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)