Berlin shock: Kirill Petrenko breaks a leg

It’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