Having gained the services of legendary Hollywood composer Ennio Morricone to open last year's festival, many would be forgiven for thinking another big name might be out of reach for the 2009 programme

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Yet the reputation of the Belfast Festival is such that it has now attracted one of the world's biggest composers to the Waterfront Hall, in what will be a rare Ulster performance of Shostakovich's Seventh ‘Leningrad' Symphony.

As general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the New York Metropolitan Opera, even getting hold of Gergiev for a brief interview is a challenge in itself, such is his hectic schedule.

This will not be the first time he has visited Northern Ireland. Ten years ago the Mariinsky Opera travelled to Ulster to perform a gala concert in the Waterfront Hall, followed by a special Concert for Peace in Omagh Cathedral in the aftermath of the 1998 bombing.

“It was very memorable visit,” he says in a break between rehearsals.

“It is a beautiful landscape and a beautiful country.

“When we came, I didn't know what to expect. We wanted to be able to do something emotionally for the people of Northern Ireland and support the process for peace and understanding.”

Aside from his classical music work, Gergiev has not shied away from supporting causes in his native Russia, notably appearing on television following the 2004 Beslan School Massacre to appeal for calm.

He also conducted concerts in tribute to the victims of the massacre, as well as to the victims of the recent conflict in South|Ossetia.

“Hopefully there will be no reason for any musician in the world to do what we had to do 10 years ago in Omagh and five years ago after Beslan,” he says.

“Some people think I see the political side of it, but I try to see the human side of it. That's what I did in my own country.”

It is this wish to reveal and explore the human side of suffering that will perhaps be the most marked feature of his conducting when he leads the Mariinsky Orchestra for the opening concert.

Completed in 1941, Dmitri Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was dedicated to the suffering of the people of Leningrad, which was ferociously besieged by the Nazis during the Second World War.

The 872-day encirclement cost the lives of one million of its citizens, and is still a raw wound for many Russian people.

The mere mention of the work prompts a lengthy monologue from the maestro.

“It is a work which is not so much linked to Stalin or Hitler, but to humanity, as opposed to something totally inhuman,” says Gergiev.

“It is very easy to say that Shostakovich maybe was seeing a much broader, bigger picture than just someone in the Kremlin or the Reichstag. It was about human life and human hope, not only a belief in what life is about but also that it has to be beautiful and hopeful.

“The size of the tragedy and the scope of the human suffering have resulted in this huge symphonic document. It is really large, and one of the biggest which Shostakovich decided to do.

“I don't think he would dedicate so much time to such an incredible composition just to portray dictators.”

Whether the people of Belfast, a city itself still healing the scars of recent conflict, will see any resonance in the work should not be of too much concern, Gergiev says.

“I think they should just come and hear the music,” he says.

“I don’t think they should try and find a particular portrayal of war or peace. I think it just gives a very full emotional impact. The music of this symphony is, in itself, the important factor, not just what was written because of the Germans or Soviets or the dictators. One should not think this way.”

As a resident of St Petersburg — formerly Leningrad — he is also brusque when asked about the difficulties of performing the lengthy and diverse work.

“I normally wouldn't describe what it is means to conduct this symphony,” he says.

“I am supposed to be a conductor who knows how to conduct the Leningrad Symphony, because I live in that very city.”

As artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg, he is also keenly attuned to the importance of such events to a city's identity.

“I am very happy to be part of the Belfast Festival, I hope the public is proud of it,” he says.

“I have understood much better in the last few years that to have an annual event is a very important part of the season, because so many interesting events can come together in one programme. It's an important thing for every major city and every region in the world.

“I love festivals, and the element of surprise and the feeling that you will hear something that you will not get to hear often in your life. It's what festivals are about.”

The Ulster Bank Opening Concert will take place at the Waterfront Hall on Friday, October 16