Berlin Philharmonic and Petrenko Deliver Acclaimed Elgar and Tchaikovsky at the Proms

The Berlin Philharmonic, under its chief conductor Kirill Petrenko, performed at the Royal Albert Hall for the first of two Proms concerts, according to a review published by The Guardian.

The program paired Elgar's Enigma Variations with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 4, a combination the reviewer described as "insightful," noting that both works share an autobiographical dimension reflecting their composers' lives.

The review stated that Elgar's piece, described as "bread-and-butter repertoire for UK orchestras but not yet for German ones," was performed with a freshness that made the composer's musical portraits of friends and family appear particularly affectionate. According to the review, the string tone was "sumptuous and pregnant with possibility" from the outset, with meaningful phrasing throughout.

The reviewer highlighted the orchestra's dynamic range, from soft cello solos to the powerful sound of the Royal Albert Hall organ during the finale. A specific moment singled out was the timpani rolls in the penultimate variation, which the review said evoked the sound of a ship's engine, referencing a friend of Elgar's who was on a sea voyage at the time the piece was composed, or alternatively, according to the review's interpretation, a lost love who had emigrated.

The review posed the question of whether the Berlin Philharmonic is "the best orchestra in the world," answering "quite possibly," while noting that the only disappointment of the evening was that only two works were performed.

The Guardian's full review also covered the orchestra's performance of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 4, which was described as "thrilling and monumental."