Star conductor Tarmo Peltokoski takes on Wagner
At just 23, the exceptionally talented Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski has found success at the helm of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. He especially loves the operas of Richard Wagner.
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00:00 (dramatic music)
00:02 I was 11 years old.
00:05 And I happened to watch a YouTube video
00:11 of the very ending of Siegfried.
00:13 I and Wagner were simply made for each other.
00:19 I mean, it's such a cliche,
00:20 but it was kind of a love at first sight.
00:23 - 23-year-old Tomo Peltikovsky has found success
00:29 as the world's youngest star conductor.
00:32 He's currently in Riga, the capital of Latvia,
00:36 where Richard Wagner also once directed opera.
00:39 Wagner was German, Peltikovsky is Finnish.
00:45 In Riga, he's conducting
00:46 the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra.
00:48 And it just so happens that they are rehearsing Wagner.
00:53 - It's kind of an honor to be here and do his music.
00:59 I came here for the first time in January of 2022.
01:03 Well, I'm still in the beginning,
01:04 so I'm getting to know the people and the place.
01:07 Let's play it again.
01:09 This is a fantastic symphonic fresco.
01:13 It's one of the most glorious traditions
01:16 for us in the history of drama.
01:18 You need to be excited about it.
01:20 It's your thing.
01:22 (dramatic music)
01:24 - They're rehearsing Siegfried,
01:27 the very same Wagner opera that Peltikovsky
01:30 was so enthralled by as a boy.
01:32 And now he's conducting it himself.
01:34 Everything needs to come together
01:39 for the performance in two weeks.
01:41 Every tempo, accent, and of course, the chemistry.
01:45 - For conductor age of 20, 21, 22,
01:50 it's really, it's very young.
01:54 - Well, I don't feel young.
01:56 But he spent half of his life in music.
02:01 - I do my thing and musicians are professionals.
02:05 - He is all in music.
02:08 - I know music, I can conduct, that's what I do.
02:10 - Everything is absolutely clear for him.
02:14 What is he doing?
02:15 Why is he doing that way?
02:17 - I hope they do their best as well.
02:19 And if they don't, then I might say a few words.
02:26 - And he can do more than conduct.
02:28 Tamer Peltikovsky first made a name
02:31 for himself as a pianist.
02:33 He began playing when he was eight.
02:34 He developed a liking for musical comedies.
02:40 But Wagner's complex operas have always
02:46 held a special place in his heart.
02:48 - That was the first time I heard Wagner
02:52 and that really opened the door for me.
02:54 And I went crazy from that point on.
02:57 I was 11, I was in fifth grade of school
03:00 and then I started singing in German
03:02 bits of Siegfried and Goethe-Demarong
03:04 and everyone thought I was crazy.
03:07 You know, fellows, pupils of course,
03:09 but also teachers and probably my parents as well.
03:13 - That enthusiastic Finnish boy has become
03:18 an internationally renowned conductor
03:20 who's stood on stages in Berlin, Helsinki,
03:23 Hong Kong, Toronto and Toulouse.
03:26 And tonight he's appearing in Cesis,
03:35 a town in northern Latvia whose traditional
03:37 summer festivals attract classical fans
03:40 from all over the Baltic.
03:42 On the programme this time is a concert performance
03:47 of Wagner's Siegfried, the opera that helped
03:49 launch Peltikovsky's career as a conductor.
03:52 (audience applauding)
03:54 - The reason why I ever wanted to become
03:57 a conductor was Wagner.
04:01 And I'm doing Siegfried again and I hope to do it
04:04 many, many times in my life in different places.
04:09 And these sorts of things will keep me going
04:11 for hopefully a very long time.
04:20 (audience applauding)
04:23 - To roaring applause, the young star conductor
04:28 Tamo Peltikovsky fulfils a childhood dream.
04:31 (audience applauding)