We invite you to view a series of free concerts by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Kirill Petrenko, who was elected as the orchestra’s new chief conductor in 2015 and took up office on 23 August 2019.

The Siberian-born conductor, one of the finest orchestral directors working today, takes over the role from Sir Simon Rattle and follows in the footsteps of famous predecessors such as Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan and Claudio Abbado. Despite his calm manner and occasional reserve, he is considered one of the most popular artists on the classical scene.

The concert series includes works from the First Viennese School, Russian Romanticism and classical Modernism – three repertoire areas that are to be at the centre of the conductor’s work with the Berlin Philharmonic. You will be able to listen to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in D minor (“Pathétique”), Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 in A minor (“Tragic”) and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor (“Choral”). You can also watch the short documentary film Dawn of a New Era, made shortly before Petrenko took office, in which various voices from the orchestra have their say.

An interesting detail worth noting is that Kirill Petrenko trained in Vienna with the Slovene conductor and conducting teacher Uroš Lajovic.

You will find the free concert series here.