Berlin shock: Kirill Petrenko breaks a leg
NewsIt’s what artists wish each other when they go on stage, but the Berlin Philharmonic chief Kirill Petrenko has taken it to an extreme.
He has pulled out of one BBC Prom with the Berlin Phil, following surgery on an injured foot.
Here’s the BBC release:
Prom 65 (Sunday 4 September)
Due to a serious foot injury and subsequent surgery, chief conductor Kirill Petrenko has been ordered by his doctor to take further rest and therefore will not conduct the second of his two Proms with the Berliner Philharmoniker, on Sunday 4 September (Prom 65). He will still conduct the first Prom (Prom 62: Mahler 7th symphony).
We are very grateful to Daniel Harding who will now conduct Prom 65.
The programme has been altered and will now be as follows:
Schnittke Viola Concerto with Tabea Zimmermann
Bruckner Symphony No. 4
UPDATE: The same substitution has been made in the orchestra’s Salzburg and Lucerne Festival appearances.
UPDATE2: It’s a toe he broke
That means that Harding is unable to steer BPO through Mahler’s 7th on sight.
Hardly on sight is it – nearly two weeks away and he would probably still have the usual rehearsal days. In addition, Harding has the work in his repertory – scheduled with BRSO in 2020, cancelled through covid but rescheduled for next season.
Exactly.he did it with the Swedish Radio Symphony,and very well,too!!!
Relax. No matter what your opinion of Harding may be, he is good at Mahler’s music. Just based on Petrenko’s excessively fast recording he made of M7 in Munich, I think I’d rather like to Harding give it a shot.
Well you won’t get your chance at the Proms. According to the press release Petrenko is still doing M7
Nonsense.He has done it many times.
Harding is excellent at Mahler – most repertoire actually!
Thank goodness I hadn’t actually shelled out for a ticket. That’s like replacing a prime rib-eye steak with a charred McDonald’s Big Mac. Not in any way comparable. And the Shostakovich replaced with Bruckner 4? Honestly – is that the best they could come up with?
Get well soon, we want you to get well.
We should stop saying these things.
Next thing we hear is Gatti being eaten by a wolf.
Did he say Macbeth too many times before the show?
Kirill Pied-renko
Plenty of young conductors trying to get experience. Give somebody else a go.
Somebody took “Break a leg” too seriously
Well I did book for Prom 65 and I don’t like Bruckner. What are the chances of getting my money back?
You’ve got two hopes, Bob Hope and no hope.
Call the Albert Hall and see what they say, you never know…
Credit where credit’s due – the RAH are giving me a refund.
Well, with a change of conductor and a change of repertoire, the promoter should be willing to refund a ticketholder who decides he/she no longer wishes to go to the concert.
They did….. but I like Bruckner so will still go to the second BPO concert!
Prompt et complet rétablissement.
Luckily I have only bought tickets for the first Salzburg concert that is, the Petrenko one. Harding has always disappointed me, live or on record.
Well, hopefully he’s recovered enough by November to take them on their U.S. tour, I’ll be seeing them in Chicago
Of course this happened today; a day after I paid $200 for a ticket to hear him and the BPO play the Korngold symphony in Boston. Hope he makes it and they don’t change the program!
This is a strange situation.
You think if he needs to rest it then he would not conduct at all wouldn’t you?
He’s now due to conduct four performances of Mahler 7 in four different places in Europe instead of 7 performances in the same four places.
Anyway, good on Daniel Harding for stepping in at short notice. I guess he may yet end up conducting the Mahler 7 too…
Well done all these armchair experts who know more than the experts!!! What arrogance when they comment without knowledge. Best ignored
If you are referring to my post, you’ll find that I don’t “comment without knowledge”, just ask a question and state known facts.
Based on the limited information that we have been provided with, I still say that cancelling only some of the concerts is a strange course of action (which is probably what most people, even you, are thinking).
If I had a ticket for the changed concert I’d be quite annoyed that he can conduct the night before and the night after but not on that night.
This line of thinking also makes me wonder whether Harding has been engaged because he can also conduct the Mahler 7 if need be…
Haha the predictable choice for a replacement: Saraste or Harding. Reliable but rather dull
But which version of Bruckner 4 Daniel Harding undertaking? The BBC has failed to inform us.
2nd version from 1878/1880
Harding is an adequate Mahler man. Good at times mostly average at others. He sees the big picture but not the supporting structure. Orchestra has trouble following him at times.
Jeff Merta
I have tickets for the Sunday Prom and have been hugely looking forward to seeing Petrenko. I of course wish him well but puzzled how he can be well enough to conduct on Saturday, but not on Sunday. Makes little sense.