Music Review - Kirov Orchestra of the Maryinsky Theater - Prokofiev’s Ballet Score Is St. Petersburg Musicians’ Native Tongue - NYTimes.com

Music Review - Kirov Orchestra of the Maryinsky Theater - Prokofiev’s Ballet Score Is St. Petersburg Musicians’ Native Tongue - NYTimes.com: "The sweep and power of the Kirov Orchestra come from the organic richness and weighty textures of the playing. The string tone is dusky and thick yet never gloppy. The brasses have an unusually mellow coloring. Under Mr. Gergiev their playing was at once assured and impetuous. Employing neither a podium nor a baton, Mr. Gergiev simply stood before his players, the first among equals."