Spanish oboist wins conductor post in Paris

Spanish oboist wins conductor post in Paris

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norman lebrecht

April 09, 2016

We hear that Lucas Macias Navarro has been named assistant conductor of the Orchestre de Paris, part of Daniel Harding’s new team. The appointment has yet to be officially announced.

Lucas used to be principal oboe for Claudio Abbado in the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, before joining the Concertgebouw orchestra in Amsterdam.

lucas_macias navarro

Comments

  • Carmen says:

    Concertgebouw. He was Principal Oboe of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

  • Max Grimm says:

    Norman, Claudio Abbado appointed him principal oboist of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and of his Orchestra Mozart (of which Lucas is also a founding member).
    Lucas still is principal oboist of the LFO and the OM.

    • Anon2 says:

      Maybe I’m missing something but why would mention of these pick-up orchestras be more important than his position as Principal Oboe of Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which is a real full-time job?

      Isn’t Lucerne basically a part-time freelance gig? A top notch one, yes, but it’s not an actual full time orch. where they hold auditions for positions, is it? You get in on the basis
      of appointment, connections or reputation.

      Why anyone would refer to Lucas Macias Navarro as “Principal of Lucerne FESTIVAL Orchestra” (with emphasis on the FESTIVAL part) when he holds a legitimate
      Principal position with one of Europe’s most highly regarded full time professional orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw?

      It’s kind of like referring to Mr. Lebrecht as a blogger for Slipped Disc without mentioning that he’s the author of “The Maestro Myth” and other important books on classical music.

      • Max Grimm says:

        You are missing my point. As to why the original mention of Lucerne, you’ll have to ask Norman, as he opened this post with the reference to the LFO.
        I agree that a position in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is more special and unique than a position in an ad hoc or festival orchestra (as I tried to demonstrate by listing a youth orchestra and another ensemble that Abbado had appointed Lucas to).
        Finally, the last sentence was for correctness sake…whether a position is in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, a festival or youth orchestra, ‘used to be’ ≠ ‘still is’.

  • cherrera says:

    Following in the footsteps of another Concertgebouw principal player to the podium, former concertmaster Jaap van Zweden

    JvZ, by the way, worked extraordinarily hard to get where he is, Director-designate of the NY Phil.

    Best of luck to Mr. Navarro.

  • Rodrigo says:

    Following even MORE closely in the footsteps of yet another Concertgebouw principal player, also from Spain and also mentored by Mariss Jansons, former Concertgebouw Principal Timpani Gustavo Gimeno, now Music Director of Luxembourg Phil.

    Are there any more Spanish principal players in Concertgebouw who’ve been studying with Maestro Jansons who we should be watching?

  • Rambo says:

    It s becoming fashionable to become a conductor these days, without any experience…not a good sign

    • Max Grimm says:

      I don’t believe that this is really the case here. If an assistant conductor position is ideally meant to allow ‘budding’ or less experienced conductors to gain (more) experience and considering that Macías Navarro studied conducting in Vienna, was mentored by Abbado and Jansons and has been conducting smaller orchestras and ensembles for a few years now, I can’t see what else he should have done to merit an advanced learning opportunity – if you will – such as this.

      • Rambo says:

        Few years conducting in the pit is number one…

        • Max Grimm says:

          That is true. It would still prompt the argument that he has, “become a conductor [in the pit], without any experience”.
          I absolutely agree with you on the growing numbers of inexperienced conductor but also believe that in order to gain more experience, an assistant conductor job with the Orchestre de Paris in your hand is better than two conducting-in-the-pit jobs in the bush.

  • MacroV says:

    Edo de Waart was, IIRC, an assistant principal oboist in the Concertgebouw years ago.

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