Kirill Petrenko's inaugural concert with BPO live

[Rach3]

Whether satisfied with the results, or not, or like the work or not, a performance I dont think you’ll want to miss.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Marlis Petersen (soprano), Elisabeth Kulman (mezzo-soprano), Benjamin Bruns (tenor), Kwangchul Youn (bass)
Rundfunkchor Berlin
Berlin Philharmonic, Kirill Petrenko (conductor)
Aug.23,2019, Philharmonie,Berlin

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cz33

Deutsche Welle review : https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-in-petrenk ... a-50153214

IF I recall correctly, in a DW radio interview,Petrenko said the first mov. was “ anti-Eroica”, the second a ‘bacchanal”, the third a “meditation” , and then , leaving all the others and their worlds behind , the final mov. marches forward into the future.

[maestrob]

The hype in that review was astonishing! I will listen to this soon.

[Lance]

I have a number of Petrenko's recordings, but so far they are all with Petrenko providing the orchestral portion to predominantly piano concertos. I like what I hear from him thus far.

[maestrob]

Kirill Petrenko's Beethoven IX is the real deal! I can't be too enthusiastic about this concert! Petrenko leads the Berlin Philharmonic in a Beethoven IX to rival HVK or Toscanini, no mean feat. Crisp, clean, excitingly paced without being driven, he brings out the best playing I've heard from the Berliners in years. One orchestra member when interviewed during the interval praised Petrenko's stick technique as "crystal clear,' which certainly helps, but his absolutely spot-on ideas about tempo and transitions from one idea to the next make this a first-rank performance for me. Bravos to all involved. I do hope this performance is issued on a CD with better sound.

Don't miss this!

[slofstra]

I'll have to look out for the 9th.

I just saw the Mahler 6th on Sunday night, and liked it for the most part. I thought I would have liked to hear a bit more legato playing in the first movement and the scherzo. I know they are marches, and I'm not referring to the opening passages, which were performed incredibly well. I listened to my older Szell recording this afternoon to see if it was just me that was getting tired of the punchy attack in some of the passages, but I noticed it can be done differently as the melody shifts.
Other than that it was an incredible performance. I also take back my reservation about Petrenko on camera. It was great to watch him guide the orchestra on this occasion. I like some of the antics, like cuing the trumpets with a little trumpet fingering, et cetera. Sometimes he moves so fast, not just the baton, but the entire body, that my big screen TV can't keep up with the motion.
Petrenko also performed the piece with the andante between the allegro movement and the scherzo. The Szell recording places the scherzo immediately after the opening march. I think I prefer the Andante earlier rather than later. The scherzo is too much like the opening movement, and I prefer to have a filling in my sandwich.
I could say more, but I'll leave it there.