33 concert with Kirill Petrenko
Season opening: Kirill Petrenko conducts Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony
Photo: Stephan Rabold
Kirill Petrenko opened the 2021/22 season of the Berliner Philharmoniker with the enchanting and mysterious world of Romanticism. The main work on the programme is Franz Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony, in which exuberance, dance and nobility are shaken by moments of deep despair. Carl Maria von Weber transports us to the magical realm of Oberon, the king of the elves, which inspired Paul Hindemith’s colourful Symphonic Metamorphosis.
27 Aug 2021Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoCarl Maria von Weber
Oberon: OverturePaul Hindemith
Symphonic Metamorphosis of themes by Carl Maria von WeberFranz Schubert
Symphony No. 8 in C major, D 944 “Great”- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Stefan Dohr
Europakonzert from Berlin with Kirill Petrenko
Photo: Stephan Rabold
As in 2020, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko again gave their 2021 Europakonzert in the Philharmonie Berlin, due to the corona pandemic – this time in the foyer of the building. Its special architecture is an invitation to present the music spatially: Blacher’s festive Fanfare, Ives’s enigmatic Unanswered Question, Mozart’s serene Notturno and Penderecki’s spherical Emanations consciously rely on the effect of spatial sound. Also in the Europakonzert programme: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s charming Orchestral Suite No. 3 and John Adams’s witty piece Short Ride in a Fast Machine.
01 May 2021
Europakonzert from BerlinBerliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoBoris Blacher
Fanfare for the Opening of the PhilharmonieCharles Ives
The Unanswered QuestionWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Notturno for 4 orchestras in D major, K. 286Krzysztof Penderecki
Emanations for 2 string orchestrasPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Suite No. 3 in G major, op. 55John Adams
Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Kirill Petrenko conducts Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov
Photo: Stephan Rabold
Rachmaninov's late-Romantic Second Symphony is filled with the wistful melancholy typical of the composer. Today it is one of the Russian composer’s most popular works, and the symphony also has a special significance for Kirill Petrenko: having chosen the Second for his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2006, he conducted it again 15 years later as the orchestra’s chief conductor. It was preceded by Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet.
20 Mar 2021Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture after ShakespeareSergei Rachmaninov
Symphony No. 2 in E minor, op. 27- free
Interview
Emmanuel Pahud in conversation with Daniel Stabrawa
“The Golden Twenties”: Kirill Petrenko conducts Weill and Stravinsky
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
Kirill Petrenko brings the 1920s to life again with an early work by Kurt Weill. The influence of Liszt, Mahler and Strauss on Weill can be heard in his rarely performed Symphony in One Movement. The music is captivating, brash and brilliant, but also features delicate, chamber music-like passages. We also hear Stravinsky’s opera-oratorio Oedipus rex, composed in 1927 and set in ancient Greece. Its music is crystal-clear neoclassicism – how could it be otherwise?
13 Feb 2021
Online festival: The Golden TwentiesBerliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoMichael Spyres, Ekaterina Semenchuk
Kurt Weill
Symphony in One Movement (1st performance in the critical edition of the Kurt Weill Edition, editor: James Holmes)Igor Stravinsky
Oedipus rexMichael Spyres tenor (Oedipus), Ekaterina Semenchuk mezzo-soprano (Jocasta), Andrea Mastroni bass (Tiresias), Krystian Adam tenor (Shepherd), Derek Welton bass-baritone (Creon), bass (Messenger), Bibiana Beglau speaker, Men of the Rundfunkchor Berlin
- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Martin Menking
Kirill Petrenko and Daniil Trifonov
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
“There’s this special moment when you truly feel the music and we all become one connected whole”, as Daniil Trifonov says enthusiastically in an interview for the Digital Concert Hall. Here he performs Sergei Prokofiev’s youthful and exuberant Piano Concerto No. 1 with Kirill Petrenko. Also on the programme: a world premiere by the Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, plus Josef Suk’s tone poem A Summer’s Tale, which combines Bohemian flavouring with shimmering Impressionism.
29 Jan 2021Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoDaniil Trifonov
Anna Thorvaldsdóttir
Catamorphosis (premiere), commissioned jointly by the Berliner Philharmoniker with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra – supported by the Friends of the Berliner Philharmoniker e. V.Sergei Prokofiev
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in D flat major, op. 10Daniil Trifonov piano
Josef Suk
Pohádka léta (A Summer’s Tale), Symphonic Poem, op. 29- free
Interview
Anna Thorvaldsdóttir on her work Catamorphosis - free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Stefan Dohr
Kirill Petrenko conducts Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov
Photo: Stephan Rabold
In this concert, Kirill Petrenko presents three passionate symphonic poems from Russia. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is represented by two tragic love stories: the Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet – the 29-year-old composer’s first masterpiece – and the fantasy for orchestra Francesca da Rimini. From Sergei Rachmaninov, a composer who is particularly close to Kirill Petrenko’s heart, we also hear his mysterious and sombre Isle of the Dead, inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s painting of the same name.
16 Jan 2021Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture after ShakespeareSergei Rachmaninov
Isle of the Dead, Symphonic Poem, op. 29Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Francesca da Rimini, Fantasy for Orchestra, op. 32- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Dominik Wollenweber
New Year’s Eve Concert with Kirill Petrenko and Pablo Sáinz-Villegas
Photo: Stephan Rabold
This concert with chief conductor Kirill Petrenko provides an end to the year under the southern sun. The first stop is Spain, with sparkling ballet music by Manuel de Falla and Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, featuring star guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas. There is a detour to South America with Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas brasileiras No. 4 and finally the Capriccio espagnol, in which Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov exudes a vibrant southern temperament with Russia colouring. As a tribute to Ludwig van Beethoven, the concert opens with the Leonore Overture No. 3.
31 Dec 2020
New Year’s Eve ConcertBerliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoPablo Sáinz-Villegas
Ludwig van Beethoven
Leonore Overture No. 3 in C major, op. 72Manuel de Falla
El amor brujo: Introduction and “Ritual Fire Dance”Joaquín Rodrigo
Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestraPablo Sáinz-Villegas guitar
Anonymous
Spanish Romance from the film Jeux interdits (arr. by Chris Hazell)Pablo Sáinz-Villegas guitar
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Bachianas brasileiras No. 4Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Capriccio espagnol, op. 34Dmitri Shostakovich
The Gadfly, Suite from the Film Music, op. 97a: No. 3 Folk Feast- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Julia Gartemann
Kirill Petrenko conducts Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony
Photo: Frederike van der Stræten
Following the performance of the Ninth Symphony at the end of October, the Berliner Philharmoniker with chief conductor Kirill Petrenko will now present Shostakovich’s Eighth, which will be broadcast from the Philharmonie Berlin without an audience. The stirring music, which was created in the middle of the Second World War, is characterised by not only sadness and despair but also by beauty and hope. Organised spontaneously for the Digital Concert Hall, the performance is intended for classical music fans from all over the world to bridge the period of closed concert halls.
13 Nov 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoDmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No. 8 in C minor, op. 65- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Noah Bendix-Balgley
Kirill Petrenko conducts Strauss, Shostakovich and Norman
Photo: Frederike van der Stræten
Chief conductor Kirill Petrenko presents two works that reflect the end of the Second World War in very different ways. On the one hand Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen: a web of sound for 23 solo strings that with warmth and transparency mourns a devastated world. In the case of Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony, the Soviet rulers hoped for a victory symphony – but received a bright, ironic work that refuses to rejoice. We also hear Andrew Norman’s Sabina, a sound painting full of iridescent reflections of light.
31 Oct 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoAndrew Norman
Sabina (arr. for string orchestra)Richard Strauss
Metamorphosen for 23 solo stringsDmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, op. 70John Cage
4′33″- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Eva-Maria Tomasi
Kirill Petrenko and Frank Peter Zimmermann
Photo: Stephan Rabold
“Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto is a piece that gets under your skin,” says violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann. Devastated by the death of Manon Gropius, the daughter of Alma Mahler and Walter Gropius, the composer created a musical memorial to the young girl with this work, and at the same time created one of the most poignant concertos of the 20th century. Antonín Dvořák strikes a completely different mood in his Fifth Symphony – one that is cheerful, relaxed and pastoral. The work is dedicated to Hans von Bülow, the first chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker.
19 Sep 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoFrank Peter Zimmermann
Alban Berg
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra “To the Memory of an Angel”Frank Peter Zimmermann violin
Johann Sebastian Bach
Violin Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005: LargoFrank Peter Zimmermann violin
Antonín Dvořák
Symphony No. 5 in F major, op. 76- free
Interview
Frank Peter Zimmermann on Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto “To the Memory of an Angel” - free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Albrecht Mayer
Concert with Kirill Petrenko and Daniil Trifonov
Photo: Stephan Rabold
In this concert, Daniil Trifonov presents himself for the first time with the Berliner Philharmoniker as a Beethoven interpreter – with the Third Piano Concerto, whose charm lies in the alternation of heroic gesture and dreamlike contemplation. At the same time, it is a musical homage to Mozart, who Beethoven greatly admired. Mendelssohn’s First Symphony, which he wrote at the age of 15, was also inspired by Mozart. An early work, yet it points to the style of the mature composer. “It sounds so wonderfully pithy and light, that the sudden glimpses of another, hidden world really do surprise” (Der Tagesspiegel).
01 Sep 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoLudwig van Beethoven
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in C minor, op. 37Daniil Trifonov piano
Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, op. 31Daniil Trifonov piano
Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 11- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Olaf Maninger
Season opening 2020: Kirill Petrenko conducts Schoenberg and Brahms
Photo: Stephan Rabold
The Berliner Philharmoniker’s opening concert of the 2020/21 season was awaited with particular excitement: on the one hand, it was the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic that the orchestra was able to play in front of an audience, and on the other hand, chief conductor Kirill Petrenko was to play a work by Johannes Brahms with his orchestra for the first time. The Berliner Zeitung wrote about the performance of his Fourth Symphony: “The musicians play as if liberated, and you can hear: they have not forgotten anything in the past six months. The ending is triumphant.”
28 Aug 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoArnold Schoenberg
Verklärte Nacht (Version for string orchestra from 1943)Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, op. 98- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Olaf Maninger
The Berlin Phil Series: “Kirill Petrenko Live: Serenades”
Photo: Stephan Rabold
Mozart’s wind serenade “Gran Partita” and Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings combine youthful temperament and compositional maturity, chamber music intimacy with sonorousness and the amusing character of the serenade tradition with the musical weight of symphonic conception. Kirill Petrenko included both works in the programme for this concert of the Berlin Phil Series with members of the Berliner Philharmoniker. With this serenade concert, Kirill Petrenko also concluded his first season as chief conductor of the orchestra.
13 Jun 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoWelcome
Matthew McDonald
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Serenade for Winds in B flat major, K. 361 “Gran Partita”- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Eva-Maria Tomasi Antonín Dvořák
Serenade for Strings in E major, op. 22
The Berlin Phil Series: “Kirill Petrenko Live”
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
Three weeks after the European Concert, chief conductor Kirill Petrenko appeared again with members of the Berliner Philharmoniker in an otherwise empty Philharmonie. Debussy’s atmospheric, dream-like Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune was followed by the wild sounds of Hindemith’s Kammermusik No. 1, whose borrowings from popular music were perceived as a provocation by contemporary audiences. The concert ended with the sensuous Verklärte Nacht, an early masterstroke by Arnold Schoenberg. “You can’t play it more beautifully than this” (rbbKulturradio).
23 May 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoWelcome
Philipp Bohnen
Claude Debussy
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (arr. by Benno Sachs)Paul Hindemith
Chamber Music No. 1, op. 24 No. 1- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Philipp Bohnen Arnold Schoenberg
Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), op. 4 (1943 version for string orchestra)
Europakonzert from the Philharmonie Berlin with Kirill Petrenko
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
Despite the corona crisis, the traditional Europakonzert was still able to take place almost 30 years after its inception. Members of the orchestra performed under the baton of chief conductor Kirill Petrenko in an otherwise empty Philharmonie. After works by Arvo Pärt, György Ligeti and Samuel Barber, Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony was performed in a version for chamber orchestra with soprano Christiane Karg. “The Philharmoniker soloists exude dedication – and an inexhaustible world opens up in miniature” (Tagesspiegel).
01 May 2020
Europakonzert from BerlinBerliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoChristiane Karg
Welcome
Stanley Dodds
Arvo Pärt
FratresGyörgy Ligeti
Ramifications for stringsSamuel Barber
Adagio for Strings, op. 11- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Olaf Maninger Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 4 in G major (arr. for chamber ensemble by Erwin Stein)Christiane Karg soprano
The Berlin Phil Series: “An American in Berlin”
Photo: Stephan Rabold
Music by American composers is on the programme for the second instalment of the Berlin Phil Series. In a range of chamber formations, Noah Bendix-Balgley, 1st concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker, and other members of the orchestra play pieces by George Gershwin, John Cage, and the composer Amy Beach, among others. Symphonic dances from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story are heard under the baton of chief conductor Kirill Petrenko, and his predecessor Sir Simon Rattle inspires the orchestra to a spectacular performance of Scott Bradley’s soundtrack to a Tom and Jerry cartoon.
25 Apr 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
Welcome
Noah Bendix-Balgley
John Adams
Short Ride in a Fast MachineSir Simon Rattle conductor
John Corigliano
StompGeorge Gershwin
Prelude No. 1 for Clarinet and PianoWenzel Fuchs clarinet, Ohad Ben-Ari piano
Amy Beach
Romance for violin and pianoNoah Bendix-Balgley violin, Ohad Ben-Ari piano
Charles Ives
The Unanswered QuestionJohn Cage
Third ConstructionRaphael Haeger percussion, Simon Rössler percussion, Franz Schindlbeck percussion, Jan Schlichte percussion
Leonard Bernstein
Symphonic Dances from West Side StoryKirill Petrenko conductor
George Gershwin
Porgy and Bess: four pieces for violin and pianoNoah Bendix-Balgley violin, Ohad Ben-Ari piano
Scott Bradley
Tom and JerrySir Simon Rattle conductor
Easter@Philharmonie Festival: Episode 4
The finale of the Easter@Philharmonie Festival is dedicated entirely to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, whose works were to be the focus of the Easter Festival in Baden-Baden which was cancelled due to the corona crisis. In addition to newly recorded chamber music works, the programme includes excerpts from Berliner Philharmoniker concerts conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Zubin Mehta and Daniel Barenboim plus the chief conductors Claudio Abbado and Sir Simon Rattle. The online festival closes with a performance of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony with their successor Kirill Petrenko.
13 Apr 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
- free
Easter@Philharmonie Festival: Episode 4 “Finale with Beethoven”
Claudio Abbado conductor, Daniel Barenboim conductor, Nikolaus Harnoncourt conductor, Zubin Mehta conductor, Kirill Petrenko conductor, Sir Simon Rattle conductor, Wenzel Fuchs clarinet, Christoph Hartmann oboe, Thomas Leyendecker trombone, Albrecht Mayer oboe, Olaf Ott trombone, Stefan Schweigert bassoon, Dominik Wollenweber cor anglais, Sarah Willis presenter
Easter@Philharmonie Festival: Episode 2
Photo: Heribert Schindler
The second episode of our Easter@Philharmonie festival is dedicated entirely to the music of Gustav Mahler. Excerpts from Mahler performances under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel and Andris Nelsons are on the programme, as is an appearance by soprano Anna Prohaska in the Philharmonie. Other guests are the baritone Christian Gerhaher and principal horn player Stefan Dohr. Finally, we hear the monumental finale from Mahler’s Sixth Symphony under the direction of chief conductor Kirill Petrenko.
08 Apr 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
- free
Easter@Philharmonie Festival: Episode 2 “The world of Gustav Mahler”
Gustavo Dudamel conductor, Andris Nelsons conductor, Kirill Petrenko conductor, Sir Simon Rattle conductor, Lorenzo Viotti conductor, Elīna Garanča mezzo-soprano, Christian Gerhaher baritone, Matan Porat piano, Anna Prohaska soprano, Sarah Willis presenter
Easter@Philharmonie Festival: Episode 1
The Philharmonie Berlin is closed, and our Easter Festival in Baden-Baden cannot take place either. So we have come up with something for you: the digital Easter@Philharmonie Festival! The first episode is about the history of the Easter Festival, with current and historic recordings. Plus, there is chamber music, performed especially for this occasion in an empty Philharmonie. The finale is a recording of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony with Kirill Petrenko.
04 Apr 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
- free
Easter@Philharmonie Festival: Episode 1
Sir Simon Rattle conductor, Herbert von Karajan conductor, Claudio Abbado conductor, Kirill Petrenko conductor, Gundula Janowitz soprano, Marie-Pierre Langlamet harp, Martin Löhr cello, Albrecht Mayer oboe, Sarah Willis presenter
Kirill Petrenko conducts Stravinsky, Zimmermann and Rachmaninov
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
The music of the 20th century is often considered inaccessible. Kirill Petrenko shows how wrong this prejudice is with three works written between 1940 and 1950 which differently convey sensuousness and energy. We experience rhythmic power in Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements, the combination of innovation and Brazilian flair in Zimmermann’s Alagoana and finally, the voluptuous melancholy of Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances.
15 Feb 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoIgor Stravinsky
Symphony in Three MovementsBernd Alois Zimmermann
Alagoana. Caprichos Brasileiros, Ballet SuiteSergei Rachmaninov
Symphonic Dances, op. 45- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Christoph Streuli
Kirill Petrenko conducts Puccini’s “Suor Angelica”
Photo: Michael Trippel
The first opera in the Philharmonie Berlin led by Kirill Petrenko: Giacomo Puccini’s drama Suor Angelica, which takes place in a convent and tells the moving story of a young nun. Even if the period and setting have little to do with the realities of life today, the message of the opera is more current than ever: it concerns humanity in an inhuman environment and the struggle for one’s own dignity. In this production, it is given a contemporary setting by director Nicola Hümpel and performed by up-and-coming singers, the choir of the Vocal Heroes choral programme, and the Karajan Academy.
01 Feb 2020Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoChoir of the Vocal Heroes Choral Programme, Nicola Hümpel, Ann Toomey, Katarina Dalayman
- free
Giacomo Puccini
Suor AngelicaChoir of the Vocal Heroes Choral Programme, Nicola Hümpel direction and costumes, Oliver Proske stage conception and video technology, Ann Toomey soprano, Katarina Dalayman soprano, Daniela Vega mezzo-soprano, Fleur Barron mezzo-soprano, Sarah Laulan mezzo-soprano, Aurora Marthens soprano, Qing Wang soprano, Aphrodite Patoulidou soprano, Alessia Schumacher soprano, Ekaterina Bazhanova mezzo-soprano, Yeo-Jung Ha soprano, Bernadeta Astari soprano, Yui Kawaguchi dance and choir choreography, Matan Porat piano and composition of prologue
- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko on Puccini’s “Suor Angelica”
Kirill Petrenko conducts Mahler’s Sixth Symphony
Photo: Stephan Rabold
For the first time, Kirill Petrenko presents himself with the Berliner Philharmoniker as an interpreter of Mahler. The Sixth Symphony is one of the composer’s most disturbing works, bringing together turmoil and idyll, triumph and catastrophe, nature, and life and death. It conveys a world panorama as well as an intimate insight into Mahler’s inner world. For as his widow Alma explained, “No work has flowed from his heart as directly as this”.
25 Jan 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill Petrenko- free
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 6 - free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Martin Menking
Kirill Petrenko and Daniel Barenboim
Photo: Stephan Rabold
Kirill Petrenko, the new man at the head of the Berliner Philharmoniker, encounters a decades-long friend of the orchestra: Daniel Barenboim. Together, they present Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, whose appeal lies in its self-assured showmanship and distinctive C Minor colouring. The music of Josef Suk, which has received far too little attention, is also a matter close to Kirill Petrenko’s heart. Here we hear his Second Symphony, an expressive work full of pain and sonority.
11 Jan 2020Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoDaniel Barenboim
Ludwig van Beethoven
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in C minor, op. 37Daniel Barenboim piano
Franz Schubert
Impromptu in A flat major, D 935 no. 2Daniel Barenboim piano
Josef Suk
Symphony in C minor, op. 27 “Asrael”- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Alexander Bader
New Year’s Eve Concert with Kirill Petrenko and Diana Damrau
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
For the first time, the new chief conductor Kirill Petrenko was at the helm for the Berliner Philharmoniker’s New Year’s Eve Concert – which revealed a new, vibrant facet to Petrenko’s repertoire. While German and Russian composers have been the main focus of his previous Philharmoniker concerts, this evening’s programme takes us on a musical journey to the USA: with dances from Bernstein’s West Side Story and Gershwin’s An American in Paris. You can also hear star soprano Diana Damrau in captivating songs from musicals.
31 Dec 2019Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoDiana Damrau
George Gershwin
Overture to the musical Girl CrazyRichard Rodgers
“If I loved you” from CarouselDiana Damrau soprano
Leonard Bernstein
“I feel pretty” from West Side StoryDiana Damrau soprano
Leonard Bernstein
Symphonic Dances from West Side StoryKurt Weill
“Foolish Heart” from One Touch of VenusDiana Damrau soprano
Kurt Weill
Symphonic Nocturne (Suite, arr. by Robert Russell Bennett) from Lady in the DarkStephen Sondheim
“Send in the clowns” from A Little Night MusicDiana Damrau soprano
Harold Arlen
“Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of OzDiana Damrau soprano
George Gershwin
An American in ParisFrederick Loewe
“I could have danced all night” from My Fair LadyDiana Damrau
Franz Waxman
“The Ride of the Cossacks” from Taras Bulba- free
Interview
Craig Urquhart in conversation with Noah Bendix-Balgley - free
Interview
Diana Damrau in conversation with Albrecht Mayer - free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Raphael Haeger
Live at the Brandenburg Gate: Kirill Petrenko conducts Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
Photo: Stephan Rabold
For the first time ever: Berliners were introduced to Kirill Petrenko, the new chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker, at an open-air concert. The scene was the Brandenburg Gate: an international symbol for overcoming differences and borders. With its humanistic message of the brotherhood of all mankind, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony breathes the same spirit.
24 Aug 2019
Open-air from the Brandenburg GateBerliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoMarlis Petersen, Elisabeth Kulman, Benjamin Bruns, Kwangchul Youn, Rundfunkchor Berlin
- free
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125 with Final Chorus “Ode to Joy”Marlis Petersen soprano, Elisabeth Kulman mezzo-soprano, Benjamin Bruns tenor, Kwangchul Youn bass, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Gijs Leenaars chorus master
Inaugural concert: Kirill Petrenko conducts Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
Photo: Stephan Rabold
Finally the time has come! This evening, Kirill Petrenko will stand before the Berliner Philharmoniker as their new chief conductor for the first time. It is a spectacular season opening concert with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony whose overwhelmingly joyful finale is perfect for the festive occasion. The concert also presents – in both Beethoven’s Symphony and Berg’s expressive Lulu Suite – the soprano Marlis Petersen as Artist in Residence of the new 2019/2020 season.
23 Aug 2019Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoMarlis Petersen, Elisabeth Kulman, Benjamin Bruns, Kwangchul Youn, Rundfunkchor Berlin
Alban Berg
Lulu SuiteMarlis Petersen soprano
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125 with Final Chorus “Ode to Joy”Marlis Petersen soprano, Elisabeth Kulman mezzo-soprano, Benjamin Bruns tenor, Kwangchul Youn bass, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Gijs Leenaars chorus master
- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Ludwig Quandt - free
Interview
Berg and Beethoven: an introduction by Malte Krasting
Kirill Petrenko and Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
In this concert, Kirill Petrenko made his last appearance with the Berliner Philharmoniker before taking up office as their chief conductor. First, soloist Patricia Kopatchinskaja showed how much virtuosity and expressive variety there is in Arnold Schoenberg’s Violin Concerto. Then came Tchaikovsky’s passionate Fifth Symphony in a performance full of power and dedication, “with a final passage like a casting out of devils .... The hall was completely breathless with enthusiasm and anticipation of what the future holds” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
09 Mar 2019Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoPatricia Kopatchinskaja
Arnold Schoenberg
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, op. 36Patricia Kopatchinskaja violin
Maurice Ravel
Duo No. 1 for violin and celloPatricia Kopatchinskaja violin, Bruno Delepelaire cello
Darius Milhaud
Jeu for violin and clarinetPatricia Kopatchinskaja violin, Andreas Ottensamer clarinet
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 5 in E minor, op. 64- free
Interview
Patricia Kopatchinskaja talks about Schoenberg’s Violin Concerto - free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Stanley Dodds
Kirill Petrenko conducts Beethoven and Strauss at the Berlin Palace
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
A special concert at a special location: the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko, their chief conductor designate, perform Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and tone poems by Richard Strauss in the reconstructed Berlin Palace. The building, which was badly damaged during the Second World War and demolished in 1950, does not reopen until 2019, so this open-air concert in the splendid Baroque Schlüterhof allows us a first glimpse.
25 Aug 2018Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoRichard Strauss
Don Juan, op. 20Richard Strauss
Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), op. 24Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92
Season opening 2018 – Kirill Petrenko conducts Beethoven and Strauss
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
In a way, this concert looks ahead to a new era. One year before Kirill Petrenko took up his post as the Berliner Philharmoniker’s new chief conductor, he conducted the opening concert of the 2018/2019 season. At the same time, he presented his interpretation of core works of the Philharmoniker’s repertoire: Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and Richard Strauss’ tone poems Don Juan and Tod und Verklärung. “What was revealed in this great moment was more than the magic of a beginning. This union will bring forth great things” (Die Zeit).
24 Aug 2018
Opening of the 2018/2019 seasonBerliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoRichard Strauss
Don Juan, op. 20Richard Strauss
Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), op. 24Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Emmanuel Pahud
Kirill Petrenko and Yuja Wang
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
Kirill Petrenko, chief conductor designate of the Berliner Philharmoniker, presents two sonorous rarities: Paul Dukas’s iridescent tone poem La Péri and Franz Schmidt’s Fourth Symphony. The latter is a gently flowing work in the tradition of Anton Bruckner with a powerful funeral march as the highlight. Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, on the other hand, played here by Yuja Wang, is a cheerful and virtuoso work.
13 Apr 2018Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoYuja Wang
Paul Dukas
La Péri, Poème danséSergei Prokofiev
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in C major, op. 26Yuja Wang piano
Franz Schmidt
Symphony No. 4 in C major- free
Interview
Yuja Wang in conversation with Andreas Ottensamer - free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Knut Weber
Kirill Petrenko conducts Mozart and Tchaikovsky
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
With Kirill Petrenko conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker for the first time since the orchestra elected him their future chief conductor two years ago, anticipation and expectations were high. The programme included Mozart’s Haffner Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique and John Adams’ The Wound-Dresser. Petrenko brought out the most subtle of nuances as vividly as a great psychological drama, rightfully receiving standing ovations: “A triumph” (Kulturradio).
23 Mar 2017Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoGeorg Nigl
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 35 in D major, K. 385 “Haffner”John Adams
The Wound-Dresser for baritone and orchestraGeorg Nigl Baritone
- free
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, op. 74 “Pathétique” - free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Olaf Maninger
Kirill Petrenko conducts Scriabin, Stravinsky and Stephan
It is one of the most exciting periods of musical history: the transition from the opulent music of late-Romanticism to early Modernism with its concentrated energy. Kirill Petrenko portrayed this era with works by Rudi Stephan, Alexander Scriabin and Igor Stravinsky in this concert from 2012, the highlight of which was Scriabin’s monumental Poème de l’extase in which, according to one critic, Pertrenko presented “an alert mind and his famous will for clear contours”.
21 Dec 2012Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoRundfunkchor Berlin
Igor Stravinsky
Symphony of PsalmsRundfunkchor Berlin, Kaspars Putninš Chorus Master
Rudi Stephan
Music for Violin and OrchestraDaniel Stabrawa Violin
Rudi Stephan
Music for OrchestraAlexander Scriabin
Le Poème de l’extase, op. 54- free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Alexander Bader
Kirill Petrenko conducts Beethoven and Elgar
When Kirill Petrenko conducted the Berliner Philharmoniker for the second time in 2009, a critic wrote presciently it would be “exciting to see the dimensions Petrenko’s career takes on”. It was not only the extraordinary abilities of the conductor that were clear that evening, but also his special relationship with the orchestra. The programme included Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with Lars Vogt as the soloist and Elgar's Second Symphony.
10 May 2009Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill PetrenkoLars Vogt
Ludwig van Beethoven
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in C minor, op. 37Lars Vogt Piano
- free
Edward Elgar
Symphony No. 2 in E flat major, op. 63 - free
Interview
Kirill Petrenko and Lars Vogt in conversation with Sarah Willis
