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Valery Gergiev ‘The State of Culture and the Culture of a State’
The world’s busiest conductor, Artistic and General Director of the St Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre (formerly Kirov), Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, is at the Union on the 20th of May (3-4pm).
Union Society and CURS members: free
Guest tickets cost £5. These can be bought from the Union office Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, or on the door of the event.
Valery Gergiev is also founder and Artistic Director of the Stars 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. He succeeded Sir
Georg Solti as conductor of the World Orchestra for Peace in 1998.
He has recorded exclusively for Decca (Universal Classics), but appears also on the LSO Live, Philips and Deutsche Grammophon labels. His vast discography includes Russian operas, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and Mahler symphonies among many others.
Gergiev is not only a famous conductor but a prominent public figure. Being an Ossetin he made an appeal on television after the 2004 Beslan school massacre, against any revenge. In 2008 he came to Tskhinvali and conducted a concert near the ruined building of the South Ossetian Parliament as tribute to the victims of the war. Gergiev has worked in fund-raising for such projects as the recently
built Mariinsky Concert Hall, and intends to achieve to build a new Mariinsky Opera House as well as complete renovations of the Mariinsky Theatre historical building.
Gergiev is known as a charismatic and inspirational speaker. At the Union he will talk about music, culture and politics in Russia and the world. His great experience and high flier career promise a fascinating perspective. There will be an opportunity to ask questions.
Directions to the Cambridge Union Society Building
This is a past event now. Listen to the recording if you are interested.
Topics: Past Events