Valery Gergiev is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, home to the Mariinsky Opera, Ballet, and Orchestra, formerly referred to as Kirov. He is also principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of St. Petersburg’s White Nights Festival. He has worked with all the world’s major international orchestras and opera companies.

Born to Ossetian parents in Moscow, Mr. Gergiev studied conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory with Ilya Musin, and at the age of 23 won Berlin’s Herbert von Karajan Competition. He made his Kirov Opera debut in 1978 with Prokofiev’s War and Peace, and later became assistant conductor to Yuri Temirkanov. Mr. Gergiev was elected artistic director of the Mariinsky opera company in 1988 at the age of 35, and in 1996 the Russian government gave him complete control over the orchestra, opera, and ballet. He has appeared with all the leading orchestras of the former Soviet Union.

Mr. Gergiev has conducted most of the world’s major orchestras, including the Vienna, Berlin, London, Los Angeles, and Royal philharmonics; The Philadelphia Orchestra; San Francisco Symphony; London, Boston, and Chicago symphony orchestras; Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw; the Orchestra of the Academy of St. Cecilia, Rome; The Cleveland Orchestra; and Tokyo’s NHK Symphony.

He is also the organizer of the Rotterdam Philharmonic/Gergiev Festival, and is director and founder of the Mikkeli International Festival in Finland, the Peace to the Caucasus Festival, and the Red Sea International Music Festival in Eilat, Israel. Mr. Gergiev was named Musical America’s Conductor of the Year, and is the recipient of Russia’s Dmitri Shostakovich Award and the Golden Mask National Theatre Award; he was also named the People’s Artist of Russia.

Mr. Gergiev made his New York Philharmonic debut in 1990 in the New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, and has returned numerous times to lead the Orchestra. His most recent appearance was in March 2000, leading works by Hindemith and Tchaikovsky.