Gergiev adds LSO to full plate

The London Symphony Orchestra on Monday named globetrotting Russian conductor Valery Gergiev its next principal conductor, succeeding Sir Colin Davis. It said Gergiev, who has numerous international commitments, would begin a three-year contract Jan. 1, 2007.

Davis, 77, who has been principal conductor since 1995, will become the orchestra’s president.

The orchestra said Gergiev, 52, would direct 12 programs a year at its London home, the Barbican Centre, as well as undertaking a major international tour and other projects in Europe each year.

The energetic Gergiev is already artistic and general director of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater, home of the Kirov opera and ballet companies; principal guest conductor of New York’s Metropolitan Opera; and music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic.