Surrender to the Rhythm

Several years into his tenure as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, Kirill Petrenko remains something of an enigma. On the podium he is a confident, energetic presence, clearly delighting in the precise musicianship of the orchestra before him. There is little sense of turmoil or profundity in his demeanour: regardless of the music being performed, he seems to enjoy the act of making it. He has displayed an affinity for music from the early-twentieth century, but he has also presented Russian works and grand classics of the German repertoire with equal care. Regardless of what might be on the programme in a given evening, one can be fairly certain of hearing performances of uniformly high-quality.

Why, then, does he seem enigmatic? Because after so many scrupulously-prepared, brilliantly-executed performances of diverse works…