The theme of this year’s Festival was Sea & the City. For eleven days the city of Rotterdam was awash with symphony concerts and opera, with fado and accordions. According to managing director Hans Waege the cross-border nature of the Festival epitomises the city: “The Festival is characterised by a warm and friendly atmosphere. It has become a total experience that is more than just a series of symphony concerts and opera.”

As well as five symphony concerts, the theme of the Festival encompassed all the facets of the accordion. There were ‘excursions across the seas’ to the Antilles, and to Lisbon with a Grand Night of Fado. Gergiev’s magical Sadko and Yannick’s magisterial Eighth Symphony of Bruckner were extraordinary experiences and there were also exceptional concerts by pianist Alexandre Tharaud and the Norwegian ensemble Trondheim Soloists. As well as in De Doelen, concerts took place in the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, the Goethe Institute, the Laurenskerk and a dozen venues in Kop van Zuid.

Happening C the City & world record for the World’s Longest Orchestra
The first edition of the ‘urban happening’ C the City on Sunday 11 September was a great success. More than 5200 visitors enjoyed 30 free concerts in Kop van Zuid, with surprising sounds such as the song of the whale, percussion fireworks, a sea of accordions and smouldering tangos. As the icing on the cake, a world record was established that day: 270 musicians formed the World’s Longest Orchestra on the Erasmus Bridge.

The complete programme, a photographic account and the daily festival journals of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Gergiev Festival can be found on www.gergievfestival.nl

2012 edition
The next Rotterdam Philharmonic Gergiev Festival will take place from 7 to 15 September 2012 with the theme of Sea & You. Maestro Gergiev and Yannick Nézet-Séguin have confirmed that their commitment to the festival will continue in the years ahead, aiming for dynamic and ambitious programming. “In the persons of Valery Gergiev and Yannick Nézet-Séguin the festival is inspired by two of the most sought-after and renowned conductors of the present day – a unique situation that we cherish dearly”, says managing director Hans Waege.