Gergiev's Kirov Orchestra Performs with Toradze, Salutes Shostakovich Oct. 26
October 5, 2006
Russia's Kirov Orchestra, conducted by the charismatic Valery Gergiev, performs Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, with piano soloist Alexander Toradze, and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11 in concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, at Penn State's Eisenhower Auditorium. The Shostakovich performance is part of the St. Petersburg-based orchestra's centennial celebration of the dynamic Russian composer's birth.
Section one and two tickets for the Center for the Performing Arts presentation are $47 and $40 for an adult, $27 and $20 for a University Park student, and $29 and $22 for a person 18 and younger. For tickets and information, visit www.cpa.psu.edu or phone (814) 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also available at Eisenhower Auditorium and Bryce Jordan Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; Penn State Tickets Downtown, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and HUB-Robeson Center, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.
"The Kirov Orchestra is a perfectly balanced, impeccably blended virtuoso instrument," writes a reviewer for the Los Angeles Times, "and Gergiev plays it with masterly élan." Adds a San Francisco Examiner critic: "Valery Gergiev is extraordinary–simply one of the most exciting podium talents in years."
Since making a splash on the international scene in the 1990s, Gergiev has become one of the world's most sought-after conductors. He has also been principal guest conductor of New York City's Metropolitan Opera and the Rotterdam Philharmonic. By the end of 2006, Gergiev will have conducted all 15 of Shostakovich's symphonies with some of the world's leading orchestras in a yearlong salute at London's Barbican Hall. Beginning in 2007, the Moscow native becomes principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Founded during the reign of Peter the Great, the Kirov Orchestra has had a distinguished history. Famous for its work in opera, the orchestra regularly tours Europe, Asia and North America. The ensemble has been housed in St. Petersburg's famous Mariinsky Theatre since 1860.
Pianist Toradze, the Martin Professor of Piano at Indiana University South Bend, is a former Van Cliburn Competition prize winner who has performed with most of the major symphony orchestras.
Born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Toradze graduated from Moscow's Tchaikovsky Conservatory. While on tour in 1983 with the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra in Spain, Toradze requested asylum at the American Embassy in Madrid. He has since lived in the United States with his wife and two children.
Described as a "masterful keyboard virtuoso in the grand Romantic tradition," Toradze has recorded all five Prokofiev concertos, along with works by Mussorgsky, Ravel and Scriabin.
Glenn and Nancy Gamble and Robert and Helen Harvey sponsor the performance. WPSU is the media sponsor. Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion that provides insight from a visiting artist, is offered in Eisenhower Auditorium one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity. Seating is available on a first-arrival basis.
Contact: Laura Sullivan, 814-863-6379