloists for this concert: soprano Pelageya Kurennaya and pianist Alexei Volodin. Volodin has a long-standing relationship with the Mariinsky Orchestra and Theatre and was their Artist-in-Residence last season.

Aside from Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 4, the program highlights the work of contemporary Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin. It opens with Tanja - Katja, a "Romance in Folk Style" for female voice and string orchestra. Born in 1932 in USSR, Shchedrin is one of the most important composers of our time. A graduate from the Moscow Conservatory, he won many prizes in USSR and Russia, including the Lenin Music Prize in 1984, the USSR State Prize in 1972 and the State Prize of the Russian Federation in 1992. A true fan of his, Mstislav Rostropovich conducted a lot of his works, and contributed to get Shchedrin's scores known in the West. One of his most famous pieces, his Concerto for Orchestra Naughty Limericks, will close the concert.

Valery Gergiev will also conduct the Suite from Karl Amadeus Hartmann's opera Simplicius Simplicissimus. German composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann lived in the same era as Prokofiev's. Born in 1905, he died in 1963, ten years after the Russian composer. His work, and especially his opera Simplicius Simplicissimus (which he started composing in 1934 in the Third Reich), was politically engaged.

November 15: A Prokofiev Marathon in Munich

5 soloists, 2 orchestras, 1 conductor will play during this special musical marathon, scheduled as part of the MPHIL 360° and revolving around Prokofiev's five Piano Concerti. This event is organized by the Münchner Philharmoniker. The Prokofiev Piano Concerti will be performed by five different pianists: Herbert Schuch, Denis Matsuev, Behzod Abduraimov, Alexei Volodin and Olli Mustonen. These soloists will be joined by the Münchner Philharmoniker and the Mariinsky Orchestra, both led by Valery Gergiev. This program features Prokofiev's five Piano Concerti as well as other classical and contemporary pieces. All five concerts will be webcast live on medici.tv.

Photos: Valery Gergiev © Marco Borggreve/Decca (left) – Alexei Volodin (right).