Seasonal Variety Vasily Petrenko s diverse European guest conducting engagements continue this season with Verdi s Requiem in London, Scriabin s Poem of Ecstasy in The Netherlands, Strauss s Also sprach Zarathustra in Copenhagen and Rachmaninov s Third Symphony in Cologne Petrenko stamped his authority all over the work: a fine sense of lyrical line matched the clarity of structure, but most deeply engaging was his control of the changing mood and temperature, Guardian, March 2016. Vasily Petrenko s richly appointed 2016-17 schedule, built around his extensive commitments as Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and the European Union Youth Orchestra, contains space for a series of prestigious guest conducting dates in Europe over the coming months. Verdi s Requiem stands among his itinerary s glittering highlights. The conductor will perform the monumental work with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bach Choir at the Royal Festival Hall on Thursday 13 April, his only London appearance this season. I love to perform Verdi s Requiem, one of the greatest of all choral works, notes Petrenko. To do it with a tremendous choir, the Royal Philharmonic and a team of carefully chosen soloists is very special. He will be joined by soprano Maija Kovalevska, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, tenor Samir Pirgu and bass Alexander Vinogradov, four outstanding representatives of the younger generation of opera singers. This is among the clear highlights of my season, the conductor continues. I have conducted the piece several times now, first sang in it when I was about nine as a member of the St Petersburg Cappella boys choir, and have even been the bass soloist in one performance! The work means a great deal to me. Before turning to Verdi, Vasily Petrenko is set to return to work with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Their latest collaboration opens with a late-night performance of Alexander Scriabin s The Poem of Ecstasy in Utrecht on Thursday 2 March, part of Netherlands Radio s Pieces of Tomorrow series for young audiences. To bring younger people to that work will be a special thing for me, he comments. Conductor and orchestra reconvene for two further concerts, in Utrecht and at Amsterdam s Concertgebouw (Friday 3 & Sunday 5 March). Their programme comprises Glazunov s Violin Concerto, with Maria Milstein as soloist, The Poem of Ecstasy and Rachmaninov s Symphony No.3. Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic released a recording of Scriabin s Poem on LAWO in the autumn of 2016 as part of an ongoing project to record the composer s work. The next instalment, Symphony No.1 is being recorded in Oslo in May. My passion for Scriabin continues to grow and deepen, comments Petrenko. He was a great composer and thinker whose Poem expresses the ecstasy of the spirit that grows out of the will to create. I m looking forward to working with the excellent Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra again and to creating this ecstasy with them. The Glazunov Violin Concerto went out of fashion for some time but is now being performed by many fine soloists. I am also trying to bring it back into the repertoire mainstream. It s a great opportunity to perform this piece with Maria Milstein in the Netherlands. Rachmaninov s Third Symphony, written in the mid-1930s, is a work of nostalgia for his lost Russian homeland. Its opening theme, built from just two notes, triggers a massive flood of memories from a composer recalling the Russia he remembered from his youth. Vasily Petrenko looks forward to two concerts with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra at the Koncerthuset in Copenhagen s new DR Byen (Thursday 4 & Saturday 6 May). The programme for both performances opens with Liszt s Les préludes, the third of his thirteen symphonic poems. Les préludes is arguably the most famous of Liszt s tone poems, comments the conductor. It has a strong dramatic programme behind it and a rich orchestration. For me, it s the closest thing to Tchaikovsky that Liszt created with much in common in its language and the passion that lies behind it. Les préludes was one of the obligatory pieces for conducing students at the St Petersburg Conservatory, so I have known it since my time there. I first conducted it with a student orchestra and look forward to returning to it again.
Liszt prefaces the work of another Hungarian composer: Bartók s Violin Concerto No.2, with Augustin Hadelich as soloist. Our recording of Tchaikovsky s Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra was released on the LPO Live label at the beginning of February. Augustin is a tremendous soloist and always finds new horizons even in the most famous of compositions. His interpretations always offer something unusual or things that you haven t thought about before. I m looking forward to working with him again and to discovering his vision of the Bartók. Petrenko will bring his Copenhagen concerts to a close with Strauss s Also sprach Zarathustra. I have performed Zarathustra many times, he recalls. It s not just about Nietzsche s philosophy as presented by Zarathustra; it is about Strauss communicating as a prophet with the people, dancing with excitement while exploring the beauty of nature and its relationship to human life. Vasily Petrenko s summer schedule includes two concerts with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne. They will perform Shostakovich s two piano concertos with Anna Vinnitskaya as soloist and Zoltan Kodály s Dances from Galanta at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr in Recklinghausen on Friday 30 June before moving to the Cologne Philharmonie on Saturday 1 July 2017. Vinnitskaya joins the orchestra in Cologne for Shostakovich s Second Piano Concerto, as part of a programme complete with Edward Elgar s concert overture In the South (Alassio) and Rachmaninov s Symphonic Dances. That s a lot of music for our latest project, notes Petrenko. It is always a great pleasure to perform with the WDR Symphony, and I look forward to working with them on programmes that contain so much variety and so many different creative perspectives. https://imgartists.com/roster/vasily-petrenko/ https://www.facebook.com/vasilypetrenkoofficial/?fref=ts Thursday 2 March 2017 TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, 9pm For press enquiries, please contact: Valerie Barber PR Suite 2 9a St John s Wood High Street London NW8 7NG Tel: +44 (0)20 7586 8560 sabina@vbpr.co.uk www.vbpr.co.uk Vasily Petrenko conductor Maria Milstein violin Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Scriabin The Poem of Ecstasy Friday 3 March 2017 TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, 8.15pm Vasily Petrenko conductor Maria Milstein violin Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Glazunov Violin Concerto in A minor Scriabin The Poem of Ecstasy Rachmaninov Symphony No 3 in A minor Sunday 5 March 2017 Concertgebouw, 11am Vasily Petrenko conductor Maria Milstein violin Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Glazunov Violin Concerto in A minor Rachmaninov Symphony No 3 in A minor Thursday 13 April 2017 Royal Festival Hall, 7.30pm
Vasily Petrenko conductor Maija Kovalevska soprano Karen Cargill mezzo-soprano Saimir Pirgu tenor Alexander Vinogradov bass Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Bach Choir Verdi Requiem Thursday 4 May 2017, 7.30pm Saturday 6 May 2017, 3pm Copenhagen Concert Hall Vasily Petrenko conductor Augustin Hadelich violin Danish National Symphony Orchestra Liszt Les préludes Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2 Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra Friday 30 June 2017 Recklinghausen, 8pm Klavier-Festival Ruhr Vasily Petrenko conductor Anna Vinnitskaya piano Martin Griebl trumpet WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major Kodaly Dances from Galanta Saturday 1 July 2017 Cologne Philharmonie, 8pm Vasily Petrenko conductor Anna Vinnitskaya piano WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne Elgar In the South Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances
America Calls Vasily Petrenko makes Carnegie Hall debut on Russia Day (Monday 12 June) as part of rich schedule of guest performances in United States Conductor returns to work in Houston, Atlanta and San Francisco and gives first concerts with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Audiences across the United States have the chance to experience the full power and passion of Vasily Petrenko s acclaimed artistry over the next four months. The Russian conductor s schedule of guest engagements, which extends from Georgia to California, Pennsylvania to New York City, includes reappearances with major orchestras and significant North American debuts. His US concert itinerary also spans a striking repertoire range, embracing everything from works by Mendelssohn, Glinka and Lalo to Corigliano, Respighi and Shostakovich. The diversity of his programmes reflects many of the interests Petrenko has pursued with distinction in concert and on record as Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Petrenko returns to work with the Houston Symphony Orchestra on Thursday 20, Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 April. Each concert comprises Verdi s Overture to Un giorno di regno, John Corigliano s The Red Violin Concerto with Elina Vähälä as soloist, and Respighi s vivid tone poems The Pines of Rome and The Fountains of Rome. We have three different styles here and a common connection with Italian culture and music, notes the conductor. Corigliano s Violin Concerto began life as part of the composer s Oscar-winning film score for The Red Violin, François Girard s 1998 drama about lives touched by a rare seventeenth-century Italian violin. The work is dedicated to the memory of the composer s father, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for more than a quarter of a century. The score is quite light in texture but still very dramatic, observes Petrenko. The story of The Red Violin is compelling and I m really looking forward to my first performance of the work it inspired. Respighi created the biopic of Rome in music. Whenever I hear The Pines or The Fountains of Rome, a strong visual response comes to mind. He took lessons from Rimsky-Korsakov in the early 1900s and learned so much from him about orchestration. The combination of music and imagery also marks the opening piece in Vasily Petrenko s concerts with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on Thursday 27 & Saturday 29 April. The programme begins with Richard Strauss s tone poem Don Juan and goes on to explore Mendelssohn s fiery, fleet-footed Piano Concerto No.1 in G minor, with Ingrid Fliter as soloist, and Dvořák s Eighth Symphony. I m in the process of recording Strauss s tone poems and symphonic works with the Oslo Philharmonic at present, so it will be fascinating to explore Don Juan with the excellent Atlanta players. It s a terrific showpiece for orchestra and conductor! But it also carries a philosophical story, which Strauss thought deeply about. The work s ending raises questions about the essence of human existence and how you live your life. Mendelssohn s G minor Piano Concerto, says Petrenko, deserves to be much better known. It has all the composer s lyricism and a soft touch to it. And Dvořák Eight is of course overshadowed by the New World Symphony, yet it is a dramatic piece which shows that life is not always so rosy. I look forward to going back to Atlanta and am very glad to hear that they are going from strength to strength. Russian repertoire provides the foundation for Vasily Petrenko s Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra debut concerts at Heinz Hall on Friday 9 June & Sunday 12 June. His programme comprises Tchaikovsky s First Piano Concerto, with Bezhod Abduraimov as soloist, and Shostakovich s Eighth Symphony. I have known the Pittsburgh Symphony for many years from recordings and am now looking forward to discovering all the qualities of this great orchestra, he comments. We will open with one of Tchaikovsky s mighty warhorses. It s a piece in which you can always find something new and where there are so many things to discover. Shostakovich s Eighth Symphony, written in the summer of 1943, stands among the composer s greatest achievements. It was created at a time when everybody in the Soviet Union was expecting a work proclaiming
the way to victory in the Second World War, observes Petrenko. But the piece is more about the people behind the front lines, about their heroic effort, their suffering, starvation and struggle during wartime. This was a war in which millions of civilians died. Shostakovich saw frontline destruction during the siege of Leningrad and witnessed the dignity of ordinary Russians under pressure behind the lines. That s why I think the work ends very quietly, in a state of hope for the future of humanity. Vasily Petrenko is set to make his Carnegie Hall debut on Monday 12 June with the State Academic Symphony Orchestra Evgeny Svetlanov. The concert, given to mark Russia Day, is part of an extensive international programme intended to show the best of Russian culture. When you consider the high number of people from a Russian background who live in New York, I think this will be a very special event for them, the conductor comments. It s a terrific initiative, which sends a clear message about art. We will perform Shostakovich s First Violin Concerto, with Pavel Milyukov as soloist, and Tchaikovsky s Fifth Symphony. I m glad to be with the State Academic Symphony Orchestra as its Principal Guest Conductor. The orchestra has a rich tradition and very distinctive sound. Petrenko travels from New York to California for his latest date with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, crowned by concerts at Davies Symphony Hall on Thursday 15, Friday 16, Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 June. Each performance will open with Glinka s First Spanish Overture, the Capriccio brillante on the Jota Aragonesa. For me to bring Glinka to the United States is very special, he reflects. As Tchaikovsky said, Glinka was the acorn from which the oak of Russian symphonic music has grown. He was ahead of his time in harmony and orchestration. The Jota Aragonesa has so much character. The conductor s San Francisco concerts also include Lalo s Symphonie espagnole, with Joshua Bell as soloist, and Rachmaninov s First Symphony. Josh is one of the most exuberant soloists today, notes Vasily Petrenko. I m looking forward to hearing his sparkle and individuality in a piece that shows his magnificent artistry so well. Rachmaninov One is sadly neglected from the repertoire. Its premiere was such a disaster that the composer burned his score! But it s a great piece, one in which you can sense the difficulties in Rachmaninov s life and in Russia at the end of the nineteenth century. In many ways Rachmaninov was predicting the catastrophe that was to come in the next century. I have been collaborating with the San Francisco Symphony for some time and look forward to being with them again. https://imgartists.com/roster/vasily-petrenko/ https://www.facebook.com/vasilypetrenkoofficial/?fref=ts For press enquiries, please contact: Valerie Barber PR Suite 2 9a St John s Wood High Street London NW8 7NG Tel: +44 (0)20 7586 8560 sabina@vbpr.co.uk www.vbpr.co.uk Thursday 20, Saturday 22 April 2017, Jones Hall, 8pm Sunday 23 April 2017, Jones Hall, 2.30pm Vasily Petrenko conductor Elina Vähälä violin Houston Symphony Orchestra Verdi Overture to Un giorno di regno John Corigliano The Red Violin Concerto
Respighi Fountains of Rome Respighi The Pines of Rome Thursday 27, Friday 28 & Saturday 29 April 2017 Bailey State Center, 8pm Vasily Petrenko conductor Ingrid Fliter piano Atlanta Symphony Orchestra R. Strauss Don Juan Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor Dvořák Symphony No. 8 in G Major Friday 9 June 2017, 8pm Sunday 11 June 2017, 2.30pm Heinz Hall Vasily Petrenko conductor Behzod Abduraimov piano Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor Shostakovich Symphony No. 8 in C minor Monday 12 June 2017 Carnegie Hall, 7pm Vasily Petrenko conductor Pavel Milyukov violin State Academic Symphony Orchestra Evgeny Svetlanov Shostakovich Violin Concerto No.1 Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5 Thursday 15, Friday 16 & Saturday 17 June 2017, 8pm Sunday 18 June 2017, 2pm Davies Symphony Hall Vasily Petrenko conductor Joshua Bell violin San Francisco Symphony Orchestra Glinka Capriccio brillante on the Jota Aragonesa Lalo Symphonie espagnole Rachmaninov Symphony No.1