“Valery Gergiev, the director of the Mariinsky (formerly Kirov) Theatre, has come up with a grand plan to rebut these fatuities, commanding, on the centenary of the composer’s birth, a fabulous spread of Shostakovich’s work to be set before the world’s cities. All 15 Shostakovich symphonies are being performed, under Gergiev’s own baton (at the Barbican), along with all his less well known operas and ballets, in a celebration that the conductor hopes will convince the world to see the composer differently.”