Gala Concert: 300 Years of St. Petersburg

This DVD is indeed a celebration of all that is wonderful in Russian music-making. The setting is Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg and the orchestra is one of the world's best, the St. Petersburg (formerly the Leningrad) Philharmonic. Leading it in some of the pieces is Yuri Temirkanov; other works are conducted by Nikolai Alekseev. The cast of soloists is particularly starry. Two of them - Eliso Virsaladze, piano, and Viktor Tretyakov, violin - are not particularly well-known outside Russia but they are true giants of their instruments. And rounding out the solo roster are the hot young soprano Anna Netrebko, baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and cellist Mischa Maisky.