Berliner Philharmoniker

Kirill Petrenko, chief conductor

Symphony Hall

Wed. November 20, 8:00 PM

The magnificent Berliner Philharmoniker returns to Symphony Hall under the baton of Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko, revealing the intricacies and majesty of Bruckner’s monumental Fifth Symphony. Renowned for their clarity and roster-wide virtuosity, the orchestra draws out every detail of Bruckner’s writing: evocative and questioning woodwinds, spacious brass, and propulsive strings.

Petrenko, now in his fifth season and second Boston appearance with the ensemble, continues the Berlin tradition of interpreting and championing Bruckner. For more than a century, the composer, an organist by training, has been central to the Philharmoniker’s performance and recording identity.

Movement by movement, Kirill Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker expertly build one of Bruckner’s “cathedrals of sound,” culminating in a powerful and transcendent finale that illuminates the whole mighty structure.

Program Details

The Fifth Symphony is a work with which the composer fought for public recognition. In it, he reveals himself to be a gifted musical architect, bringing together voluptuous melodies, solemn chorales and sophisticated contrapuntal structures to create a symphonic monument. Kirill Petrenko conducts Bruckner with the Berliner Philharmoniker for the first time.

Further program note to come.

“Even at the very top of the field, playing this spectacular—this virtuosic, colorful, confident, unified and committed—is vanishingly rare.  ”
Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times