Vasily Petrenko

About Vasily Petrenko

Vasily Petrenko is one of the most significant and galvanizing musicians of our time. He became famous for his transformative work at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the oldest orchestra in the United Kingdom, where he refashioned the orchestra’s sound, reconnected it to its home city and presided over a huge increase in ticket sales. He quickly came to represent a new generation of conductors who combine uncompromising artistry with a passion for communication and inclusion.

Born in St Petersburg in 1976, he trained at the city’s famous conservatoire and took part in a master-class with Mariss Jansons, who helped establish the Oslo Philharmonic as one of the world’s great orchestras. After winning a number of competitions, he became Chief Conductor of the St Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra in 2004.

Petrenko is a highly acclaimed recording artist, with numerous accolades, including two Gramophone Awards, for his recordings of Russian repertoire. With the Oslo Philharmonic he has recorded Shostakovich and Szymanowski concertos and a major cycle of Scriabin’s orchestral works.

He has conducted the London, Sydney, Chicago, Vienna, San Francisco and NHK Symphony Orchestras, as well as at the Zürich, Paris and Hamburg Operas and Glyndebourne. Gramophone named him Young Musician of the Year in 2007, and in 2010 he received the Classical Brit Award as Male Musician of the Year.