Gergiev At the Proms

Live from the 2016 BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall

Behzod Abduraimov (piano)

Münchner Philharmoniker, Valery Gergiev

Ravel: Bolero
+Rachmaninoff: Klavierkonzert Nr. 3
+Ustvolskaya: Symphonie Nr. 3 "Jesus Messiah, save us"
+Strauss: Rosenkavalier-Suite
+Berlioz: Rakoczy-Marsch

Valery Gergiev, fresh from his appointment as chief conductor of the Münchner Philharmoniker in 2015, takes his new ensemble to the BBC Proms for a concert of the utmost in drama and vivid musicianship. The brilliant young Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov performs Rachmaninov’s thrillingly virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 3, while the Russian stage and film actor Alexei Petrenko recites the text in Galina Ustvolskaya’s resonant and profound Symphony No. 3 ‘Jesus Messiah, Save Us!’. The programme also features a hypnotic Ravel Boléro, an alternately tender, florid and witty Rosenkavalier Suite, and the rousing Hungarian March by Berlioz.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9

Sound format: PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1

Language: English and Russian

Region code: 0 (worldwide)

No. of disc/s: 1 (DVD 9)

July 2018

The occasion is Valery Gergiev’s appearance at the 2016 BBC Proms in his first season with the Munich Philharmonic. Opening with Bolero underlines the sense of showcasing his new toy: it is a beautifully moulded performance, the clarinet solo early on having a remarkable veiled quality…Yet the show’s true star is young Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov, who is by turns sublime and dazzling in Rachmaninov’s Third Concerto.

June 2018

We’re used to Gergiev partnering barnstorming Russians like Denis Matsuev in this repertoire but Abduraimov (Uzbek-born, American-based) adds a singing tenderness and a subtler, more varied tonal palette…With no lack of infectious brilliance this is unmistakeably an exceptional performance, outshining his studio recordings to date.