Kirill Petrenko. Who...?

[richardfinegold]

Hiya Ferney,

Only the risk that KP is rather an unknown quantity in the Austro/German repertoire. I fear his strong background in opera might not translate to the concert hall. With every one of his Berliner Philharmoniker concerts being available on the Digital Concert Hall the scrutiny and pressure KP will be under will massive.

It makes little difference to me who got the job although I did hear KPs name being mentioned in some quarters. Rodion Shchedrin told me how that KP was a rising star. If pushed I would have been comfortable with Andris Nelsons, Tugan Sokhiev or Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

I was reading a short biography of Toscanini that pointed out until he was pointed Conductor of the NBC orchestra, the vast amount of conducting that he had done was in the Opera Pit, and there were some criticisms that he was not sufficently experienced in the core Austro German Music.

[french frank]

He was Tom Service's No 9 suggestion three months ago: 4/10

http://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2015/mar/10/berlin-philharmonic-next-principal-conductor

[Stanfordian]

I was reading a short biography of Toscanini that pointed out until he was pointed Conductor of the NBC orchestra, the vast amount of conducting that he had done was in the Opera Pit, and there were some criticisms that he was not sufficently experienced in the core Austro German Music.

Hiya RFG,

That was Toscanini then, this is Kirill Petrenko now!

[cloughie]

Hiya ER,

Programming repertoire will be a most difficult time for KP. Surely KP won't last long if he consistently programmes what the orchestra doesn't rate. I'm sure the Berlin audiance will continue to demand a number of its much loved traditional Austro/German repertoire. For example I don't know how well KP conducts Bruckner, Mahler, Brahms and Richard Strauss for example? I see this appointment as a very risky one for the orchestra but I hope it works out for him.

Not that much of a risk - the BPO know the works pretty well and he's likely a quick learner!

[gurnemanz]

Not that much of a risk - the BPO know the works pretty well and he's likely a quick learner!

... behave yourself or we'll play it the way you're conducting.

[Bryn]

Though born in Moscow, Hans Pfizner considered himself a Frankfurter (he lived there from the age of 2). Kirill Petrenko has recorded Pfizner's Palestrina, so he is not that unfamiliar with the Germanic musical tradition.

If tempted, best to download from QOBUZ in lossless format (with downloadable libretto, etc) for around £12.80, rather than in lossy mp3 format (no libretto, etc.) for £18.99 from amazon.co.uk.

[Lento]

I wondered why the photos of him were so different to the Petrenko I remembered....duh!

[P. G. Tipps]

Well, they chose him …

Yes, they did, which speaks volumes in itself ....

An outsider might conclude that the orchestra members themselves fancied a change from concerts dominated by the Austro-German classics?

I'd have very mixed personal feelings about that but I honestly cannot see any other reason for this appointment?

[jayne lee wilson]

Hiya makropulos,

Kirill Petrenko will not have chosen to play Rudi Stefan's music with the Berliner Philharmoniker the programme will have been selected for him. I am wondering what it is about the potential of KPs appointment that you find exciting?

That's an odd comment Stanf. - as KP makes clear in this interview, he most certainly chose this very unusual programme himself!
Try going in at about 6'00...

https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/interview/3566-5

(Even better - if the three marvellous CPO Suk albums (or the Pfitzner) don't appeal, cough up the €9.90 and listen to the concert yourself..!)

Shame people don't look back at earlier comments, but - one more time: it's possible that the Philharmoniker had mixed feelings about "imported stars" for chief conductor after Rattle and Abbado, and wanted someone to form a warmer, closer bond with, cf. Kempe/Staatskapelle, Kubelik/BRSO or even - CBSO/Rattle...

They can renew their own repertoire, yes, but also their own response to - Bruckner, Brahms, Beethoven etc... they can learn and grow with someone who precisely hasn't been ploughing through all that in the studio or concert hall before. As for great conductors learning their trade in the opera pit, there are too many to mention, Klemperer and Karajan among them. It is the classic route really, now largely forgotten...

[richardfinegold]

That's an odd comment Stanf. - as KP makes clear in this interview, he most certainly chose this very unusual programme himself!
Try going in at about 6'00...

https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/interview/3566-5

(Even better - if the three marvellous CPO Suk albums (or the Pfitzner) don't appeal, cough up the €9.90 and listen to the concert yourself..!)

Shame people don't look back at earlier comments, but - one more time: it's possible that the Philharmoniker had mixed feelings about "imported stars" for chief conductor after Rattle and Abbado, and wanted someone to form a warmer, closer bond with, cf. Kempe/Staatskapelle, Kubelik/BRSO or even - CBSO/Rattle...

They can renew their own repertoire, yes, but also their own response to - Bruckner, Brahms, Beethoven etc... they can learn and grow with someone who precisely hasn't been ploughing through all that in the studio or concert hall before. As for great conductors learning their trade in the opera pit, there are too many to mention, Klemperer and Karajan among them. It is the classic route really, now largely forgotten...

True about Conductors and Opera. I was just citing a contemporary criticism of Toscanini that is reasonating with some of the current comments about KP, to demonstrate the fallacy of such a viewpoint .
I am unable to find the KP Asreal on Amazon.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I am unable to find the KP Asreal on Amazon.

Available in the UK, but it'll cost ya:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Josef-Suk-Asrael-Symphony/dp/B0001M64W0/

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Eek! But still cheaper than US Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Asrael-Symphony-J-Suk/dp/B0001M64W0/

[Bryn]

Available in the UK, but it'll cost ya:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Josef-Suk-As...dp/B0001M64W0/

Worth waiting for a re-issue, I would think. His forthcoming role is bound to generate much interest in what he has committed to disc so far.

[makropulos]

Hiya makropulos,

Kirill Petrenko will not have chosen to play Rudi Stefan's music with the Berliner Philharmoniker the programme will have been selected for him. I am wondering what it is about the potential of KPs appointment that you find exciting?

As JLW has already pointed out, KP chose this repertoire - it was not "selected for him".
Why am I excited? Because the music I've heard him conduct has been impressively and imaginatively done - whether it's Wagner, Elgar, Janacek, Suk, Zimmermann or Mahler. I think he's a really interesting conductor who also has a creative approach to programming as well as being a tremendous musician (on the evidence of what I've heard).

[slarty]

Quite a lot of diverse orchestral repertoire from him is available on youtube (including some Suk, but not Asrael)
It is worth checking out.