Kirill Petrenko in conversation with Christoph Streuli (17 min.)

At the end of February 2020, the Berliner Philharmoniker and their chief conductor Kirill Petrenko went on a concert tour in Germany. Before setting off, they presented the tour programme of works by Igor Stravinsky, Bernd Alois Zimmermann and Sergei Rachmaninov at their home base in Berlin. To mark the occasion, violinist and orchestra member Christoph Streuli spoke with Kirill Petrenko about the guiding ideas behind the selection of works, and the fundamental question of how the repertoire of symphony orchestras is influenced by the spirit of the time. The chief conductor also highlighted the similarities and differences between the concert’s orchestral pieces, which all received their premiere within a period of only 15 years. Other themes were polystilism and versatility in Stravinsky, melancholy and expressive intensity in Zimmermann, and Rachmaninov’s final work, the Symphonic Dances, which the homesick composer wrote while in American exile.