Two Brazilians contest vacant US podium
mainOf six conductors in the race to be music director of the New Mexico Philharmonic, the two standout names are Marcelo Lehninger and Roberto Minczuk.
Lehninger has only just been named music director in Grand Rapids, but clearly needs a second job.
As for Minczuk, he has just wound up his term at the Calgary Philharmonic and is no longer in command of the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira.
The other four candidates are Rune Bergmann, Oriol Sans, Grant Cooper and Fawzi Haimor.
Marcelo Lehninger would also be an entirely viable candidate for the coming open position with the Dallas SO – to succeed van Zweden there. His success in assisting Levine in Boston was notable, including his very proficient conducting of at least the American premiere of the Birtwistle Violin Concerto (with Tetzlaff as soloist). The other names Dallas seems to be considering look weak, insubstantial by comparison.
Indeed. Marcello Lehninger conducted a Beethoven violin concerto with Pinchas, of exceptional quality, always at Boston. He is a beautiful musician.
Albuquerque is one rough town. Being from Brazil, Minczuk might feel right at home.
Beware Minczuk! No orchestra in its right mind should have anything to do with him.
Are you sure Marcelo Lehninger is really interested in the New Mexico Philharmonic? He just got a position with the Grand Rapids Symphony, which is an orchestra that has an operating budget of 9 million USD. It seems quite unlikely that he would take on a second job with New Mexico, an orchestra of a very limited budget of less than 2 million USD.