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Petrenko, a 43-year-old Russian who emigrated to Austria with
his family when he was a teenager, would succeed Briton Simon
Rattle in 2018, becoming one of an elite group of directors to
lead the Philharmonic, one of the world's leading orchestras.
Speculation about who would succeed Rattle has been a hot topic
in Germany and in music circles around the world for months. Six
weeks ago, an attempt by the orchestra's 124 members to elect a
new director failed after 11 hours of fruitless voting rounds.
The Berlin Philharmonic would not confirm the appointment of
Petrenko but a spokeswoman said a news conference is planned for
Monday afternoon.
Founded in 1882, the Berlin Philharmonic has attracted some of
the world's most famous conductors.
Wilhelm Furtwaengler led it from 1922 until 1934 and from 1952
until his death in 1954. He was succeeded by Herbert von
Karajan, who was in charge until 1989. Since then it has had
only three chief conductors.
Rattle, who has led the Berlin Philharmonic since 2002, is due
to take over the London Symphony Orchestra from 2017. His
contract in Berlin runs until 2018, so there may be a period
when he combines the two roles.
Petrenko, at the Bavarian State Opera since 2013, has worked
before in Berlin, running the Komische Oper (Comic Opera) from
2002 to 2007.
(Reporting by Noah Barkin; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
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