Last night, a musical feast was grandly held at the NCPA Concert Hall. Maestro Valery Gergiev raised his baton over the Mariinsky Orchestra and Chorus, as well as Beijing Philharmonic Choir, presenting a nearly three-hour concert, entitled “Night of Great Masters”, to the Beijing audience. The brilliant art presentation added even more lustre to the NCPA “Pure Classical” 2025.


Under Gergiev’s baton, the Mariinsky Orchestra first played the March of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The meticulously prepared opening “encore” instantly ignited the audience’s passion, and its mighty melody elicited prolonged applause, too. This short yet powerful piece was no longer just a piece of music then. It was also the highest respect paid to the Chinese audience. Through it, the Russian artists showed great friendliness to the Chinese people, setting a warm and solemn tone for the entire concert. Then began the concert, at which masterpieces by three great composers were performed one after another. Shostakovich’s Festive Overture glowed with bright colour, sounding like something surging forward ceaselessly, promptly wrapping the audience in a festive atmosphere. Under Gergiev’s leadership, the orchestra gave a brilliant performance in full-bodied stereo, with strings and brass winds acting in perfect unison amidst high and dense musical tones. Next came Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 3, a work rooted in the composer’s opera The Fiery Angel, brimming over with dramatic tension, shrill harmonies and ardent passion. Gergiev and the orchestra gave precise expression to a series of changes in emotion, so that the music sounded as if it were an opera full of dramatic tension and psychological characterisation. Their profound understanding of the composer’s spirit was visualised in everything from the dreary melody to the overwhelmingly tragic ending.

The second half of the concert was entirely occupied by Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 3. This piece, which he spent three years composing, is a mixture of multiple musical forms including symphonic music, female solo, female chorus and children’s chorus. Despite its rich musicality and its profound connotation - i.e., its pursuit of simplicity and exploration of human nature, it was rarely staged in China owing to its huge length and demand for a big orchestra size. This symphonic masterpiece, over an hour long, turned out to be an ultimate test of the orchestra and conductor’s comprehensive capabilities that night. According to Gergiev, in Mahler’s symphonies, you can create a sense of being immersed in nature or imagine yourself as a great musician that is depicting the whole universe. At times you may see the sun, the moon and stars, as though the world are not owned by us, but we can describe it, ponder over it or seek it with our mind, imagination, hope, dream or even fear. With his signature grip and fervour, Gergiev guided the orchestra and chorus in perfectly sketching out Mahler’s “composing process” - from the birth of the world to everything in nature and to the vast universe that exists in the depths of human love and philosophy. The mezzo-soprano Zinaida Tsarenko sang in her rich and expressive voice to the perfect accompaniment of the orchestra. The final movement is the spiritual core of the entire piece. The 30-minute adagio unfolded with great restraint, sounding melodious and profound, full of sacred grace, so that the audience couldn’t help immersing themselves in an extraordinary musical experience, thoroughly captivated by the music. As Mahler said, a symphony should be big enough to hold everything as the world is.

Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra are frequent visitors to the NCPA. In recent years, they have often performed in China, making an indelible contribution to popularising Russian musical treasures and promoting China-Russia cultural exchange. On the night of 21^st, the China NCPA Orchestra and Mariinsky Orchestra, two top orchestral ensembles, became one under Gergiev’s baton, jointly presenting a “duet of national spirits” to the audience. In the first half, they worked with pianist LUO Wei in performing The Yellow River Piano Concerto - sounding as if there were really the Yellow River roaring while surging forth, with the Chinese passion and strength rising among the piano keys. In the second half, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad” was performed. The musicians made musical notes into a city standing erect through the flames of war, and into indelible human dignity. When the Yellow River roared alongside Leningrad, a city never to fall, the Chinese melody blended with a Russian epic. The two monumental works, born on different battlefields during the same war, echoed loudly in history and spirit.

For the classical music lovers in Beijing, this feast of art, offered in golden autumn, is far from over. On 23^rd, Gergiev will return to the NCPA Concert Hall with the Mariinsky Orchestra and Chorus, as well as many leading vocalists, to present a concert version of Tchaikovsky’s grand opera The Queen of Spades. This “bright pearl on the crown of Russian opera”, premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1890, has matured over more than a century. Its theatre version, which unfolds in great detail with deep emotion, is still a “model” for global operas today. Gergiev is an authoritative interpreter of Russian operas in modern times. So his interpretation of The Queen of Spades is certainly brilliant and full of dramatic tension. We believe that Tchaikovsky’s depiction of love and destiny will strike a chord with the soul when 12 Mariinsky singers sing together in their mellow voices. Additionally, on October 25^th and 26^th, Gergiev will, for the first time, lead the Mariinsky Orchestra to work with the China NCPA Chorus and eminent vocalists from China and abroad to present Verdi’s opera Otello at the Beijing Performing Arts Centre.