I’m back in Portland and am still digesting the experience of participating as a fellow in the NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera. The 10 days that I spent in NYC at this Institute were stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey with lectures, writing workshops, concerts, tours, and interviews with artists and administrators. All of it added up to a feast for culture vultures like me and also gave me a chance to sharpen my perceptions.
The leaders of the Institute are Andras Szanto, Anya Grundmann, and Joseph Horowitz kept us busy. We met and talked with the following folks:
- Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera,
- Alan Gilbert, music director designate of the New York Philharmonic
- Jeremy Denk, concert pianist and blogger par excelance
- Gino Francescoi, archivist of Carnegie Hall
- Jesse Rosen, president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras
- Terry Teachout, arts blogger and theater critic
- Steve Smith - blogger and music critic
We received lectures from
- Michael Beckerman, professor of music at NYU
- Elaine Sisman, professor of music at Columbia University
- Duy Linh Tu, professor at Columbia University’s Journalism School
- Joesph Horowitz, author
We had to write two overnight reviews of concerts and a think piece. They were critiqued by some of the following folks:
- Justin Davidson, classicla music critic at New York magazine
- Anne Midgette, classic music reviewer at the Washington Post
- James Oestreich, classical music and dance ditiro at the New York Times.
- Greg Sandow, composer and criticism professor at the Juilliard School
- Joseph Horowitz and Terry Teachout
We got backstage tours at Carnegie Hall and the Met. Heard concerts by the New York Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, the Kirov Orchestra, took in two performances at the Met, a piano recital by Jeremy Denk, plus a cabaret concert by Ute Lemper. We saw Dudamel, Gilbert, and Gergiev work their magic with orchestras. We also watched Gilbert lead the Juilliard Orchestra. Oestreich gave us a tour of the new New York Times building - where we met an talked with Daniel Wakin, the classical music reporter.
I found the work and my colleagues very stimulating and can highly recommend the Institute to others who would like to have an in-depth experience in classical music and opera. Because I wanted to write and post reviews of the concerts I experienced, I didn’t have much time to experience more of the city. I did run through Central Park, but that was all.
The Institute has funding for one more year, and the troika of Szanto, Grundmann, and Horowitz are seeking more funding to keep the program gong for another five years. Typically, the Institute is held early in the fall, so be ready to see announcements for applications in Artsjournal.com.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman (Pianos)
Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman (Pianos)
Call it a critic’s night off. A time to put away notebooks and pens and adjectives and metaphors, and listen to a good show. A show of friendship and artistry and precision---oh, so much precision. Because a concert of two-piano music put on by artists who are used to playing solo or with a whole orchestra can be a dangerous proposition.
The danger is in the right balance, of course. And being attuned to each other without being robotic with each other. Of playing music which was never very profound and giving it both interest and daring. Of offering the utmost technical precision, while never never making it sound dull. And of realizing that music written for two pianos can be calculating but should never seem like a calculus. The chess game of ten fingers now is doubled, but it has to look like it’s three-dimensional chess.
With Yefim Bronfman and Emanuel Ax at the helm, nobody was worried for a fraction of a second. We might not have felt electrons colliding or brain-thundering music, but we felt the comfort of colleagues who were obviously friends, who enjoyed seeing how their considerable individual resources sounded when put together.
With professional duo-pianists like the Labèque Sisters, one feels a single organism at work. It can almost be disconcerting to hear them do, say, the Poulenc Two-Piano Concerto, since we don’t hear two pianos. We hear 20 fingers playing with one organic energy field. But the two last night were themselves, and that enabled a concert for the sheer joy of geniuses at work.
The two have different reputations, of course. Bronfman has the most incredible strength when performing Prokofiev that anything less arduous, and you feel that he could burst if he wanted. Emanuel Ax I heard a half-dozen times in Hong Kong with Stern and Ma, so the perception is of a collaborator, a man of the most full-blown artistic sensibilities.
Together, though, they simply made music. Two of the works, the Brahms Haydn Variations and Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, are best known in orchestral versions. Obviously, the mind was unconsciously coloring the playing—at first—with strings and brass. But soon the color was sheer piano. The two, who switched around First and Second Piano for each work, ideally balanced out their sounds and shared the honors. But most apparent of all was the phrasing which these two possess. The grace of the Brahms and the grand orchestral textures of the Rachmaninoff (including the banged-out Dies Irae) came across with the and solace at one time.
The Mozart Two-Piano Sonata was elegant and sensitive at one time. As for the middle movement, this initially seemed like the slow movement of a concerto, until the two pianos coalesced into one.
The single piece new to most was the wonderful William Bolcom’s Recuerdos (“Memorabilia”). The three Spanish-inspired pieces were not his best. He seems more at home in ragtime pastiches, in American cabaret and in Ivesian playfulness. But they were pleasantly lilting, they were indeed memories of Gottschalk and other composers of the 19th Century. More important, it gave Ax and Bronfman a chance to sit back and be happily rhythmical.
The single encore, Dvorak’s Opus 46, No. 3 Slavonic Dance was equally amiable, equally enjoyable. The fact that in less than 48 hours, another pair of pianists—Levine and Barenboim—will be in the same hall is of no consequence at all. Ax and Bronfman are complete in themselves, and their unassuming joy was joyfully transported to we lucky listeners.
Call it a critic’s night off. A time to put away notebooks and pens and adjectives and metaphors, and listen to a good show. A show of friendship and artistry and precision---oh, so much precision. Because a concert of two-piano music put on by artists who are used to playing solo or with a whole orchestra can be a dangerous proposition.
The danger is in the right balance, of course. And being attuned to each other without being robotic with each other. Of playing music which was never very profound and giving it both interest and daring. Of offering the utmost technical precision, while never never making it sound dull. And of realizing that music written for two pianos can be calculating but should never seem like a calculus. The chess game of ten fingers now is doubled, but it has to look like it’s three-dimensional chess.
With Yefim Bronfman and Emanuel Ax at the helm, nobody was worried for a fraction of a second. We might not have felt electrons colliding or brain-thundering music, but we felt the comfort of colleagues who were obviously friends, who enjoyed seeing how their considerable individual resources sounded when put together.
With professional duo-pianists like the Labèque Sisters, one feels a single organism at work. It can almost be disconcerting to hear them do, say, the Poulenc Two-Piano Concerto, since we don’t hear two pianos. We hear 20 fingers playing with one organic energy field. But the two last night were themselves, and that enabled a concert for the sheer joy of geniuses at work.
The two have different reputations, of course. Bronfman has the most incredible strength when performing Prokofiev that anything less arduous, and you feel that he could burst if he wanted. Emanuel Ax I heard a half-dozen times in Hong Kong with Stern and Ma, so the perception is of a collaborator, a man of the most full-blown artistic sensibilities.
Together, though, they simply made music. Two of the works, the Brahms Haydn Variations and Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, are best known in orchestral versions. Obviously, the mind was unconsciously coloring the playing—at first—with strings and brass. But soon the color was sheer piano. The two, who switched around First and Second Piano for each work, ideally balanced out their sounds and shared the honors. But most apparent of all was the phrasing which these two possess. The grace of the Brahms and the grand orchestral textures of the Rachmaninoff (including the banged-out Dies Irae) came across with the and solace at one time.
The Mozart Two-Piano Sonata was elegant and sensitive at one time. As for the middle movement, this initially seemed like the slow movement of a concerto, until the two pianos coalesced into one.
The single piece new to most was the wonderful William Bolcom’s Recuerdos (“Memorabilia”). The three Spanish-inspired pieces were not his best. He seems more at home in ragtime pastiches, in American cabaret and in Ivesian playfulness. But they were pleasantly lilting, they were indeed memories of Gottschalk and other composers of the 19th Century. More important, it gave Ax and Bronfman a chance to sit back and be happily rhythmical.
The single encore, Dvorak’s Opus 46, No. 3 Slavonic Dance was equally amiable, equally enjoyable. The fact that in less than 48 hours, another pair of pianists—Levine and Barenboim—will be in the same hall is of no consequence at all. Ax and Bronfman are complete in themselves, and their unassuming joy was joyfully transported to we lucky listeners.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Savage Duo Performance
If you haven't heard of them, be sure to check this out.
They say listening to two pianos being played simultaneously is a powerful experience.
"You can make all kinds of colors and sounds with two," Jeffrey Savage said. "There's that much more possibility, so you can be very orchestral."
The duo call themselves 88² (88 Squared) and will be playing a concert at 8 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Central United Protestant Church, 1124 Stevens Drive, Richland. Their performance is being organized by Camerata Musica, a Tri-City chamber music organization.
Onnie Adams, Camerata's publicity chairwoman, said her music group is lucky to have the couple. They are both piano faculty members at Washington State University's School of Music and placed second at the 2006 Concours Grieg International Competition for Pianists in Oslo, Norway.
"The Savages are phenomenal musicians and come with personalities that add excitement to their performance," she wrote in an e-mail.
The couple first met during orientation at The Julliard School in New York, where they both received master's and doctoral degrees in piano from the prestigious performing arts school. But they didn't seriously play as a duo until about three years ago, when they moved to Pullman to teach at WSU.
An intriguing part of listening to a piano duo is hearing the players respond to each other's notes, Jeffrey Savage said.
"There's certainly an element of communication that happens between two artists," he said.
The Savages have designed a dynamic classical playlist for their performance.
They plan to start with Fantasy (Suite No. 1) by Sergei Rachmaninov and then fast-forward a century to music written by Frederic Rzewski. The 1980s piece, Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues, is based on a labor song and mimics the sound of a cotton mill.
Other music scheduled for the show include Witold Lutoslawski's Variations on a Theme of Paganini and Maurice Ravel's La Valse.
The performance is free, but Camerata Musica welcomes donations.
They say listening to two pianos being played simultaneously is a powerful experience.
"You can make all kinds of colors and sounds with two," Jeffrey Savage said. "There's that much more possibility, so you can be very orchestral."
The duo call themselves 88² (88 Squared) and will be playing a concert at 8 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Central United Protestant Church, 1124 Stevens Drive, Richland. Their performance is being organized by Camerata Musica, a Tri-City chamber music organization.
Onnie Adams, Camerata's publicity chairwoman, said her music group is lucky to have the couple. They are both piano faculty members at Washington State University's School of Music and placed second at the 2006 Concours Grieg International Competition for Pianists in Oslo, Norway.
"The Savages are phenomenal musicians and come with personalities that add excitement to their performance," she wrote in an e-mail.
The couple first met during orientation at The Julliard School in New York, where they both received master's and doctoral degrees in piano from the prestigious performing arts school. But they didn't seriously play as a duo until about three years ago, when they moved to Pullman to teach at WSU.
An intriguing part of listening to a piano duo is hearing the players respond to each other's notes, Jeffrey Savage said.
"There's certainly an element of communication that happens between two artists," he said.
The Savages have designed a dynamic classical playlist for their performance.
They plan to start with Fantasy (Suite No. 1) by Sergei Rachmaninov and then fast-forward a century to music written by Frederic Rzewski. The 1980s piece, Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues, is based on a labor song and mimics the sound of a cotton mill.
Other music scheduled for the show include Witold Lutoslawski's Variations on a Theme of Paganini and Maurice Ravel's La Valse.
The performance is free, but Camerata Musica welcomes donations.
All About Jazz Pianist Fred Hersch
One of the most important pianists of his generation, Fred Hersch has traversed territory from Ornette Coleman to Thelonious Monk to Walt Whitman, whose Leaves of Grass he set to music in one of 2005's best records. In Heard Fresh: Music for Two Pianos, he covers more ground, teaming with classical pianist Christopher Riley to play music by Bach and himself. He spoke with recess' David Graham about Friday night's concert.
How did the project come about?
We went to school together at New England Conservatory and graduated in 1977. I moved to New York and jumped into the jazz world, and he went out on the concert circuit. Over the years we've intersected in strange ways. The idea of Heard Fresh is, the first half of the program we play [Concerto for Two Pianos in C Major] by Bach, then alternate playing by 24 Variations on a Bach Chorale. In the second half he plays some Radiohead and some of my music, and we play some Strayhorn and a piece by Barber.
How did you start writing classical works?
I always had sort of shied away from it. [Six or seven years ago] I just found myself interested in writing piano music, which is actually very difficult if you're a good pianist, because you have to slow it down enough to get it on paper. If you can improvise, it's much easier.
The duo format is unusual for pianos and for you. What are its challenges and opportunities?
We've done [Heard Fresh] a half a dozen times before. It's very hard to book dual-piano gigs. I love to play duo music of all kinds. If you have two improvising pianists, both of you have to play less. It's really only the Bach, the Barber and the Strayhorn where we play together. I've heard that the venue is quite lovely, and I've never actually been to Duke.
How long have you been doing this program?
I guess it's been the last four or five years. I think it's for people who love piano music, and we both talk a bit. It's not a pretentious affair. We try to have a good time. The Bach is a ball. I really enjoy playing that particularly-I've always been a Bach nut. And it's always interesting for me to hear what another pianist does with things I've written. There's a lot of mutual respect there.
How did the project come about?
We went to school together at New England Conservatory and graduated in 1977. I moved to New York and jumped into the jazz world, and he went out on the concert circuit. Over the years we've intersected in strange ways. The idea of Heard Fresh is, the first half of the program we play [Concerto for Two Pianos in C Major] by Bach, then alternate playing by 24 Variations on a Bach Chorale. In the second half he plays some Radiohead and some of my music, and we play some Strayhorn and a piece by Barber.
How did you start writing classical works?
I always had sort of shied away from it. [Six or seven years ago] I just found myself interested in writing piano music, which is actually very difficult if you're a good pianist, because you have to slow it down enough to get it on paper. If you can improvise, it's much easier.
The duo format is unusual for pianos and for you. What are its challenges and opportunities?
We've done [Heard Fresh] a half a dozen times before. It's very hard to book dual-piano gigs. I love to play duo music of all kinds. If you have two improvising pianists, both of you have to play less. It's really only the Bach, the Barber and the Strayhorn where we play together. I've heard that the venue is quite lovely, and I've never actually been to Duke.
How long have you been doing this program?
I guess it's been the last four or five years. I think it's for people who love piano music, and we both talk a bit. It's not a pretentious affair. We try to have a good time. The Bach is a ball. I really enjoy playing that particularly-I've always been a Bach nut. And it's always interesting for me to hear what another pianist does with things I've written. There's a lot of mutual respect there.
Lang Lang Approaches the Outer Limits of Virtuosity
The popularity of pianist Lang Lang is a phenomenon. He is the most powerful draw in classical music, with irresistible stage presence and stunning technical prowess. And while many classical music devotees have strong reservations about his interpretations, there is no doubt he attracts many people who are otherwise diffident about attending concerts.
Most often heard performing concerti with orchestras, the young Chinese pianist might be most effective when he's alone onstage in recital, such as the one he played Tuesday night at Heinz Hall, Downtown.
story continues below
Lang Lang's interpretations are highly individualized. He revels in the opportunity to conjure dreamy moods, even when doing so requires wider latitude in pacing within a movement than anyone else dares. To so dwell in the moment risks losing the expressive power of structure. When playing with an orchestra, his performances can feel overly sectionalized.
His first Pittsburgh recital began with Franz Schubert's lengthy Piano Sonata in A major, one of this composer's many amazing compositions that were completed shortly before his death at 31.
The drama of the bold opening of the sonata was underplayed in comparison with German and Viennese pianists. Schubert was profoundly influenced by Ludwig van Beethoven, but there was none of that in Lang Lang's approach. Apart from variety of articulation, this was soft-edged Schubert. It was episodic, a series of appealing moments. The second movement, at a good Andantino tempo, was more successful, but the Scherzo was too fast for the music's character to blossom.
Throughout the concert, Lang Lang created some of the most beautifully sculpted sounds yet heard from the Heinz Hall Steinway grand piano on which he played. The precision and variety of his touch is remarkable, capable of creating layers of sound at different volumes, or perfectly balancing single notes that are octaves apart.
Rhythmic excitement more than beauty carried his performance of Bela Bartok's Piano Sonata. The piano keys popped as he raced through the outer movements, yet for all the force there never was any ugliness of sound.
Seven of Claude Debussy Preludes provided other expressive opportunities for Lang Lang. The mysterious grandeur of "La cathedrale engloutie" (The Sunken Cathedral), for example, was conjured with well-controlled power and precise tints.
Frederic Chopin's "Heroic" Polonaise in A flat major was the least successful of the recital performances. Excessive speed was the problem, despite the pianist's staggering ability to play torrents of notes at high velocity.
Lang Lang was received rapturously and played one encore. He introduced it saying it was a Chinese piece called "Spring Dance" that he likes to call "Chinese Tango." The arrangement sounded Western rather than Asian, but it provided an exciting conclusion.
Most often heard performing concerti with orchestras, the young Chinese pianist might be most effective when he's alone onstage in recital, such as the one he played Tuesday night at Heinz Hall, Downtown.
story continues below
Lang Lang's interpretations are highly individualized. He revels in the opportunity to conjure dreamy moods, even when doing so requires wider latitude in pacing within a movement than anyone else dares. To so dwell in the moment risks losing the expressive power of structure. When playing with an orchestra, his performances can feel overly sectionalized.
His first Pittsburgh recital began with Franz Schubert's lengthy Piano Sonata in A major, one of this composer's many amazing compositions that were completed shortly before his death at 31.
The drama of the bold opening of the sonata was underplayed in comparison with German and Viennese pianists. Schubert was profoundly influenced by Ludwig van Beethoven, but there was none of that in Lang Lang's approach. Apart from variety of articulation, this was soft-edged Schubert. It was episodic, a series of appealing moments. The second movement, at a good Andantino tempo, was more successful, but the Scherzo was too fast for the music's character to blossom.
Throughout the concert, Lang Lang created some of the most beautifully sculpted sounds yet heard from the Heinz Hall Steinway grand piano on which he played. The precision and variety of his touch is remarkable, capable of creating layers of sound at different volumes, or perfectly balancing single notes that are octaves apart.
Rhythmic excitement more than beauty carried his performance of Bela Bartok's Piano Sonata. The piano keys popped as he raced through the outer movements, yet for all the force there never was any ugliness of sound.
Seven of Claude Debussy Preludes provided other expressive opportunities for Lang Lang. The mysterious grandeur of "La cathedrale engloutie" (The Sunken Cathedral), for example, was conjured with well-controlled power and precise tints.
Frederic Chopin's "Heroic" Polonaise in A flat major was the least successful of the recital performances. Excessive speed was the problem, despite the pianist's staggering ability to play torrents of notes at high velocity.
Lang Lang was received rapturously and played one encore. He introduced it saying it was a Chinese piece called "Spring Dance" that he likes to call "Chinese Tango." The arrangement sounded Western rather than Asian, but it provided an exciting conclusion.
Rene Martin Launches Chopin Commemorative Tour in Tokyo
French producer Rene Martin is launching a new musical project titled Le Journal Musical de Chopin (The Musical Diary of Chopin) this month in Japan.
Vision: French producer Rene Martin will present a new classical music project that includes the full list of Frederic Chopin's solo piano works.
Renowned for the successful music festival La Folle Journee (Days of Enthusiasm), which has presented Martin's vision of the democratization of classical music and delighted audiences with first-class performances at surprisingly low prices, the charismatic producer now presents a series of concerts featuring all the piano solo pieces by Polish composer Frederic Chopin (1810-1849).
Although sharing characteristics — low-priced, short concerts in brief appearances — the Chopin project is not a carbon copy of the LFJ. But Tokyo was chosen as the starting point for this innovative project because of the LFJ's success here.
"I would like to explore profoundly a specific genre of a particular composer. Chopin, who continued to create almost exclusively piano pieces throughout his life, would be a proper composer for this project," explains Martin.
Having done smaller-scale performances of the Chopin program in 2006 in Nimes, southern France, Martin plans to develop the project until 2010, which marks the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth, giving concerts around the world in cities in which Chopin used to live, including Paris and Warsaw.
During the four-day event, 14 concerts trace Chopin's whole life through all of his piano solo pieces — from the first polonaise in G minor at the age of 7 in his happy childhood in Poland; to the swan song "Mazurka in F minor" shortly before his death in Paris.
Each concert will last about one hour with between five and 30 short pieces performed in a chronological order to create a feeling of reading Chopin's diary.
For this project, Martin selected six pianists: Lebanese veteran Abdel Rahman El Bacha, a Chopin specialist, who inspired Martin to take on this project; young Israeli Iddo Bar-Shai; French veteran Anne Queffelec; Philippe Giusiano, who won the Chopin International Competition in 1995; Japanese talent Momo Kodama; and rising young star Jean-Frederic Neuburger of France.
"The performers vary in nationalities and generations, yet share the sensibility toward Chopin," says Martin.
The programs of each concert are divided by the pianists, who will relay their performances one after another.
"It will be interesting for the audience to listen to six different pianists at a single concert," said Martin.
Good Music and Hard Times (go hand in hand)
Good Music and Hard Times (go hand in hand)
The economic crisis has serious repercussions. Have you ever wondered how the music world is being affected?
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - It's better to tackle tough times with a song in your heart -- especially a tune from the classical repertoire, Russian conductor Valery Gergiev says.
About to embark on a two-week tour of Japan at the head of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), Gergiev said that while classical music may be expensive, it's not a luxury.
"We have to talk about when people need culture rather than when people have to worry about the economy," he told Reuters on Thursday.
"And I think when things are looking less safe, the public and people in general need music ... they may even enjoy it more than before because if they don't enjoy the economic story, they will certainly have a chance to come and enjoy great music.
"Music doesn't lose its share price ... it doesn't lose its value."
Gergiev made the comments following a press luncheon to discuss the LSO's upcoming Japanese tour, sponsored by Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.
Beginning on Nov 27 in Sapporo and ending on Dec 10 in Miyazaki, Kyushu island, it is the LSO's 20th tour of Japan but its first with Gergiev, who became principal conductor in 2007.
A champion of the Russian repertoire, Gergiev will treat Japanese audiences to an all-Russian diet of Rachmaninov and Prokofiev, including all seven Prokofiev symphonies, his violin and piano concertos and the children's piece Peter and the Wolf.
"I believe it will be very exciting to play all those symphonies for the audiences in Japan. Yes, this is a very good repertoire," Gergiev said.
Gergiev makes no secret of his love for his homeland, which informed his decision following the Russian invasion of Georgia to lead a performance of Tchaikovsky in Tskhinvali last August among the bombed-out buildings of South Ossetia.
At that time, he lambasted Georgia for shelling the city and drew a parallel with the attacks on New York on September 11, 2001.
Speaking in London, Gergiev, who was born in Moscow but grew up in North Ossetia, did not mention the invasion but talked about how living in the North Ossetian city of Vladikavkaz shaped his musical tastes.
"There were great artists coming from Moscow, sometimes foreign artists, but mainly I remember ... it was waiting from one visit of (violinist David) Oistrakh to another visit of (pianist Sviatoslov) Richter, a visit of (cellist Mstislav) Rostropovich..."
Today, Gergiev said the baton is being passed to new countries, particularly to China where he said the phenomenal success of piano wizard Lang Lang has inspired tens of millions of Chinese.
"Some people think it's only 20 million, some people think it's 50 million pianists in China, some even say 70 -- I cannot be the source of this information," he joked.
"That is one big country of course...(and) other big countries can follow...Brazil, India, and I think Russia has not spoken its last word.
"...No one is sleeping and waiting for disaster to make a move. Even in difficult times people find a way, so that's why I think classical music will survive, and I think it will be in good shape."
(Writing by Michael Roddy, editing by Paul Casciato)
The economic crisis has serious repercussions. Have you ever wondered how the music world is being affected?
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - It's better to tackle tough times with a song in your heart -- especially a tune from the classical repertoire, Russian conductor Valery Gergiev says.
About to embark on a two-week tour of Japan at the head of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), Gergiev said that while classical music may be expensive, it's not a luxury.
"We have to talk about when people need culture rather than when people have to worry about the economy," he told Reuters on Thursday.
"And I think when things are looking less safe, the public and people in general need music ... they may even enjoy it more than before because if they don't enjoy the economic story, they will certainly have a chance to come and enjoy great music.
"Music doesn't lose its share price ... it doesn't lose its value."
Gergiev made the comments following a press luncheon to discuss the LSO's upcoming Japanese tour, sponsored by Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.
Beginning on Nov 27 in Sapporo and ending on Dec 10 in Miyazaki, Kyushu island, it is the LSO's 20th tour of Japan but its first with Gergiev, who became principal conductor in 2007.
A champion of the Russian repertoire, Gergiev will treat Japanese audiences to an all-Russian diet of Rachmaninov and Prokofiev, including all seven Prokofiev symphonies, his violin and piano concertos and the children's piece Peter and the Wolf.
"I believe it will be very exciting to play all those symphonies for the audiences in Japan. Yes, this is a very good repertoire," Gergiev said.
Gergiev makes no secret of his love for his homeland, which informed his decision following the Russian invasion of Georgia to lead a performance of Tchaikovsky in Tskhinvali last August among the bombed-out buildings of South Ossetia.
At that time, he lambasted Georgia for shelling the city and drew a parallel with the attacks on New York on September 11, 2001.
Speaking in London, Gergiev, who was born in Moscow but grew up in North Ossetia, did not mention the invasion but talked about how living in the North Ossetian city of Vladikavkaz shaped his musical tastes.
"There were great artists coming from Moscow, sometimes foreign artists, but mainly I remember ... it was waiting from one visit of (violinist David) Oistrakh to another visit of (pianist Sviatoslov) Richter, a visit of (cellist Mstislav) Rostropovich..."
Today, Gergiev said the baton is being passed to new countries, particularly to China where he said the phenomenal success of piano wizard Lang Lang has inspired tens of millions of Chinese.
"Some people think it's only 20 million, some people think it's 50 million pianists in China, some even say 70 -- I cannot be the source of this information," he joked.
"That is one big country of course...(and) other big countries can follow...Brazil, India, and I think Russia has not spoken its last word.
"...No one is sleeping and waiting for disaster to make a move. Even in difficult times people find a way, so that's why I think classical music will survive, and I think it will be in good shape."
(Writing by Michael Roddy, editing by Paul Casciato)
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