Mariinsky

Alexei Volodin (in the Fourth) and Sergei Babayan (in the Fifth) approach the fast movements with mercurial wit and dazzling clarity of fingerwork…Gergiev and the Mariinsky accompany with razor-sharp... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2016, 5 out of 5 stars More…

A very impressive interpretation of the most harrowing and questioning of Shostakovich's 'war symphonies'...Gergiev is especially convincing in his shaping of the large-scale architecture of... — BBC Music Magazine, January 2014, 4 out of 5 stars More…

such is the poignancy and sensitivity with which Gergiev shapes the world-weary melodies that I was immediately won over...[in the Finale] Gergiev exerts a much tauter control over proceedings,... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2013, 4 out of 5 stars More…

these new accounts of the two Shostakovich Concertos must be among the best currently available. He is brilliant and mercurial in the fast movements of both works, creatively negotiating tempo... — BBC Music Magazine, April 2012, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Following hard on the heels of Mikhail Pletnev's fine SACD version of Shostakovich's 15th is this impressively recorded version of the same work made in the sumptuous acoustics of the new Mariinsky... — BBC Music Magazine, September 2009, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Supported by a vivid SACD recording, Gergiev delivers a compelling account of the Second. His vast experience as an opera conductor pays real dividends in maximising the theatricality of the... — BBC Music Magazine, February 2011, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Here, for once, is the level of artistry that the work needs...for all his seemingly endless reserves of technical power [Matsuev] never makes an ugly sound...Gergiev and his Marinsky Orchestra,... — BBC Music Magazine, April 2010, 5 out of 5 stars More…