Maestro front page of the year

Maestro front page of the year

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norman lebrecht

January 12, 2021

Nice to be wanted.

Comments

  • Joey says:

    Nice to see that there are newspapers who value classical music and put it on their front page.

  • Iain says:

    This again.

    There are other fish in the sea, you know. Conductors come and go. Covid is a FAR bigger issue and must be having a greater impact on musicians than conductors.

  • RW2013 says:

    Der Messias ist nicht gekommen!

  • Gustavo says:

    You mean the COVID-19 vaccination?

  • Gustavo says:

    A soft Brexit with a deal for Sir Simon!

    Congratulations…Boris.

  • Tony Sanderson says:

    Is Simon Rattle overrated? David Hurwitz of classicstoday.com suggests the only decent recordings he made with the CBSO were his Szymanowski ones.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FtKsj_2axo

  • Patrick says:

    And what about the LSO? Betrayed. Never a word said to them from him and the management. So didn’t the management believe he would leave his “last job” – publicly stated at the beginning of his tenue. Cannot keep on blaming covid and the state of the world!

    • Greg Bottini says:

      Rattle’s in it for a) the money, b) the money and c) the money.
      “Eff the LSO; they didn’t give me a new hall, so I’m going for a cushier situation. See ya.”
      I feel sorry for the Munich orchestra. Once the concerts start up again post-Plague, they’ll find out very soon that they bought a pig in a poke.

  • May says:

    Schade. I thought that Munich had grabbed Cornelius, the real MEISTER!

  • Amos says:

    Although the relationship any conductor has with one major orchestra is not defining, I find it interesting that SR’s last visit to Boston, to perform the Mahler 4th or 6th, was such a disaster that whatever relationship they had ended abruptly. That major orchestras in Germany and England see him as the short or long-term solution to their viability as an arts organization is an appaling commentary on the state of the art of conducting.

    • Tony Sanderson says:

      An interesting point. Which conductors today are in the Toscanini, Karajan, Bernstein, Szell and Böhm league? More recently we had Sir Charles Mackerras, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Claudio Abbado and Bernard Haitink, who were real greats.

      In Baroque music we have Sir John Eliot Gardner, William Christie and Jodi Savall. Sir Antonio Pappano, Riccardo Muti and Gianandrea Noseda seem to stand out. As a communicator, I would suggest Sir Antonio as the best replacement if he wants the job. He has made a number of good orchestral recordings.

      It would be interesting to read other readers’ views..

    • Jan Kaznowski says:

      Can you give more detail? Was it 4th or 6th ? Are there any professional reviews available. Any specifics of how it was a “disaster”

      • Amos says:

        My recollection is that it was the 4th and that it was reviewed professionally by then longtime Boston Globe music critic Richard Dyer. Again my recollection is that SR insisted on a series of idiosyncratic tempi and phrasings which were deemed to distort the piece to the point that the members were embarrassed. I also recall more distinctly reading that on one occasion SR called HvK and tried to make the case for performing a Romantic-era piece with period instruments. Reportedly rather than reply HvK merely hung-up

      • Amos says:

        Sorry, I meant to add that Brian Bell, who produces BSO radio broadcasts, occasionally contributes comments to this blog, and if his recollections are different than mine I will stand corrected and apologize.

    • “…such a disaster that whatever relationship they had ended abruptly. ”

      Wow. A “whatever” relationship ended at the contractually expected time.

      He was a guest conductor. With a main gig on another continent. What more is supposed happen after the guest appearance is over?

      • Amos says:

        At the time there were discussions that he was a serious candidate for the Music Directors position and the interest was mutual. After the visit in question that talk ended and he’s never been back.

  • Gustavo says:

    He can go out for a beer with Valery and talk LSO, Barbican and Gasteig acoustics.

  • Ed says:

    More Simon… Genug!

  • Tony Sanderson says:

    The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra appointed Vasily Petrenko as their music director, so, in this regard at least, seem to be in a better place. His Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky symphony cycles with the RLPO were very well received.

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