2009 Reviews
November 2009 saw the release of the first of a series of podcase featuring Vasily Petrenko talking to Edward Seckerson of The Independent about the ongoing Naxos Shostakovich project. Visit Independent.co.uk to listen
13.12.09 – The Observer
“Vasily Petrenko has galvanised the Liverpool Philharmonic into a sleek, shining international standard. Younger conductors are also proving to be both keen and innovative in drawing in new audiences. Petrenko was one of just eight conductors to endorse the 10-year classical music outreach manifesto, "Building on Excellence: Orchestras for the 21st Century", dedicated to increasing the presence of classical music in the UK, including giving free entry to all British schoolchildren to a classical music concert."
Read the entire feature
13.12.09 – The Times
The Best Classical Music of the Decade
Mark Elder in Manchester/ Vasily Petrenko in Liverpool
"Two very different personalities, the distinguished 62-year-old Brit at the Hallé and the charismatic 33-year-old Russian at the RLPO, have moved the focus of regional orchestral music from Birmingham to the northwest."
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26.11.09 - Financial Times
“Thanks to its recordings of Tchaikvosky and Shostakovich, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is emerging as one of best Russian Orchestras outside of Russia. The architect of this transformation is the RLPO’s starry young conductor, Vasily Petrenko.”
13.09.09 – The Guardian
“The day before the opening of its new season, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic announced that Vasily Petrenko had renewed his contract to 2015, and given the title of chief conductor. At the concert, he received what can only be described as a hero's welcome. "My heart is here," he told the audience. "This is my home, and this," he continued, indicating the orchestra, "is my family." Everyone roared. The mutual enthusiasm that exists between Petrenko and his adopted city remains mercifully undimmed.”
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11.09.09 – Liverpool Daily Post
“Philharmonic first nights are party nights. This time, there’s much to celebrate. Last night, Phil chairman, Lorraine Rogers, announced to a completely packed Philharmonic Hall that Vasily Petrenko, restyled chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, was staying until 2015. There were gasps of delight from the audience – and rightly so.
And Petrenko, evidently the darling of Liverpool audiences, gestured to the orchestra saying: “This is my family. Please enjoy being part of it. People obviously like being part of the family.”
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30.03.09 - Vasily and the RLPO receive a five-star review for Shostakovich's Symphony No 8 in The Guardian
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and a five-star review in The Telegraph: "...a supremely musical experience... I don't think I have ever experienced anything more comprehensive in its psychological understanding or more moving in its grasp of overall dramaturgy."
14.03.09 - "A Liverpool Orchestra at its peak" - Vasily Petrenko is interviewed in the Financial Times
Read the full interview
25.03.09 - Vasily Petrenko to be made a Doctor of Letters by Liverpool Hope University
