Petrenko’s searing Shostakovich overshadows Grosvenor’s Beethoven

Vasily Petrenko conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Benjamin Grosvenor and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

By Nick Boston, 04 February 2026

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“power and intensity combined with electric precision at pace”

Reviewed at Royal Festival Hall, London on 3 February 2026

Ustvolskaya, The dream of Stepan Razin

Beethoven, Piano Concerto no. 1 in C major, Op.15

Moskowski, Étude de Virtuosité in A flat major, Op.72 no. 11

Shostakovich, Symphony no. 10 in E minor, Op.93

Yuriy Yurchuk, Baritone

Benjamin Grosvenor, Piano

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Vasily Petrenko, Conductor

Korngold and Mahler from Ray Chen, Vasily Petrenko and the RPO

Roy Westbrook, 12th May

Few violin concertos soar from the first bar as Erich Korngold’s does, especially as in Ray Chen's high-wire account at the Royal Albert Hall.

****1

Turangalîla underwhelms at the Southbank’s Multitudes festival

Roy Westbrook, 23rd April

Serious music ill-matched by filmic limitations as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra tackles Messiaen’s epic “symphony” as part of the Southbank’s cross-genre festival.

**111

Edusei’s Beethoven and Rangwanasha’s Strauss thrill at Cadogan Hall

Christopher Woodley, 26th February

Kevin John Edusei, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra celebrate the joys of a life well-lived – rounded off to the sounds of larks ascending.

****1

Charisma and colour from Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic

Chris Garlick, 7th September

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s BBC Proms matinee proves an ideal opportunity to demonstrate their strengths in a programme of Respighi, Milhaud and Vaughan Williams.

****1

Perception-altering Shostakovich from Serebrennikov and Petrenko

Mark Pullinger, 27th April

As part of the Southbank Centre's Multitudes festival, Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony is given a stunning visual direction by Kirill Serebrennikov to match the RPO's gripping playing.

*****

A trio of exiled composers: Petrenko and the RPO at the RFH

David Truslove, 23rd March

Assured performances from the RPO as part of its ongoing “Lights in the Dark” series that brought career correspondences between three markedly different composers.

****1

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Nick Boston

Nick has an MA in Music, specialising in performance and repertoire. His particular passions are choral music, chamber music and opera, with a particular interest in early music. He sings in a number of choirs in the south east of England, plays the piano and occasionally dusts off the violin. He writes about music here.

Petrenko’s searing Shostakovich overshadows Grosvenor’s elegant Beethoven