Donald Trump ‘wanted to conduct the New York Philharmonic’

Donald Trump ‘wanted to conduct the New York Philharmonic’

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norman lebrecht

March 23, 2021

The New York Post, on its chatty Page Six, reports today that Trump approached the former NY Phil music director Alan Gilbert with a request to conduct his orchestra. Gilbert thought it could be ‘a fundraising opportunity.’

A source tells Page Six that several years ago before Trump’s presidency, the orchestra’s then-conductor Alan Gilbert was enjoying a New York Rangers game and was seated behind goalie Henrik Lundqvist in the coveted goal judge seats.

One row up was Trump, whom Gilbert recognized. The two were introduced and Trump immediately said that he would love to conduct the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Read on here.

No US music director should ever miss a fundraising opportunity.

 

Comments

  • STEPHEN BIRKIN says:

    Why just conduct the NYPO – why not buy it?? Maybe the MET orchestra has a potential saviour!! Start polishing the baton!

    • V.Lind says:

      First thing he would do would be to commission a new opera, “Donald Trump — Saviour of the World!”

      If there’s money in it, Peter Gelb would probably endorse it. They could always cast Domingo: the age is about right, and the character profiles not a million miles apart.

      Music by Lee Greenwood.

    • Rogerio says:

      He conducted an insurrection at the Capitol…
      And many Americans gave their Maestro a standing ovation.
      I am sure the guy who put his feet up on Pelosi’s desk would love to see Trump conducting the NYPO.
      But at least I can rely on the New York Times to be against the idea when it come up.
      Someone has to be, I guess…

      • Craig says:

        It was clearly a peaceful gathering, not an insurrection.

        Look at the Capitol today, unnecessarily fortified by armed men who erected a wall with razor wire atop for absolutely no reason.

        At this point the Democrats have proven President Trump’s assertions that guns are good and that walls clearly work.

        The guards should just take down the Democrat’s cute little wall and walk off. Capitol security needs to be cut back to a bare minimum in the spirit of “defunding the police” as well.

        • NYMike says:

          Nothing like regurgitating Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) nonsense. Maybe you’re a Proud Boys or Boogaloo Bois member? SEDITION charges are about to be levied against some of these insurrectionists.

        • Jack says:

          Peaceful gathering with five dead, dozens injured, many millions in property damage, and 300 being brought up on charges, including insurrections. Because of January 6th, tens of thousands of US Military remained in DC for weeks after. Peaceful gathering. Right.

          • LA business owner says:

            Jack,
            What you are actually referring to are the multiple #antifa and #blm criminals who created that type of mass destruction on an enormous financial scale. They murdered numerous innocent people in their blind, hate-driven melee while destroying their own neighborhoods along with others they were bussed to.

            Democrats seem to think stealing from and burning down their own neighborhoods is something to celebrate. Now they really have NOTHING!

            Further, in Portland the federal buildings are still under siege today for no reason.

            Domestic terrorists who selfishly broke pandemic restrictions are the ones you and other commenters are referring to. Fortunately the police and others arrested and eliminated several of them.

            They owe countless private property owners, businesses and civil organizations billions of dollars. Pushing their crimes off to insurance doesn’t cut it. There is no defense for what they did and these domestic terror groups are paying the legal price for their disgusting acts one by one.

            -Yolanda
            #sueantifa
            #sueblm
            #imprisonantifa
            #imprisonblm

          • NYMike says:

            Just another Grand Obstructionist Party parrot. Ho-hum!

        • Tom Phillips says:

          Another apologist for fascist terrorism speaks. One who by definition does not understand and accept the meaning of beauty and the arts.

        • Greg Bottini says:

          “Peaceful gathering”????
          You are delusional, Craig.

          • Greg Bottini says:

            I don’t know who you are, “Balance”, but you’re too much of a coward to use your real name. The KKK wears hoods too.
            And I was referring to the failed coup attempt on Jan. 6, as was “Craig”, not any other demonstrations.

          • Commenter says:

            Where’s your head shot attached to the ‘name’ used after posting here under a pseudonym all this time? You’re a faker and likely a frustrated young woman as neurotic as all of your posts are. Your ‘KKK hood’ is is your sloppy emotionality cloaked in years of anonymity.

            The video posted to BALANCE your perverted view accurately illustrates what you people have destroyed via #antifa and #blm in NYC alone save the cities across the USA during state and federal lockdown mandates at that time perpetrated solely in the name of stealing and acting like human waste. Your people clearly owe private property owners, businesses and municipalities billions of dollars for your crimes of domestic terror. You dummies wonder why prices have gone up after your melees as well, eh?

            Your lack of a personal photo and responsibility to Norman inspires all of the regulars and new commenters to act just like you little anonymous girl. You don’t have the stones to legitimize your true identity so stay in your place, be more respectful to Mr. Lebrecht and post less or simply not at all!

          • Greg Bottini says:

            To: “Commenter”:
            You need professional help. You are quite disturbed.

  • RW2013 says:

    Still not in jail?!

  • Sir David Geffen-Hall says:

    Why not? Can’t be any worse than many of the people out there who claim to be conductos.

  • John Borstlap says:

    The unreadable almost happened.

  • Gustavo says:

    He’s already featured in an opera (next to Angela Merkel).

    Here, at 1:20:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQZVwmAGQVM

  • Pianofortissimo says:

    Why not? Just think how wonderful would be to see ‘The Donald’ conducting Also sprach Zarathustra in a Superman costume.

  • A.L. says:

    The Trump Philharmonic Orchestra. Valery Gergiev, Music Director. Lola Astinova (instrument TBD), Artist in Residence. Yusif Eyvazov, Chief Diversity Officer. Anna Netrebko, Chief Fundraiser Officer and Director of Pandemic-related Security.

    • A.L. says:

      The role of Chief Fundraiser has been reassigned to Andrea Bocelli. Anna Netrebko remains as Director of Pandemic-related Security. In other developments, Plácido Domingo assumes the role of Chief Gender Equity and Sexual Harrassment Officer, along with the Orchestra’s Official Ambassador to Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Syria, Venezuela, Brazil, Turkey, Hungary and Poland.

    • Karl says:

      Where can I buy tickets to see the TPO?!

      • PFmus says:

        Tickets can be bought At the door of Trump University. You may need to fly on Trump Airlines to get there… oh wait – they’re bankrupt…

  • Rob says:

    Apparently it was to do Le Sacre du printemps. He said it was very powerful.

  • Chris Walsh says:

    Vengeful narcissist with a baton in his hand – what could possibly go wrong?

    • V.Lind says:

      Are there any orchestras that would notice?

    • henry williams says:

      iam sure he would not fall down like Biden. and he
      is younger

      • V.Lind says:

        He is not younger.

        Where are all these ageists coming from? I do not object to Domingo performing because of his age. His voice is declining. He could conduct — there are many older still working, and well in some cases — if he had ever been able to conduct.

        Ask yourself why he continues. He cannot give up the applause. An addictive personality?

        • Karl says:

          Trump is probably a better conductor than Domingo.

        • henry williams says:

          he is younger he is 74. biden is 78.
          they should retire and sit by the beach all day.

          • V.Lind says:

            The way your sentence is structured it read as if you were referring to Domingo.

            In any case, I do not judge anyone based upon their age. I do not recall it ever being used against Trump, and there is not THAT much of an age difference. My late father was active and vibrant well into his 80s, and a dear friend flew here from Wales to Canada as I planned her 80th birthday, at which two of the other guests were men nearer 90 who flew in from California; she later flew off to Baltimore where they had their eastern house before returning to Canada for more holiday before going home. And I was a great fan of Nicholas Parsons, who died in harness last year at 95.

    • Gerard Hughes says:

      You mean Jimmy? Fortunately he’s dead now. However Trump should buy and restore all of Lincoln Center. It’s dead as well with a narcissistic board allowing it to sit unused, the self-serving Gelb and without anyone being paid except for only the white privileged elite save the new Diversity whatever she’s to do…

      • NYMike says:

        After Trump’s numerous lawsuits from NY City and State, GA and DC are finished, he’ll be lucky to buy a hamburger from the prison commissary.

        • C. Larrimore says:

          You’re obsessing over Trump too much as if you’re sexually frustrated and ‘need’ him.

          What are the Biden and Harris klan doing besides warmongering, cackling, failing to remember what they just said or did recently and falling down like a nursing home patient?

          Joe and Kamala must have something you can positively cite. Think!

      • Petros Linardos says:

        And bankrupt?

      • fflambeau says:

        Trump is a broken billionaire. Bleeding money.

  • Save the MET says:

    The NYPhil musicians were entirely unsuccessful a few years back stopping the Gil Kaplan Mahler 2nd fundraising onslaught; but were vindicated in the press the next day. This would have been decidedly worse. Trump got the Emmy’s to allow him to sing on stage a number of years ago and it was truly disturbing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCkmOCsI-hc Fortunately the traffic accident of Trump at the conductors desk never happened.

    • Sharon says:

      Have there ever been any opera singers who became professional conductors?

      • NYMike says:

        Extremely talented Barbara Hannigan.

      • jim says:

        How good he was is open to debate, but Domingo has done quite a bit of conducting.
        There was also Peter Schreier and René Jacobs

        • Petros Linardos says:

          Schreier was good but primarily a great singer. Jacobs is really making his mark as a conductor.

        • BruceB says:

          As far back as the 1970s, people were talking about Domingo’s potential to be the next great opera conductor. I think they were expecting he would retire in his 50s like a normal superstar, and then be able to devote himself to the art & craft of conducting. But as it turned out, he never did retire and was never able to focus only (or even mostly) on conducting. And here we are.

      • BruceB says:

        Nathalie Stutzmann. (Not an opera singer primarily, but.)

      • Save the MET says:

        Sure, Richard Tauber was a great pit conductor, mainly in light music and operetta. Nathalie Stutzman had a nice career going as an orchestral conductor until the pandemic hit. Both have more talent at conducting than Domingo.

      • BruceB says:

        Not sure who this was, but I’m sure somebody will know:

        Some years ago, a friend of mine was playing in the pit for Pittsburgh Opera’s production of Aida. The tenor had to cancel last-minute (or it might even have been mid-performance). The conductor sang the role of Radames from the pit while conducting.

    • jim says:

      Poor Megan Mullally. How is it possible that I’ve never seen that clip before? It was awful, but perhaps not as disturbing as the clip of trump putting the moves on rudy giuliani in drag.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spn0MJZr-QQ

  • Alank says:

    At least he could find his way to the podium unlike the current American President

  • jim says:

    First of all, I’ve no doubt that trump suggested such a thing. If he was introduced to a celebrity chef he would probably of suggested he could create the perfect menu or a special dish.
    Second, all sorts of people have been given the opportunity to stand in front of symphony orchestras and wave a stick around in the pursuit of publicity and/or charity dollars. Pre-presidential trump may have been loathsome, but he was also one of NY’s most prominent citizens and having him stand in front of the orchestra as a stunt at a fundraiser or one of their more pops oriented concerts would have been nauseating, but not really that outrageous.
    Most importantly, it never happened. Be thankful for that.

    • Save the MET says:

      Trump was a self marketing, self publicizing crude b.s. artist in NYC before he took that show on the road to Washington. Serious society never accepted him, nor wanted anything to do with him. He got invited and seen at rubber chicken lunches and dinner for his potential checks which as we now know were not particularly generous if they happened. You will note he and his family did not move back to NYC. They were outsiders before and now even more so and are not missed. Prominent was more like nefarious.

  • Jewel Dirks says:

    Yeah, like just another sex predator conductor….

  • Zandonai says:

    Alan Gilbert, probably the worst music director in NY Phil history. And Trump – worst U.S. pres. The two deserve each other.

  • Tom Phillips says:

    He probably in his entire long misbegotten criminal life – the vast majority of which was spent in New York City – never even once attended a concert. Perhaps he can eventually conduct them virtually from a maximum security prison cell.

    • Save the MET says:

      He used to go to to ABT by himself to ogle young girls. Saw him there on multiple occasions. they would always give him an orchestra aisle seat arranged by Blaine his former sister-in-law who was on the ABT board and enabled the tickets.

  • “Gilbert mentioned that a cameo could be arranged as a fundraising opportunity.”

    That probably ended Trump’s interest, finding out that it would cost him money.

  • SK says:

    Although the NY Post–a reliably right-wing rag and purveyor of propaganda–is obviously not an objective news source, the story is probably true given Don Trumpo’s megalomania. Conduct an orchestra? That would be easy for the Orange Fuhrer. After all, he was the greatest president ever and had the greatest first term in US history! (He told us so himself–and you know the Fuhrer never lies.)

  • pvl says:

    It’s so easy to twist the words especially from unconfirmed source. Besides, for Alan Gilbert Pecunia non olet (“money does not stink”)

  • Peter Owen says:

    I can remember the occasion when Prime Minister Heath conducted the LSO in the Cockaigne overture. The Leader, the late John Georgiadis, got them all through it magnificently.

    • Save the MET says:

      Heath was a decent amateur pianist throughout his life and later a conductor. Major difference between Heath who was more than a fund raising stint and tone deaf Trump who does not read music and has stiffed piano dealers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIYTS7hOpUo

    • Garry Humphreys says:

      Heath won an organ scholarship to Balliol College Oxford, which doesn’t automatically make him a good conductor, but at least proves he knew something about music, unlike The Donald, perhaps? Also, Heath was a great supporter of the LSO and at one time chairman of its trustees; when prime minister there were many musical occasions at No. 10. Compare that with any acknowledgement of ‘culture’ from our present-day politicians!

  • Stella Krazelberg says:

    In four years at the White House there wasn’t one musical performance of any genre.

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