doctor petrenko I presume?

By Catherine Jones on Mar 26, 09 12:06 PM

He appeared to be about 10 years old sitting there on stage trying to look serious in his robes, and when they put the his academic cap on his head he looked for all the world like one of the Princes in the Tower!
But Vasily Petrenko is now DOCTOR Vasily Petrenko after being given his honorary Doctor of Letters accolade at Liverpool Hope last night.
In typical award ceremony fashion, he modestly said the gong was not really for him but for the Phil without whom he would not have done anything.
Generous and partly true at least. But of course without Petrenko, the Phil and Liverpool would not have been galvanised into such a splendid cultural rebirth either.

After the ceremonial bits - including little son Sasha appearing in a mini-me gown and mortar which was, even to cynics like myself, impossibly cute - a small group of musicians were put through their paces by the maestro as they tackled Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale (first in 'rehearsal' with a mic-ed up Petrenko tweaking dynamics and playing styles and then a performance) while the audience watched.
Then it was on to a dinner of soup, sea bass and pudding and a hubbub of happy chatter over some very good piano playing by a Hope student.
The evening came only to a conclusion when Petrenko grabbed Sasha (who had been running round and round our table giggling and showing off the artwork he'd scribbled at his chair - and I'm sorry Eugenia, it was me that slipped him a chocolate as he whizzed past!) with the words "he's got school tomorrow."
"No he hasn't," joked the moppet's headmaster who was sitting around the other side of the table to me.
Tut tut! Don't let the other kids hear that sir!!
Cue much laughter and warm farewells.
It's a genuinely happy family and homely feel they have found here in Liverpool - let's hope that fact has some weight when Dr Petrenko is considering his career post 2012........