What is Valery Gergiev?
[[File:Valery Gergiev David Shankbone 2010.jpg|thumb|Gergiev at the 2010 [[Time 100]] Gala]] '''Valery Abisalovich Gergiev''' ({{Lang-ru|Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев}}; born [[Moscow]], [[2 May]] [[1953]]) is a [[Russia]]n [[conducting|conductor]] and [[opera]] company director of [[South Ossetia|Ossetian]] birth. He is general director and artistic director of the [[Mariinsky Theatre]] since 1988, and was principal conductor of the [[London Symphony Orchestra]] and principal guest conductor of the [[Metropolitan Opera]], [[New York (state)|New York]] until 2022. Valery Gergiev is the artistic director of the [[White Nights Festival]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]. == Life == === Early years === Gergiev was born in Moscow but was brought up in [[North Ossetia]] in the [[Caucasus]]. He was not a child [[prodigy]], but he began to play the [[piano]] at secondary school, before going on to study at the [[Saint Petersburg Conservatory|St. Petersburg Conservatory]] in [[Leningrad]] from 1972 to 1977. His main [[conducting]] teacher was [[Ilya Musin]] who was one of the greatest conductors and teachers of conducting in Russian musical history. === Career === In 1978, he became assistant conductor at the [[Kirov Opera]], now the [[Mariinsky Opera]]. His first conducting appearance was with [[Sergei Prokofiev]]'s ''[[War and Peace (Prokofiev)|War and Peace]]''. He was chief conductor of the [[Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra]] from 1981 until 1985 - the year he made his first appearance in the [[United Kingdom]], together with pianist [[Evgeny Kissin]], and violinists [[Maxim Vengerov]] and [[Vadim Repin]], at [[The Lichfield Festival]]. In 1991 Gergiev conducted the [[Bavarian State Opera]] in a performance of [[Modest Mussorgsky]]'s ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]'' in [[Munich]]. In the same year he made his American début, performing ''War and Peace'' with the [[San Francisco Opera]]. Since then he has conducted operas and concerts all over the world. Gergiev performs at many music festivals, including the '