Lunch with the FT: Valery Gergiev

He is already an hour late. Audiences from London to Tokyo have grown accustomed to delays at the start of Valery Gergiev’s performances, so it should be no surprise if the world’s most charismatic conductor is late for me. This is the one day of the month when he is not travelling, rehearsing, fundraising or managing the companies he leads. But I am beginning to twitch.