Free Republic

In an extraordinary last-minute move Manhattan’s Carnegie Hall has cut the acclaimed Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, a close supporter of Vladimir Putin, from its programming this weekend “due to recent world events,” a spokesperson at the prestigious institution said. The decision — which Carnegie and the Vienna Philharmonic had earlier delivered in a joint statement — comes in the wake of the Russian president’s invasion of Ukrainen. Protesters were expected at the superstar maestro’s three highly anticipated appearances leading the Vienna Philharmonic in New York to begin Friday. Gergiev has not yet spoken publicly regarding Moscow’s offensive, but he has...

A renowned Russian conductor will perform in the ruins of Palmyra in Syria on Thursday, Russian media say. Valery Gergiev, who supported Vladimir Putin's presidential run in 2012, will perform at Palmyra's Roman Theatre, Rossiya 24 reported. Syrian forces, backed by Russian air strikes, took back Palmyra from the so-called Islamic State (IS) in March. Last July, IS posted footage online showing some of its fighters carrying out killings in the ancient theatre. Rossiya 24 said the concert would be broadcast on Russian television later on Thursday. Mr Gergiev travelled to Syria with the Symphony Orchestra of St Petersburg's Mariinsky...

. The furor in the West over Russia’s new law placing restrictions on the discussion of homosexuality continues to dog the conductor Valery Gergiev, who is one of Russia’s most important cultural exports these days. Mr. Gergiev, a prominent supporter of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who signed the law, drew protests Thursday night at Carnegie Hall, just as he did last month at the opening night of the Metropolitan Opera. Shortly after Mr. Gergiev walked onto the stage at Carnegie Hall to begin leading the celebrated Mariinsky Orchestra in a program of three Stravinsky ballets, the concert was...

The theme was Russia’s victory over Georgia; the spirit was Second World War defiance; the music was from Leningrad — and the conductor was from London. Surrounded by soldiers and barbed wire, hundreds crowded into the centre of Tskhinvali to see Valery Gergiev conduct the Maryinsky Orchestra from St Petersburg as Russia staged a victory concert amid the ruins of the capital of South Ossetia. From the mournful first bars of Shostakovitch’s Symphony No 7 (known as the Leningrad) in the makeshift arena, it was clear that the theme of the night was a stirring appeal to patriotism and the...

A LEADING Russian conductor yesterday called for an investigation into civilian deaths in the Caucasus, the latest festival artist to weigh into the conflict. Valery Gergiev, director of the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, said there were large numbers of casualties sustained in South Ossetia, near where he grew up, in the first hours of the fighting. Citing reports that 1,600 bodies were found after early attacks by Georgian forces, he asked: "Do you know how many more were burned alive?" Gergiev, who works with orchestras from Rotterdam to New York, conducts three major concerts in the Edinburgh International Festival this weekend...