Just in: Lucerne ties down Chailly

Just in: Lucerne ties down Chailly

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norman lebrecht

February 11, 2021

Riccardo Chailly’s term as music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra has been extended until the end of 2026. Chailly picked up the baton from his mentor, the late Claudio Abbado, in mid-2016.

Comments

  • Hermann Lederer says:

    They did not want to listen to the orchestra….the result will be less and less good musicians…

  • Le Roi says:

    Maestro Chailly’s work in Lucerne has been such a disappointment. It has made music lovers miss the irreplaceable Claudio Abbado. Only Haitink’s concerts with LFO have come close to capturing the same magic.

    • You exaggerate even if I prefere Chailly with La Scala today or the RCO and the Gawandhaus before. The reality is that it’s very difficlut for that kind of orchestra, the members don’t have time to work a long time. Concerning Abbado I’am sure that when he stared to work in Lucerne there were some people who said that he was better in Berlin…

  • Couperin says:

    No point in comparing Chailly to Abbado.. who could compare?? Chailly is a great musician and, speaking only for myself, an excellent conductor to work with. I played a program of contemporary orchestral music at Lucerne two years ago with him and he was devoted, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and I’m telling you, he never messed up. Conducted the concert perfectly. You’d be surprised how many “big time” conductors screw up when they conduct less familiar music or hardcore modern stuff. Chailly nailed it. That’s not to say the Festival Orchestra may not be happy with Chailly’s interpretation of Bruckner, but seriously, Mahler and Bruckner is all they freakin’ play. How about a little variety in the overall repertoire, LFO???

    • Chailly is the GOAT for me and I don’t forget that he started his career with the help of Abbado in the 70’s. And it’s when he was too close in his technic to Abbado that he went in Berlin in the early 80’s. Concerning Lucerne, I think that it was important for Abbado to do a lot of Mahler quickly because unfortunatly he knew that it would be impossible for him to make a very long carreer and before he was not in Amsterdam the house of Mahler… Since Abbado past away Chailly wants to make more 20th century music a thing he didn’t do a lot at Gewandhaus and today at La Scala he wants to make almost only Italian music.

  • Lord Bus Stop says:

    Chailly has been a revelation for me. I feel like he has released some of the classical/romantic repertoire from a kind of corset and brought spontaneous new life and drama to it, without off-roading it. On the other hand, the fact that I am not a musician limits my consideration. Nonetheless I am now happily touring all of his recordings.

    • Paul says:

      Check out Ricardo Chailly’s recording of The Sacre with The Cleveland Orchestra – 1987 – talent is forever.

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