Maestro Valery Gergiev Leads Legendary Kirov Orchestra Through All-Stravinsky Program at the Kimmel Center November 30 as Part of ARC Wheeler’s Great Orchestras on Tour Series
November 19, 2007
"theatrical dynamism and exquisite artistry" -USA Today
"Valery Gergiev drew thrillingly vivid playing from his orchestra and set a pace that was leisurely yet sacrificed nothing of the work’s insistent drive."—New York Times
Legendary Kirov Orchestra returns to the Kimmel Center with Conductor Valery Gergiev to perform an All-Stravinsky program at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall on Friday, November 30, 2007 at 8pm, as part of the Great Orchestras on Tour series. This year marks Maestro Gergiev’s celebratory 20th anniversary as artistic director of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre – the birthplace of ballet and opera regarded as 19th and 20th century masterpieces. Kirov Orchestra remains one of the most outstanding orchestras, toting the reputable referral as "the world’s first global orchestra" after tours throughout the world in 45 countries with Maestro Gergiev. The All-Stravinsky program includes the enchanting ballet L’Oiseau de feu, "The Firebird," one of Stravinsky’s most evocative scores; and the complex Le Sacre du printemps, "The Rite of Spring."
This concert is the second in the Great Orchestras on Tour series part of the Kimmel Center Presents 2007-2008 Season Sponsored by Citi. The next concert in the series will be Academy of St. Martin in the Fields on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 8pm.
Tickets for Kirov Orchestra are $33, $59, $67, $82, $100 and $115 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
"Valery Gergiev conducted a performance of bounding panache."—The Times
Valery Gergiev’s leadership as Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre has brought universal acclaim to this distinguished institution. Together with the Kirov Opera, Ballet and Orchestra, Maestro Gergiev has toured in forty-five countries including extensive tours throughout North America, South America, Europe, China, Japan, Australia, Turkey, Jordan, and Israel. The acclaimed 1998 debut performance in the Great Hall in Beijing, China, was broadcast to fifty million people. Maestro Gergiev is currently Principal Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, and Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. He is Founder and Artistic Director of the Gergiev Rotterdam Festival; the Mikheli International Festival; the Moscow Easter Festival; the Stars of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia; and most recently, the New Horizons Festival of Contemporary Music.
Maestro Gergiev has garnered international acclaim including the recent honor of France’s 2007 Royal Order of the Legion of Honour; Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun (2006), the Silver Medal of Valencia, Italy (2006), as well as being crowned the winner of the Herbert von Karajan prize in Germany (2006).
The Kirov Orchestra was founded in the 18th century during the reign of Peter the Great. Regarded as St. Petersburg´s leading symphony orchestra, the Orchestra has been performing since 1860 at the renowned Mariinsky Theater, celebrating its 225th season this year. One of the finest in Europe, the Orchestra entered its “golden age” in 1860 under the musical direction of Eduard Napravnik. Numerous internationally famous musicians have conducted the Orchestra, among them Pyotr Ilyicch Tchaikovsky, Hans von Bulow, Felix Mottl, Felix Weingartner, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Otto Nikisch, Willem Mengelberg, Otto Klemperer, Bruno Walter and Erich Kleiber. Through the years, the Orchestra has traditionally included not only music of Russian composers in its repertoire, but also of European composers.
Under the leadership of Valery Gergiev, the Mariinsky Theatre has forged important relationships with the world’s greatest opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the San Francisco Opera, the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris and La Scala in Milan. Since 1992 the orchestra has made 11 tours of North America including a 2006 celebration of the complete Shostakovich symphonies. November 2006 marked the grand opening of the Orchestra’s new home at the Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall.
Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARC Wheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System and American Express.. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Mellon Jazz, Mellon Jazz Up Close and World & Pop. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents, and additional media sponsors include WDAS, WRTI, WJJZ, Afro-Pop, WXPN and WXPN's Kids Corner 20th Anniversary.
The Kimmel Center also receives support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, PNC Foundation, The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Friday, November 30, 2007 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
Great Orchestras on Tour
Valery Gergiev, conductor
All –Stravinsky Program
L’Oiseau de feu, "The Firebird" (1910)
Le Sacre de printemps, "The Rite of Spring" (1913)
Program subject to change
FREE AT THE KIMMEL EVENT:
Friday, November 30, 2007
6:30pm | Commonwealth Plaza Stage | Free in the Plaza
Symphony in C Chamber Ensemble
Members of the Symphony in C Orchestra perform classical selections prior to the Kirov Orchestra performance in Verizon Hall.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Post-Show| Verizon Hall | Organ Postlude
Organ Postlude, Peter Richard Conte
Join us for the season’s second Kimmel Center Presents organ postlude on the Fred J. Cooper Memorial organ. Performed by Peter Richard Conte, Grand Court Organist of the Wanamaker Organ, it will feature all Russian organ music. Immediately following the Kirov Orchestra concert in Verizon Hall.
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