Kirill Karabits

After over a decade at the helm, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's hugely popular chief conductor explains to Rebecca Franks what he has planned for his final season

- Rebecca Franks

'There's no point pushing to find the right orchestra. It's like a relationship and needs to happen naturally'

THE BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE INTERVIEW

Back in the late 2000s, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) was on the lookout for a new chief conductor to follow in the footsteps of Marin Alsop. A young Ukrainian had made an impression on the band, so they invited him back for a tour to test his mettle. But Kirill Karabits's schedule was tight: he'd have to hot-foot it from a concert in São Paulo, Brazil, to Poole overnight. Things didn't quite go to plan. Before his flight, he was eating with some Ukrainian acquaintances. And they gave me fresh peanuts, which I'd never had before. Twenty minutes later, my face was unrecognisable,' he says. Undeterred and not so unwell he couldn't fly, he hopped on the plane and put in his earplugs to get a good kip. But thanks to his swollen face, one of them became stuck. And so, I had to go to hospital in Poole to take it out. All before the first rehearsal. It was an unusual start. But it went well, and I thought, if I can survive this and still finish the week, something special could happen. Life was throwing me a test.'