| GEO World | | Poland observes 70th anniversary of World War II | Updated at: 1727 PST, Wednesday, September 02, 2009
 WARSAW: Russian conductor Valery Gergiev led musicians from 40 countries Tuesday in a thrilling concert in the heart of former Nazi-occupied Poland to mark the outbreak of World War Two 70 years ago.
Krakow-native Krzysztof Penderecki, whose five-minute-long "Prelude for Peace" had its premiere at the concert which concluded with a rousing performance of Mahler's gargantuan Fifth Symphony, said music is too abstract to stop war, but gave the orchestra a rave review.
"It's an important day in our history," the composer said. "And the Mahler was extremely good, and played with such passion."
Gergiev, whose conducting of the orchestra coincided with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attending a memorial ceremony in the eastern Polish port city of Gdansk, had said earlier that if the concert stopped even one suicide bomber it was worth the effort and expense. |  |
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