Kirill Petrenko
Conductor Kirill Petrenko has emerged from comparative obscurity to leadership positions in two of the most prestigious musical organizations in the world: the Bavarian State Opera and, as of 2019, the Berlin Philharmonic. His ascent to the latter position is especially impressive inasmuch as Petrenko had little high-level experience with orchestral music before beginning work in Berlin.
Petrenko was born February 11, 1972, in Omsk, then part of the Soviet Union. He was something of a prodigy, making his recital debut at age 11. His family emigrated to Austria as restrictions loosened in the last days of the Soviet Union, and his father landed a job as a violinist with the Symphony Orchestra of Vorarlberg. Petrenko attended the region's Landeskonservatorium, in the city of Feldkirch, and his honors degree helped him win admission to the Vienna University of Music and the Performing Arts. There he switched to conducting, working with Uros Lajovic and then with a large variety of international-caliber conductors including Myung-Whun Chung, Edward Downes, and Semyon Bychkov.
Petrenko made his formal debut in Vorarlberg, leading a 1995 production of Britten's Let's Make an Opera. After serving as Kapellmeister at the Vienna Volksoper from 1997 to 1999, he was hired as general music director of the Meininger Theater in Meiningen, Germany. There he conducted a complete set of Wagner's four Ring cycle operas, on four consecutive days; he later became identified with these works, conducting them for three years in a row (2013-2015) at the Bayreuth Festival.
Petrenko served as music director at the Komische Oper Berlin from 2002 to 2007, also making guest appearances at other houses. Two of these were at the Bavarian State Opera, in 2003 and 2009; after the second of these, where he conducted Janácek's difficult Jenufa, he was appointed as general music director. His contract was extended several times and was set to conclude in 2021.
Petrenko made few orchestral appearances, but he did conduct the Berlin Philharmonic as a guest several times, and in an unsettled period following conductor Simon Rattle's announced retirement, he was named Rattle's successor in 2015. It was some time before a start date was announced, but he took up the baton for the 2019-2020 season. By that time, he had already released several orchestral recordings of music by Josef Suk with the Orchester der Komische Oper Berlin on the CPO label. In 2019, he made his Berlin Philharmonic recording debut on the Philharmonic's own label, leading a performance of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 ("Pathétique").
© James Manheim /TiVo
Discography
15 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique" (Multi-Channel Version)
Berliner Philharmoniker, Kirill Petrenko
Symphonies - Released by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on May 10, 2019
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2
Berliner Philharmoniker, Kirill Gerstein, Kirill Petrenko
Classical - Released by Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings on May 19, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
Berliner Philharmoniker, Kirill Petrenko
Symphonies - Released by Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings on Apr 26, 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven · Tchaikovsky · Schmidt · Stephan
Berliner Philharmoniker, Marlis Petersen, Kirill Petrenko
Classical - Released by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on Sep 25, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphonies 8-10
Berliner Philharmoniker, Kirill Petrenko
Symphonies - Released by Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings on Mar 24, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven : Symphony No. 7
Berliner Philharmoniker, Kirill Petrenko
Classical - Released by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on Sep 25, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 7 in E Minor (Live)
Bayerisches Staatsorchester , Kirill Petrenko
Classical - Released by Bayerische Staatsoper Recordings on May 28, 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Suk: A Summer's Tale, Op. 29
Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin, Kirill Petrenko
Classical - Released by CPO on Jul 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suk, J.: Ripening / Tale of Winter's Evening
Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin, Kirill Petrenko
Classical - Released by CPO on Jan 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 & Moments Musicaux, Op. 16
Dejan Lazić, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Petrenko
Classical - Released by Channel Classics on Sep 1, 2008
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Suk: Asrael, Op. 27
Michael Luis, Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin, Kirill Petrenko
Classical - Released by CPO on Apr 1, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff 150
Berliner Philharmoniker, Kirill Petrenko, Kirill Gerstein
Classical - Released by Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings on Sep 15, 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berg: Violin Concerto
Berliner Philharmoniker, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Kirill Petrenko
Concertos - Released by Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings on Nov 19, 2021
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berg: Violin Concerto: II. Allegro – Adagio
Berliner Philharmoniker, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Kirill Petrenko
Concertos - Released by Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings on Nov 12, 2021
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven · Tchaikovsky · Schmidt · Stephan
Berliner Philharmoniker, Kirill Petrenko, Marlis Petersen
Classical - Released by Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings on Sep 25, 2020
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo