Sean Rafferty meets the charismatic conductor and director of the Mariinsky theatre, Valery Gergiev , on the eve of an international tour with the Kirov Opera. Plus music from Ernest Chausson , the French composer who died 100 years ago today, including Soir de Fete, Op 32 played by the BBC Philharmonic, conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier.
PUSHKIN AND ST PETERSBURG