Vasily Petrenko is to be the Oslo Philharmonic's next chief conductor.
The 34-year-old Russian is to take the helm of the orchestra in August 2013, taking over from their current maestro Jukka-Pekka Sarasate. Petrenko first conducted the Oslo Philharmonic back in 2009, and is set to to tour with the ensemble later this year.
Petrenko, chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra until 2015, will be in good company: past conductors of the Oslo Philharmonic include Mariss Jansons, André Previn and Herbert Blomstedt. As a student at the St Petersburg Conservatoire, Petrenko participated in masterclasses given by Jansons, who was the Oslo Philharmonic's longest-serving conductor.
'I’m looking forward to programming everything from Johann Sebastian Bach to contemporary music and the work of Scandinavian composers, Grieg, Nielsen and Sibelius among them,' says Petrenko. 'I love Scandinavian music and think it will be a natural process to explore it together with the Oslo Philharmonic.'
Lucia Greco
Image: Mark McNulty