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LSO launch new era

On 1 January 2007 the London Symphony Orchestra celebrates a new triumvirate of conductors at a key moment in the Orchestra’s history. Valery Gergiev takes over as Principal Conductor, following Sir Colin Davis who has been the longest-serving Principal Conductor and now becomes the Orchestra’s President; they are joined by Daniel Harding who is now Principal Guest Conductor alongside Michael Tilson Thomas.

In March 2007 the Orchestra is central to the celebrations of the Barbican’s 25^th anniversary, it has been resident orchestra at the Barbican since its opening on 3 March 1982.

Every year Valery Gergiev will direct 12 programmes with the LSO. The first six concerts will take place between 23 January and 14 June 2007, when he will conduct his Stravinsky, Debussy, Prokofiev series. Performing both familiar and unfamiliar works of three of the major figures from the first half of the 20^th century, Gergiev leads the Orchestra into a tangible new era, bringing rarely-heard repertoire to London audiences.  He will also take an active role in LSO Discovery events with open rehearsals on 22 January and 28 March and an LSO Discovery Day exploring the music of Stravinsky on 13 May.

On 1 April Valery Gergiev and the LSO will appear at the Salle Pleyel, Paris, as part of the LSO annual residency there, with a programme of Stravinsky and Debussy.

The Orchestra begins the New Year when Valery Gergiev and the LSO take part in the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Composer Weekend, this year focusing on the music of Sofia Gubaidulina, a long-term friend of Gergiev’s. The LSO will perform Gubaidulina’s Fairytale Poem, Offertorium and Pro et Contra, with soloist Leonidas Kavakos. Valery Gergiev has been a powerful force in the revival of some of Russia’s great theatre and musical traditions and is equally committed to contemporary music.

Valery Gergiev made his London debut conducting the LSO in 1988. Recognized as one of the most outstanding musicians of his generation, Gergiev was born in Moscow to Ossetian parents. He is Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, New York.  He is Artistic Director and Founder of St Petersburg’s annual ‘Stars of the White Nights’ festival, the Moscow Easter Festival, the Gergiev Festival Rotterdam, and the Mikkeli International Festival in Finland, all featuring the opera, ballet and orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre.

Sir Colin Davis will work with the Orchestra for 10 weeks each year. He is central to the current Mozart Piano Concertos and Choral Blockbusters series in the 6/07 season. Sir Colin will conduct the LSO’s first concerts of the New Year on 6 & 7 January, when Emanuel Ax joins the Orchestra in two performances of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 22, K482, and Mozart’s Symphony No 35 and Elgar’s Enigma Variations, which is being recorded for LSO Live for release later in the year.  Sir Colin and the LSO then take this programme to the Salle Pleyel, Paris on 9 January, as part of the Orchestra’s annual residency there.

Sir Colin’s concerts with Mitsuko Uchida in February and March will include the Barbican 25^th Anniversary landmark concerts on 3 & 6 March and in June he finishes the LSO season with two performances of Berlioz’s opera Benvenuto Cellini.

Daniel Harding, Principal Guest Conductor, is the focus of Daniel Harding: A Portrait in partnership with UBS, from 22 March to 9 May. His programmes will include Mahler, Dvořák and Berlioz,and contemporary works by Pierre Boulez and Wolfgang Rihm. 

In April/May 2007 Daniel Harding and the LSO will undertake a major tour of the Far East including Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur.