Maria Antonia Rodríguez, principal flute of Spain’s RTVE Orchestra in Madrid, has been named General Manager of the Orquesta de Navarra in Pamplona.
Rodríguez, 54, has played a prominent role in planning the RTVE’s jubilee season.
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Good Luck, Maria! How fortunate for Pamplona!
There’s a new conductor there in Madrid- Pablo González. I have played with him this year and I know he will just be fabulous to continue to lead this great orchestra.
He is not especially new. He is recycled from OBC in Barcelona where he was not a particularly popular Music Director. His contract was not renewed and he has been hanging around guest conducting since. RTVE needed someone to replace problematic Carlos Kalmar and Gonzalez was there, hanging around.
For those primarily concerned with the paycheck, the best move. Artistically, a funeral.
What a disgusting comment
Why on earth would you say that?
Who do you think is better qualified to be General Manager of an orch – a politician (orchs are publicly funded in Spain) or business person with no musical knowledge whatsoever – or a musician who’s served in the ranks of a major orch with significant orch administrative experience?
This woman has served as Principal Flute of one of Spain’s top orchestras for nearly 30 yrs. It’s also one of the best paid. I doubt that a salary increase is her motivation here. And artistically speaking, who is better to head an orchestra management than an experienced musician?
The skills from running an orchestra are very different from the skills from playing in an orchestra. Why would be able to play the flute help you manage the administration and budget, as well as the musicians. Why would it help you liaise with all the stakeholders?
Awesome! Now, this is the way it should be. Only musicians can and should manage a musical organization. Look at the disaster in Baltimore with a tone-deaf CEO.
He’s not tone deaf. And he is an experienced musician.
My definition of a ‘promotion’ wouldn’t be this.
Ok, congratulations, but that’s not a promotion….
Congratulations M. Antonia and good luck.
Please, let Maria Antonia work before judging. She knows what it is to manage an orchestra, since she was working on it in the RTVE Symphony. Regarding Pablo Gonzalez, he is a good director who had to work with a difficult orchestra like the OBC. And it is not the successor of Carlos Kalmar but of Miguel Angel Gómez Martínez, which is very good news for the possibilities of an orchestra too used to the autopilot.
Totally agree about allowing Maria Antonio work before judging. Thank you for that comment.
About Pablo Gonzalez, yes, most orchestras are difficult when they don’t like the Music Director. RTVE is one of the strongest orchs in Spain for musicians’ rights and salaries. The problems he may have experienced in OBC are pale in comparison. We’ll see how he does. . .
The same problems Gonzalez had with OBC have resonated with orchs he’s guest conducted. He seems to be this generation’s equivalent of Victor Pablo Perez: nothing special, an OK Spanish conductor who can do the job, but doesn’t relate to the musicians well. And like VPP, because he’s Spanish, and maybe not capable of landing a music directorship outside of Spain, Spanish orchs feel compelled to make use of him. VPP has had a long and fruitful career in Spain, and perhaps Gonzalez will as well. He is not a great conductor in my estimation. And not a very nice person either.
In the succession of RTVE directors I skipped Gomez Martinez because he didn’t seem to be there very long. I see them both as convenient replacements for Kalmar, whose departure was abrubt. But yes, of course, chronologically Gonzalez directly succeeded Gomez Martinez.
Your autopilot comment is interesting. Thanks for that astute observation, it’s really something to consider.