When a soloist gets ignored

When a soloist gets ignored

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norman lebrecht

December 24, 2014

There’s a small storm brewing in France over a concert review in Le Figaro, where the stand-in conductor was praised to the skies and the soloist in the Brahms concerto barely got a name-check. The double-stand-in conductor was the timpanist Adrien Perruchon, who made his debut after Lionel Bringuier and Mikko Franck called in sick. Good story (we broke it first).

But to ignore Francois-Frederic Guy, who received an ovation and an encore for the second Brahms concerto was a bit casual on the reporter’s part. The article is not exactly a review, more a celebration of the late substitute, but it left the soloist quite unhappy.

le monde review

This sort of thing happens quite a lot.

Comments

  • Robert Holmén says:

    The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.

  • Sergei says:

    Maybe the pianist couldn’t or wouldn’t afford the fees asked by Le Figaro, and the conductor paid it?

  • Halldor says:

    So, it’s not actually a review but a profile of the conductor? In that case, it sounds perfectly reasonable.

  • Alexandra Ivanoff says:

    Sounds like there’s a possible ‘liaison’ between the sub maestro and the over-zealous journalist.

  • Daniel Farber says:

    A possible lack of integrity on the part of a journalist or music critic?? “I’m shocked.”

  • ruben greenberg says:

    The journalist-Christian Merlin, I suppose- is rather obsessed with conductors. -a good music critic, though.

  • Rominator says:

    Il listened the concert on french radio “France-Musique”. the pianist was widely interviewed on this radio before the concert, but not the new conductor.
    You can hear the concert here, until 11th january:

    http://www.francemusique.fr/emission/les-vendredis-du-philhar/2014-2015/en-direct-de-l-auditorium-12-12-2014-20-00

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