It’s official: Valery Gergiev is the busiest conductor on Earth
Last month, statistics from the classical-music website Bachtrack confirmed this to a public that wasn’t particularly surprised: Gergiev has long been notorious for a schedule that might slaughter a less resilient soul. One concertgoer commented that the site’s proffered number for Gergiev’s performances last year, 88, was incomplete; the true figure was probably closer to 130. That averages one every 2.8 days.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.