Beethoven · Tchaikovsky · Schmidt · Stephan Berliner Philharmoniker & Kirill Petrenko

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92:
• 1 Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: I. Poco sostenuto. Vivace 13:31
• 2 Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: II. Allegretto 07:41
• 3 Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: III. Presto. Trio I und II. Assai meno presto 08:27
• 4 Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: IV. Allegro con brio 08:01
• Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125:
• 5 Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125: I. Allegro ma non troppo e un poco maestoso 14:11
• 6 Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125: II. Molto vivace – Presto 13:18
• 7 Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125: III. Adagio molto e cantabile 12:50
• 8 Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125: IVa. Presto 05:32
• 9 Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125: IVb. Presto. Recitativo "O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!" – Allegro assai – Presto 15:59
• Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowski (1840 - 1893): Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64:
• 10 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: I. Andante – Allegro con anima 14:26
• 11 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: II. Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza 13:05
• 12 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: III. Valse. Allegro moderato 05:57
• 13 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: IV. Finale. Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace – Moderato assai e molto maestoso – Presto – Molto meno mosso 11:43
• Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique":
• 14 Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique": I. Adagio – Allegro non troppo 17:51
• 15 Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique": II. Allegro con grazia 07:38
• 16 Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique": III. Allegro molto vivace 08:46
• 17 Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique": IV. Finale. Adagio lamentoso – Andante 09:47
• Franz Schmidt (1874 - 1939): Symphony No. 4 in C Major:
• 18 Symphony No. 4 in C Major: I. Allegro molto moderato 13:09
• 19 Symphony No. 4 in C Major: II. Adagio 11:27
• 20 Symphony No. 4 in C Major: III. Molto vivace 06:57
• 21 Symphony No. 4 in C Major: IV. Tempo primo (Allegro molto moderato), un poco sostenuto 09:23
• Rudi Stephan (1887 - 1915): Music for Orchestra in one movement:
• 22 Music for Orchestra in one movement 15:30
• Total Runtime 04:05:09

Info for Beethoven · Tchaikovsky · Schmidt · Stephan

In June 2015, the Berliner Philharmoniker elected Kirill Petrenko as their new chief conductor; he took up office a year ago. An exclusive edition now presents central recordings of this phase of anticipation and new beginnings. Performances of works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Franz Schmidt and Rudi Stephan reveal not only the first important programme directions, but also the exciting, intensive music-making in this partnership.

A “musical snapshot of the early collaboration between the Berliner Philharmoniker and myself, and at the same time the initial spark of our association”, as Kirill Petrenko describes the edition in the foreword. Three repertoire strands are outlined here which are also important for the future. First, there is the music of Russia, which Kirill Petrenko grew up with, and is represented here by Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies No. 5 and 6. These are performances in which not only the passion and power of these works unfold fully, but also their details and fine nuances.

Another of Kirill Petrenko’s interests is that of unjustly forgotten composers. As examples of this, the edition presents two composers on the cusp between late-Romanticism and Modernism: Rudi Stephan and Franz Schmidt. The latter’s Fourth Symphony is presented here: music full of sonority and pain and at the same time a favourite of Kirill Petrenko.

And then – as a cornerstone of the partnership – there is German-Austrian Classicism and Romanticism. The importance of this repertoire to Kirill Petrenko is demonstrated by the prominent place Ludwig van Beethoven occupied in his concerts to open the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, when the Seventh and Ninth Symphonies respectively were programmed. Both performances are also documented here.

The concert with Beethoven’s Ninth also marked the beginning of Kirill Petrenko’s tenure as chief conductor. The performance was not only a programmatic statement, but once again revealed the interpretative quality of this partnership. The Guardian wrote: “It was obvious why the orchestra wanted Petrenko. He has a gift for illuminating the innards of a score, […] his high-velocity Beethoven crackled with muscular rhythmic energy”.

Marlis Petersen, soprano
Elisabeth Kulman, soprano
Benjamin Bruns, tenor
Kwangchul Youn, bass
Rundfunkchor Berlin
Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill Petrenko, conductor

Kirill Petrenko
was born in Omsk, Siberia, in 1972 and studied piano at the school of music there. He appeared in public as a pianist for the first time at the age of eleven with the symphony orchestra in Omsk. In 1990 he moved with his family (father violinist, mother musicologist) to Vorarlberg, Austria, where his father accepted a position as an orchestral musician and music teacher. Petrenko continued his studies in Feldkirch, then studied conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.

His first engagement took him to the Wiener Volksoper as assistant and Kapellmeister immediately after graduation. From 1999 to 2002 Kirill Petrenko was general music director at the Theater Meiningen, where he attracted international attention for the first time in 2001 with a production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, directed by Christine Mielitz with sets by Alfred Hrdlicka. In 2002 Kirill Petrenko began his tenure as general music director of the Komische Oper Berlin, where he conducted a series of impressive productions until 2007.

Petrenko’s international career developed rapidly during his years in Meiningen and Berlin. In 2000 Kirill Petrenko made his debut at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, in 2001 at the Wiener Staatsoper and the Semperoper in Dresden, in 2003 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Opéra National de Paris, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, the Bayerische Staatsoper and New York’s Metropolitan Opera, and in 2005 at the Frankfurt Opera. From 2006 to 2010 he presented a cycle of Tchaikovsky’s three Pushkin operas with Peter Stein in Lyon.

After leaving the Komische Oper Berlin Kirill Petrenko worked as a freelance conductor.

In addition to his operatic career Kirill Petrenko has also appeared on concert stages throughout the world. He has collaborated with leading orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg, the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Santa Cecilia in Rome, the RAI Orchestra in Turin and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Kirill Petrenko has also conducted concerts at the Bregenz and Salzburg Festivals. From 2013 until 2015 he conducted the new production of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival.

Kirill Petrenko began his tenure as general music director of the Bayerische Staatsoper on September 1, 2013. Since then he conducted, besides a huge number of revivals, the premieres of Die Frau ohne Schatten (Richard Strauss), La clemenza di Tito (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) and Die Soldaten (Bernd Alois Zimmermann), Lucia di Lammermoor (Gaetano Donizetti), South Pole (Miroslav Srnka, world premiere), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Richard Wagner), Alban Berg’s Lulu, Giacomo Puccini’s Il trittico and Richard Wagner’s Parsifal.

In June 2015 Kirill Petrenko was elected as the next chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic as of the 2019/20 season.

Booklet for Beethoven · Tchaikovsky · Schmidt · Stephan