In choosing Petrenko, the Berlin players are putting the music first

His symphonic repertoire is small, and his media experience even smaller, but Kirill Petrenko is a bold and an inspired choice for music director of the Berlin Philharmonic

From a narrowly British perspective, the first response to might be: “Who on Earth is he?” Or maybe: “Haven’t you got his first name wrong? Surely it’s Vasily Petrenko?”

Well, it’s definitely not. And although Petrenko, K, (no relation, incidentally, to the music director of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra) may be relatively unfamiliar in the UK – despite appearances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and a production of Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier at Covent Garden – he has been one of the outstanding conductors of his generation in the rest of Europe.

From the brazen whooping of the first bar’s horns, it’s clear that Petrenko eschews the cosy approach. The effect is sometimes indiscriminate, and a few of the score’s great moments suffer, but one is constantly reminded that this composer was also the composer of Elektra.

In the pit, Petrenko saved the best for the last two parts of the cycle, which had all the musical weight they require. The conductor emerged covered in glory. But Castorf’s production should be binned.

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