This appointment is Petrenko's first appointment to a chief conductorship of a symphony orchestra which is not affiliated with an opera company. The official start of his Berlin Philharmonic tenure was not indicated at the time of the election, except for a comment by then-Berlin Philharmonic intendant Martin Hoffmann that "We are assuming that it will happen soon after 2018". In October 2015, the orchestra announced that Petrenko was formally to commence his contract as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic in the 2019–2020 season, with scheduled guest appearances in the seasons prior to 2019–2020. In October 2016, the Berlin Philharmonic formally announced that Petrenko was to officially to start his tenure as the orchestra's chief conductor on 19 August 2019. During the 2014 Crimean crisis, Petrenko called for a solution that would respect Ukraine's sovereignty. In March 2020, Monika Grütters, the current Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media in Germany, and Petrenko assumed patronage of the Musiker-Nothilfe, a patronage fund for freelance musicians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2022, Petrenko condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "knife in the back of the entire peaceful world". References External links Michael Lewin Artists Management German-language agency page on Kirill Petrenko Andrew Powell, 'Petrenko Hosts Petrenko'. Musical America 22 April 2016 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, German-language biography of Kirill Petrenko Austrian conductors (music) Music directors (opera) 1972 births Living people Russian people of Jewish descent Jewish classical musicians Russian people of Ukrainian descent Russian emigrants to Austria University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni 21st-century Russian conductors (music) Russian male conductors (music) 21st-century Russian male musicians Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine