Selected repertoire
Adams, John
The Chairman Dances: Foxtrot for Orchestra
Barber
Adagio for Strings
Medea’s Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, Op.23a
Bartók
Divertimento (1939)
Four Orchestral Pieces, Op.12
The Miraculous Mandarin: Suite
The Wooden Prince: Suite
Two Portraits, Op.5
Beethoven
Symphonies Nos.1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8
Berlioz
Benvenuto Cellini: Overture
Carnaval romain
Rákóczi March
Brahms
Liebesliederwaltzer, Op.52
Neue Liebesliederwaltzer, Op.65
Piano Quartet No.1, Op.25 (orch. Schoenberg)
Symphonies (all)
Britten
Variations of a Theme of Frank Bridge
Debussy
Printemps
Dvořák
Czech Suite in D major, Op.39
Serenade in E major, Op.22
Slavonic Dances Op.46 & 72
Symphonies Nos.8 & 9
Enescu
Rumanian Rhapsodies Nos.1 & 2
De Falla
El amor brujo
Franck
Le Chausseur maudit
Symphony in D minor
Les Eolides
Glinka
Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila
Grieg
Two Elegiac Melodies
Peer Gynt Suites Nos.1 & 2
Haydn
Symphonies (early & middle-period)
Hindemith
Noblissima visione
Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Holst
The Planets
Honegger
Pastorale d’été
Symphony No.2
Humperdinck
Hänsel und Gretel Overture
Kodály
Galanta Dances
Háry János
Liszt
Mazeppa (Symphonic Poem No.6)
Les Préludes (Symphonic Poem No.3)
Martucci
Notturno
Mendelssohn
The Hebrides, Op.26 ‘Fingal’s Cave’
Märchen von der schönen Melusine
Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture
Symphonies Nos.3 & 4
Milhaud
Le Boeuf sur le toit, Op.58
La Creation du Monde
Mozart
Symphonies & Overtures (most)
Divertimento in D major, K.334
Mussorgsky
Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Ravel)
Prokofiev
Classical Symphony, Op.25
Romeo and Juliet: Suite No.2
Symphony No.3
Visions Fugitives
Rachmaninov
Die Toteninsel (Isle of the Dead), Op.29
Ravel
Alborada del gracioso
Bolero
Daphnis et Chloé: Suites Nos.1 & 2
Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother Goose)
Le Tombeau de Couperin
La Valse
Valses nobles et sentimentales
Respighi
Ancient Airs and Dances
Feste romane (Roman Festivals)
Gli uccelli (The Birds)
Rimsky-Korsakov:
Scheherazade, Op.35
Roussel
Bacchus et Ariane, Op.43: Suite No.2
Saint-Saëns:
Le Rouet d’Omphale, Op.31
Schoenberg
Verklärte Nacht, Op.4
Schubert
Symphonies Nos.1, 5, 7 & 8
Schumann
Symphony No.3
Scriabin
Le Poème de l’extase, Op.54
Shostakovich
Chamber Symphony, Op.110a
Symphonies Nos.8 & 10
Sibelius
Finlandia, Op.26
Kuolema: Valse triste
En saga, Op.9
Strauss, R.
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op.64
Also sprach Zarathustra, Op.30
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: Suite
Don Juan, Op.20
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40
Metamorphosen
Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op.28
Tod und Verklärung, Op.24
Stravinsky
Apollon Musagéte
Concerto in D
L’Oiseau de feu (Firebird) (1919 version)
Petrushka
Suk
Serenade in E-flat, Op.6
Tchaikovsky
Serenade for Strings, Op.48
Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6
Nutcracker, Op.71: Suite
Romeo & Juliet
Varèse
Arcana
Veress
Threnos in memoriam Béla Bartók
Wagner
Eine Faust-Ouvertüre
Die Meistersinger: Prelude
Siegfried Idyll
Tristan & Isolde (Prelude & Liebestod)
The Scotsman"Varga used his softly-spoken precision to magical effect in Ravel’s fairy-tale miniatures Ma mère l’oye… Then the orchestra suddenly swelled and Varga let rip in a searing account of Ravel’s frenzied La Valse… Right from a ghostly opening, Varga balanced charm with disturbing decadence, and the piece’s cataclysmic conclusion blazed with fire and fury. Truly a journey from calm to clamour."
Baltimore Sun"Varga proved a masterful interpreter... He pushed the symphony's emotional buttons hard, but didn't exaggerate; everything felt organic, inevitable. The conductor's flair for shaping a long crescendo proved especially admirable, making each gradation all the more gripping, each crest all the more shattering."
Frankfurter Allgemeine"Under the baton of Gilbert Varga, the orchestra gave a performance where sensitivity replaced sentimentality, and where virtuosity wasn’t used for show, but rather for a thorough exploration of the piece. His perfect shaping of the phrases, and his dynamic control of each movement left nothing to be desired, and he captivated the audience with the vitality and flexibility of his interpretation."