The great Russian conductor, Gennady Rozhdestvensky has turned 85 this day, Wednesday 4 May.
To mark this occasion, the Bolshoi Theatre is holding a Jubilee Gala which includes performances of Glazunov’s ballet ‘The Seasons’, an act from Prokofiev’s ‘Semyon Kotko’ and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 all conducted by Mo. Rozhdestvensky.
Gennady Rozhdestvensky first made his debut at the Bolshoi Theatre conducting ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ in 1951. He has since had a long relationship with the theatre having served as its Chief Conductor and Musical and Artistic Director at different times. He became the first Soviet conductor to hold an appointment in the West.
His activities show no sign of slowing. He has just completed a cycle of Mozart Masses and a recording of Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera ‘Servilia’ in Moscow. Having just returned from two weeks with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and concerts with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, he returns to Asia to conduct the Seoul Philharmonic and Taiwan Symphony Orchestras as well as going back to the Iceland Symphony Orchestra this season.
Click here to read Peter Quantrill’s ‘Icon’ article in April’s edition of Gramophone.