Vasily Petrenko

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About Vasily Petrenko

Russian-born conductor Vasily Petrenko has brought exuberance and enterprising zeal to his directorships of several European orchestras, serving for 15 years as principal conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and, since 2021, as music director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. In these roles, and at the helm of the Oslo Philharmonic (2009-20), Petrenko has shown an affinity for teeming Russian barn burners, especially works by Shostakovich and Prokofiev. Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1976, Petrenko studied music at the St Petersburg Capella Boys Music School and the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He was resident conductor at the St. Petersburg Opera and Ballet Theatre from 1994 to 1997, but Western ensembles beckoned, and a stint as guest conductor in Liverpool turned into a full-time job in 2006, with Petrenko presiding over a period of audience growth and financial improvement. He recorded cycles of Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky symphonies to great acclaim and—underscoring his acquired British citizenship—works by Elgar. In 2022, the Royal Philharmonic under Petrenko became the first international orchestra to perform in New York City since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. A kinetic figure on the podium, Petrenko is also passionate about music education, and since 2015 has been chief conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra.

HOMETOWN
St. Petersburg, Russia
BORN
7 July 1976
GENRE
Classical

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